27 Questions To Ask During A China Factory Visit

Dec. 30, 2024

27 Questions To Ask During A China Factory Visit

An in-person factory visit to your Chinese supplier&#;s facility is a great opportunity to get a deep understanding of who they are and if they&#;re capable of fulfilling your requirements. Your factory visit should be a fact-finding exercise rather than just an opportunity to passively write down some notes on what you see.

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Tress.

Let&#;s explore some of the key questions you should be asking during your factory visit.

Using Your Eyes & Ears In The Factory

No doubt before you&#;ve gotten to the stage of visiting a supplier&#;s factory, you&#;ve already performed due diligence on them to ascertain that they&#;re legitimate. During this research, you should be able to find out a lot of helpful information that can confirm that they&#;re a capable supplier (and a real manufacturer), so where does an in-person factory visit fit in?

It&#;s a chance to confirm everything you&#;ve already learnt, and more, by using your eyes and ears.

In this episode of our podcast, we discuss the three categories of subjective evaluations you should be making visually when visiting a supplier&#;s factory, including:

How good a fit they are for your business
Whether their management is up-to-scratch
If the conditions in the factory and how it&#;s setup are positive

In addition to the visual assessments outlined in the podcast, you should also be asking the following questions to help you learn even more.

27 Questions You Should Be Asking During A Visit To Your Chinese Supplier&#;

Asking about private/sensitive issues is a bit rude in China. But I often say that, if a supplier gets offended too easily, he is not familiar with export customers&#; requirements, and you might have problems down the road with his mentality.

Questions about top management and their priorities

When was the factory started? What was the previous job/experience of the owner?
Is the factory profitable? What were its sales last year? And 3 years ago?
What is the latest investment made in the factory, and how much did it cost?
What is the next investment they are planning?

Questions about middle management

Who will probably follow your order, besides the salesperson? How long have they worked in this factory?
How many other orders do they follow?
Where do the line leaders and the in-process QC staff come from? Were they promoted internally, or hired from the outside?

Questions about the workforce

What proportion of workers came back after the last Chinese New Year?
What is the employee turnover rate month over month (excluding the new year period)?
What happens when an operator makes a mistake? Is she fined?
Are operators paid by the number of pieces? Or by the hour?
Is a part of their compensation based on the team&#;s results, or is it all individual?

Questions about the capacity

Observe one line that is making about the same product as you intend to purchase. Ask for the output of this one line in one day. Then, based on what you see in a few minutes, calculate whether it makes sense.
When the factory was set up, what was the expected (theoretical) capacity?
What is the lead time from receipt of all materials/components to full packing?
What materials/components do they buy? Do they only do the final assembly and packing, or they also make some components?

Questions about the quality management system

(See more checkpoints in a previous article about ISO factory audits.)

How do they control the incoming components? Can you see it?
How do they do in-process QC? Can you see it?
How do they do final QC? Can you see it?
Do they send samples for testing in a laboratory? Can you see the test result for a production batch that you point to them?

Questions about certificates and other customers

Who do they work with? Can they give you references that you can call? Do they work directly with these customers, or through an intermediary?
Can they show you the latest two purchase orders from a big customer they proudly mentioned to you?
Can you see their business and export licenses? Can you take a photo of them to show to your investors?
The last time they made a big mistake regarding product quality and their customer found out about it after shipment, what did they offer as compensation?

Questions about payment

What is the usual bank that they request customers to pay into?
Do they have a Hong Kong account?
What are the payment terms?

Get answers to these questions and you&#;ll be far closer to deciding if this potential supplier is the right choice to manufacture your products.

The Next Step&#;A Factory Audit

Your visit to the supplier&#;s factory is really helpful for fact-checking and finding, but there are 2 issues to contend with:

You may not be able to attend the supplier&#;s factory (perhaps you&#;re too busy or there are other reasons preventing you from visiting China such as it having closed its borders to foreign visitors as of now in July ).
You may lack the expertise or knowledge to professionally assess the supplier&#;s capabilities.

This is why factory audits from an expert team are really helpful, as the auditor will assess the supplier&#;s manufacturing capabilities, possible risks, management and organization, and much more, providing a detailed report that will aid your decision.

