SA8000 is the "Social Responsibility Standard", which is the abbreviation of Social Accountability 8000. It is the world's first international standard of ethics. Its purpose is to ensure that the products supplied by suppliers meet the requirements of social responsibility standards. SA8000 standard is applicable to companies of all sizes, anywhere in the world, in any industry. Its basis is the same as the ISO9000 quality management system and the ISO14000 environmental management system, all of which are a set of international standards that can be audited by a third-party certification organization (SGS General Standard¹.

Since Social Accountability 8000 or SA8000 for short came out in 1997, it has received great attention from the public and aroused strong repercussions in the business circles of USA and Europe. Experts believe that SA8000 is another important international standard after ISO9000 and ISO14000, and will be transformed into ISO standard sooner or later. Getting SA8000 certification will become another important weapon in international market competition. A far-sighted organizer should take precautions and check early whether the organization has fulfilled its recognized social responsibilities, whether there is any behavior that violates social morality during the operation of the organization, and whether the legitimate rights and interests of employees are effectively protected, so as to seize the opportunity and meet the new round of world challenges. The year-on-year increase in the presentation of ethical responsibility in organizational annual reports and company brochures reflects the growing need to combine management with social responsibility. While many organizations do not operate unethically, there is no way to judge. Today, whether an organization's behavior conforms to social ethics can be confirmed and declared based on the organization's compliance with SA8000 requirements. SA8000 - the world's first social and ethical responsibility standard is a new standard to regulate the ethical behavior of organizations and has been used as a guideline for third-party certification. SA8000 certification is based on the requirements of the standard to review and evaluate whether the organization conforms to the basic standards for protecting human rights and interests. SA8000 can be applied and implemented in all industrial and commercial fields around the world.

The purpose of formulating the SA8000 standard is to protect the basic rights and interests of human beings.