Even if you cannot get to China to visit the supplier&#;s factory, the auditor will act as your eyes and ears. Also, as mentioned in the podcast episode included here, it&#;s possible to ask the auditor to take a few extra photos of certain areas of interest (such as the conditions that operators work in) or ask some specific questions.

*****

Did I forget any other questions? What have you found to be particularly useful to ask or see when visiting a Chinese factory?

Editor&#;s note: This blog post is based on an earlier post from QualityInspection.org, but has been edited for Sofeast readers.

This FREE eBook starts from the beginning, discussing whether you need to hire a sourcing agent, and follows the sourcing process right through to developing a trusted supplier&#;s quality and productivity.

There are 15 chapters over 80+ pages to explore, providing exhaustive guidance on the entire sourcing and supplier development process from start to finish, including:

Identifying suppliers,
Negotiations,
Quality inspections,
Developing Chinese suppliers,
Improving factory quality and productivity,
and much more&#;

Just hit the button below to request your free copy:

Clothing Manufacturers in China: How to Find the Right ...

Suggestion: Watch the 20 minutes video tutorial before reading this article

Planning to import clothing or other textile products from China? In this guide, you will learn what need to know to select the right clothing manufacturer, create a techpack, select materials, get samples made, and much more.

Part 1: List of Clothing and Textiles Manufacturers

Yotex Apparel
Zhongshan ARLISMAN Garment Factory
D&J Garment
HTX
Shenzhen Doven Garments.
Wuxi Kuanyang Textile Technology
Jinjiang Changda Garment
Hemp Fortex
H&Fourwing

Part 2: How to find a good clothing manufacturer in China

1. Product scope
2. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) Requirement
3. Test reports
4. Fabric quality
5. BSCI and Sedex Audit Reports

Part 3: How to Get Your Clothing Designs Made in China: 6 Steps

1. Creating your Techpack
2. Garment sample production
3. Create a Production Manual
4. Book a Quality Inspection
5. Book material lab testing
6. Shipping garments from China

COVID-19 impact on textiles manufacturing

How have China&#;s textiles manufacturers been impacted by COVID-19?

Overall, the COVID-19 disruption has been fairly limited in Mainland China. Factories resumed operations as early as March and have continued to operate since then. That said, worker testing and regional restrictions have resulted in delays for a fair number of our customers.

Keep in mind that the textiles industry is highly interconnected. Delays caused by shutdowns in one province (or another country for that matter) can delay fabric and garment accessories deliveries &#; which has a direct impact on your lead times.

Is China still competitive in clothing manufacturing?

The main competitive edge of the Chinese garment industry is the fact that they have overall remained open. Some buyers were forced to shift orders back to Mainland China after their suppliers in India and Vietnam had to close down as a result of the outbreaks.

That being said, both Vietnam and India have since resumed operations.

How have the increased shipping costs affected clothing manufacturers?

Shipping costs from Asia to Europe and North America have increased by as much as 10 times. Garments, which are high in volume, are normally shipped by sea &#; which has resulted in profits being decimated by many brands and importers.

As a result, a significant number of our customers started buying from clothing manufacturers in Europe, Turkey, and Mexico in . While it&#;s still more expensive to manufacture textiles in, for example, Europe compared to China, the freight rates alone drive the landed unit costs to levels that the two are comparable.

We expect this trend to continue for as long as the shipping costs remain as insanely high as they currently are.

Further, the shipping costs are not only impacting clothing manufacturers in China though. Suppliers in other Asian countries also face the same situation.

List of Clothing Manufacturers in China

Yotex Apparel

Yotex apparel is a sportswear manufacturer based in Shanghai, China, providing ODM & OEM one-stop full package service for the US, Canadian and European market since . Some of their products include seamless leggings, Bikinis, swimsuits, and sweatshirts.

YOTEX is a combination of two founders &#; Yova and Terry, &#;X&#; means a lot of other stakeholders and partners such as university professors, textile quality experts, overseas partners, etc. Terry, one of the founders of YOTEX, originated from Fashion design engineers who specialize in garment quality inspection for many years in Shenzhen, Fujian, and the Shanghai area.

For importers, any ready-made sportswear and activewear clothes can be found in YOTEX. They provide apparel to schools, sporting events, club meetings, etc. They also accept custom design requests with their silk-screen printing, DTG, heat seal printing technology.

Main Products

Swimsuit
Running shorts
Biker shorts
Bikinis
Waterproof pants

Zhongshan ARLISMAN Garment Factory

ARLISMAN was founded in as a typical garment factory for clothing customization, garment processing, and mapping services. Lin Guoli, the founder of ARLISMAN, entered into the garment industry in till now.

With 20 years of development, ARLISMAN has started cooperation with other international brands such as US. POLO, H&M, and BHS. The main product of ARLISMAN included Men&#;s t-shirts, Polo shirts, Knit sweaters, and jeans.ARLISMAN provides a full range of services from design to shipment. During the whole process, they have standardized supervision and management for the quality of products. In recent years, they also established their own brands like AVANZAR and ARLISMAN to improve the ability and service level of processing.

On the other hand, you can find the blog on their website. Industry-related articles are published from time to time. For example, &#;How to choose the right technology to customize your clothing logo&#;, and &#;how to select fabric for customized T-shirts&#;.

Main Products

T-shirts
Polo
Knit sweaters
Knit scarves
Pants

D&J Garment Co., Ltd.

D&J Garment was established in as a Women&#;s Garment Manufacturer in Guangzhou. Over 20 years of experience focusing on high and medium quality fashion brands, D&J had been working with brands and clients from Europe or North America, for example, TOBI, QUIZ, FORMAT, and DABUWAWA.

The location of D&J is close to the biggest fabric market in China &#; ZhongDa Fabric Market, which gives them the advantage to source some hot trending fabrics and accessories to create new fashion styles. This advantage also gives D&J the capability to make samples to their clients in a short time to adopt fast fashion changes.

The material D&J mainly used are cotton, polyester, nylon, spandex, viscose, etc. They have a modern manufacturing process and quality control system for every product. D&J also offers 300 pieces per min order, 7 days for the garment samples, and 3 weeks for bulk production.

Main Products

Dresses
Jackets & Coats
Knitwear & Cardigan
Tops
Playsuits & Jumpsuits

HTX

Huaxiang is primarily a knitwear production house with almost employees in factories based in China & Bangladesh. Back in , it was all started in a local market in Shanghai. Mao Ping Hua, the founder of Huaxiang, sewed woolen sweaters and sold them in the market. It was successful and Mao bought more sewing machines and started the company in the same year.

HTX is a subsidiary of Shanghai Huaxiang Woolen Co., a wool and knitwear clothing manufacturer. With 26 years of experience in the fashion industry, they have been working with many international brands, for example, H&M, Victoria&#;s Secret, Coach, and Burberry.

On their website, you can find many articles regarding the fashion industry. They have provided guidelines for people who want to start their own fashion brand. For example, how to market your fashion brand and the systems of wool manufacturing.

Unlike other factories, they do not have a minimum order quantity for orders. As they tend to learn more about your brand and work out a reasonable solution that will work. And this strategy has helped many small businesses to grow.

Main Products

Knitwear

Shenzhen Doven Garments Co., Ltd.

Doven was established in as a supplier listed on Alibaba.com. They mainly manufacture functional clothing, sportswear to promotional clothes including T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, and shorts.

During the six years of development, they have attended different exhibitions such as the Asia World-Expo exhibition and obtained different certifications such as OEKO-TEX, ISO, and BSCI.

Both OEM/ODM orders are welcomed in Doven, especially for the promotional event, supermarket, company work clothes, and school uniforms. Their products have also been exported to Europe, Australia, North America all around the world.

As a 4 year Gold supplier on Alibaba, Doven also keeps their typical turnaround time on 30 days in order to improve productivity. They offer a full line of apparel that they can customize to fit your needs.

Main Products

Sweatshirts
Hoodies
T-shirt
Yoga wear
Jackets

Shenzhen Global Weiye Clothing Co., Ltd

Weiye is a manufacturer specializing in T-shirts, Polo shirts, Vest, Football wear, Hoodies, Sportswear, babies&#; and Children&#;s garments. since . For people who are looking for a one-stop service, they operate the whole process from design, weaving, dyeing, printing, sewing, packaging to shipping.

You can also find a lot of videos on Weiye&#;s website. They upload videos about the procedures of the production. For example, how weave machines or dying machines works, and how to fastness the material. This could be interesting to know every procedure when you order from Weiye.

Weiye can provide the certificate of ISO, BSCI, Oeko Tex 100, SGS, and other test reports. All of the products meet Europe and the United States standard. In fact, some of Weiye&#;s long-term customers include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Gap, and Walmart. Here notice that they work on OEM orders only, and they do not have stock products for sale.

Main Products

T-shirt
Polo shirt
Baby clothes
Sportswear
Hoodie

Wuxi Kuanyang Textile Technology Co., Ltd.

Kuanyang is a textile product venture, which specializes in transfer printing and printing materials since . They have been working with China&#;s largest printing ink producer Wuxi Hongbao special Dyeing and Printing Ink Co., Ltd., and they have been providing one-stop services for customers from design to shipping.

Kuanyang focuses on environment-friendly and toxin-free printing ink. The ink has passed the test of quality authoritative organizations such as ITS, SGS, and Oeko-Tex. Their main products include textile fabric and transfer printing, such as curtains, shopping bags, cosmetic bags, luggage, and so on.

For partnership, they have been working with some international brands such as Envy, Coach, Adidas, and Billabong. The market covers Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, and more.

Kuanyang also emphasized the impact on the environment during the manufacturing process. You can find some reports on their website regarding environmental protection. Also, They announced some data of wastes in order to monitor and reduce the impact on the environment.

Main Products

Swimwear fabric
Sport fabric
Towel fabric
Softshell fabric

Jinjiang Changda Garment Co., Ltd.

Changda was established as an OEM/ODM supplier of casual wear, sportswear, and children&#;s wear in . Changda is located in Jinjiang city, Fujian province with a factory size of over 10,000 square meters.

Chanda&#;s product has been exported to Italy, Spain, the US, Germany, France, and Australia. In order to comply with different standards from different countries, their raw materials and products were sent to SGS, ITS, and STR for third-party inspections.

While their main product is sportswear, you can find a variety of sportswear on their Alibaba website. For example, Basketball, soccer, volleyball, Yoga, and racket sport. The minimum order varies, however, most of their products are limited to 10 pieces only, which is good for sports game orders. More importantly, they have products in stock for sale if you do not need any custom design. Therefore it can shorten the time to get your product delivered.

Main Products

Yoga wear
Running wear
Hoodies
Sport Jacket

Hemp Fortex

Hemp Fortex was founded in , focusing on eco-friendly and sustainable textile production. They have a unique position as a vertically integrated manufacturer. Hemp Fortex source the fibers and spin the yarn, knit, and weave fabrics in fashion product.

Hemp Fortex mostly works only with its own manufacturing facilities or other audited facilities to maintain its standards. For example, they use only EU-approved dyes and chemicals in their dyeing and finishing. They have their own knitting facilities, weaving facilities, and garment lines for their product.

You can find a few garment products on their website, however, they focus on selling materials such as Pure Hemp, Organic cotton, Yarn, Recycled material for customers. Also, notice that Hemp Fortex does not offer custom fabrics for new customers. They work with many international brands such as Patagonia, prAna, Kathmandu, and Outerknown.

Main Product

Hemp
Organic Cotton
Organic recycled blend
Organic linen
Dresses
Shoes

H&Fourwing

H&Fourwing has been a women&#;s clothing manufacturer since . They have been supplying mainstream high-end fashion brands for years. They offer style research, design, fabric sourcing, and manufacturing process for customers. The main product of HFW included Women&#;s dresses, tops, blouses, and shorts.

The factory has passed a couple of third-party audits such as BSCI, SGS, BV, ITS. In fact, the QC team leader of HFW is from SGS, and they also offer an inspection report before shipping. For better quality control, they also provide full inspection from in-line to off-line, which includes fabric tests like colorfastness and fabric shrinkage.

HFW is an OEM supplier but they also deal with ODM production. They do not have a large amount of stock for sale, however, small units are still acceptable. Also for customers who are still struggling with the design, HFW offers a team of designers to help you develop your product.

Main Products

Dresses
Tops
Blouses
Shorts
Jumpsuits

Buying wholesale clothing from China

Clothing and textiles manufacturers don&#;t keep products in stock. Instead, they offer production as an &#;on-demand&#; service. Some suppliers don&#;t even keep fabrics, zippers, and other components in stock &#; but procure materials as needed, for each new order that comes in.

The only exception is products made for the domestic market. Some Chinese textiles suppliers make their own products for their own domestic markets. The &#;problem&#;, for overseas importers at least, is that &#;domestic products&#; are not labeled according to US, EU, or Australian textiles labeling requirements. As a result, importing wholesale textiles is not even an option for most importers.

So why are importers still interested in clothing wholesalers?

The reason is that manufacturers have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirement, while wholesalers don&#;t.

How to find a good clothing manufacturer in China

Not all Clothing and textiles manufacturers are equal. Making a random factory selection online, without verifying that the supplier is able to reach your quality requirements, is likely to end up in disaster. Below follows an introduction to the three main factors that really matter, when selecting clothing manufacturers in China.

1. Product scope

All suppliers are specialized in certain product categories s, and sometimes even materials. If you plan to import GOTS certified organic cotton t-shirts, you need to look specifically for suppliers manufacturing GOTS certified organic cotton t-shirts &#; not just suppliers making &#;cotton t-shirts.

This also applies to print techniques and other technical requirements. If you intend to import DTG printed t-shirts, for example, it&#;s essential to only shortlist suppliers that already offer DTG printing.

2. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) Requirement

All suppliers have a MOQ requirement. For example, if the supplier&#;s MOQ is set at 500 pcs, you must purchase at least 500 pieces &#; or they cannot accept your order. In the textiles industry, there are 3 different MOQs to keep track of:

MOQ per order: Normally 500 &#; pcs
MOQ per fabric: Normally 250 &#; 500 pcs
MOQ per color: Normally 250 &#; 500 pcs
MOQ per size: Normally 100 &#; 250 pcs

Notice that the MOQ often reflects the minimum amount of fabric the supplier must purchase from their subcontractors. As such, you can reduce the overall MOQ by using the same fabrics and colors on more than one product.

Further, custom colored fabric (i.e., according to a certain Pantone) tends to have a higher MOQ, compared to the supplier&#;s standard fabric colors.

3. Lab test reports (chemicals and heavy metals)

Clothing textiles are regulated in most countries, including the United States, Europe, and Australia. Most applicable safety standards, such as REACH (Europe) and California Proposition 65, restrict chemicals, heavy metals, and pollutants.

Examples

Lead
Mercury
Cadmium
AZO dyes
Formaldehyde
Phthalates

Most Chinese manufacturers, especially the smaller ones, are not aware of the substance contained in their textiles.

It&#;s a deeply rooted issue that goes way beyond the manufacturer. All clothing manufacturers purchase fabrics and components from subcontractors. The number of material subcontractors can range from two or three to hundreds.

Ensuring that non-compliant materials don&#;t slip through requires the supplier to test a large number of samples, which most small factories consider too expensive and time-consuming.

For importers based in Europe, America, Canada, and Australia, it&#;s critical to select a supplier that can demonstrate a compliance track record in terms of test reports, issued by an accredited third party such as SGS or Intertek.

Clothing test reports

For example, you can make a &#;compliance assessment&#; based on the following documents:

REACH (SVHC) test report
OEKO tex standard 100
California proposition 65
Heavy metals test report
Azo dyes test report
MSDS
Bill of substances

4. Fabric quality

In , we were tasked with managing the product development process of a new polo shirt collection for a European brand. They&#;d already selected a new supplier in the southern Fujian province to manufacture their new designs.

It was a good supplier. Clean facility, long history, plenty of capital, modern machinery, and a strict quality management system.

The client received the samples and testing begins. A few weeks of usage and washing later, it was clear that the material quality was far below the client&#;s expectations. While they wanted to match brands like GANT and Ralph Lauren in terms of quality, this sample would go straight to an outlet.

Obviously, the client was upset about this, and we submitted a complaint to the supplier. They made another batch of samples. But the result was the same. This was when we realized that this may be a reliable supplier, yet unable to match our buyer&#;s quality requirements.

It turned out that they were indeed specialized in making low-cost apparel for discount markets, and good at it too.

Before you get started, you need to get your fabric specifications in order. Never assume that a Chinese clothing and textiles manufacturer is specialized in making items matching your quality requirements.

Source fabrics directly from material suppliers

One strategy that we have applied more often in recent years is to source two sets of suppliers:

Supplier A: Apparel manufacturer
Supplier B: Material supplier

Relying on the apparel manufacturer when it comes to selecting fabrics and other materials can be very time-consuming.

For example, it can be hard to communicate fabric quality requirements to a supplier, and it can take weeks or even months of emailing back and forth to get the correct fabric samples.

A better option, if you have specific fabric requirements, is to identify a fabric supplier and order samples directly from them. The fabrics supplier will then ship the materials to the apparel manufacturer in time for production.

5. BSCI and Sedex Audit Reports

BSCI and Sedex are membership organizations for manufacturers, performing regular social compliance audits in factories throughout the world. BSCI, for example, implements a protocol based on these core principles:

The rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining
Fair remuneration
Occupational health and safety
Special protection for young workers
No bonded labor
Ethical business behavior
Decent working hours
No child labor
No precarious employment
Protection of the environment

Apparel factories that already are BSCI or Sedex audited tend to be better managed than those that lack such audit reports. There are various reasons for this, but BSCI and Sedex (SMETA) audit reports are among the primary selection criteria we use when sourcing textiles factories in China, Vietnam, India, and other countries.

FAQ

Where are most clothing manufacturers in China located?

Clothing manufacturers are not concentrated in a few clusters but spread out all over the country. That said, large garment manufacturing hubs are located in these provinces:

Guangdong
Fujian
Jiangxi
Zhejiang
Jiangsu

Can I buy wholesale clothing from a manufacturer?

Most clothing manufacturers only make products on-demand. As such, they don&#;t keep stock but only start production whenever an order comes in from a foreign or domestic buyer.

How much does it cost to manufacture clothes in China?

The unit cost depends on the material cost, colors, prints, and labor cost (i.e. the time it takes to cut, sew and pack the product). There is no &#;standard&#; pricing system in place for textiles. Take a t-shirt for example, which can be manufactured for less than $1 &#; or cost more than $20 &#; all depending on the material and other factors.

We often get requests to provide clothing price examples, but such data is meaningless without knowing the actual specification of the product.

How can I get a price from a manufacturer?

You need to prepare a techpack before you can get a price from a manufacturer, you need to prepare a techpack.

Can I buy brand-name clothing from China?

No, you cannot buy authentic brand-name garments directly from Chinese manufacturers. Regardless of whether the brand in question does manufacture products in China, brand-name goods are never &#;available&#; for parallel importers.

How to Get Your Clothing Designs Made: 6 Steps

Once you&#;ve found a few clothing manufacturers, it&#;s time to see what they go for. In this part, you will learn how to create a techpack, order product samples, and implement a quality assurance strategy.

1. Creating your Techpack

Design drawings/sketches

Clothing design drawings demonstrate the final product. It gives your supplier a solid design reference point when making apparel samples.

Sewing patterns

The sewing pattern is a template for a certain part of the garment, such as sleeves and collars. It helps the supplier cut the fabric parts in the right shape, and according to the dimensions set in your size chart.

Bill of Materials (BoM)

The BoM is essentially a list of materials and components used to make a single unit. Further, you must also specify the quantity or amount of materials and components used.

Garment Bill of Materials Example

PartMaterialOtherAttachment

Shirt, 1 pc

100% Cotton (180 gsm)

Color: Pantone 18-

shirt-design.pdf

Collar, 1 pc

100% Cotton (180 gsm)

White

shirt-design.pdf

Sleeves, 2 pc

100% Cotton (180 gsm)

Color: Pantone 18-

shirt-design.pdf

Buttons, 8 pcs

Shell Pearl

Natural white

Diameter: 6 mm

button.jpg

Care Label, 1 pc

100% Nylon

White

care-label.pdf

Size chart

A size chart details garment measurements and dimensions for each size (e.g. S, M, L, and XL). Each measurement is normally visually represented by a letter on the size chart. Notice that there is no universal apparel size system or even mandatory national standards.

That said, you can choose to base your size chart on one of the following ISO size standards:

ISO : , Size designation of clothes &#; Definitions and body measurement procedure

ISO : , Size designation of clothes &#; Men&#;s and boys outerwear garments

Additional reading:
Private Label - Ultimate Guide For Beginners For 2025
3 Things to Know About Aloha Shirts

For more China Pajama Factoryinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

ISO : , Size designation of clothes &#; Women&#;s and girls outerwear garments

ISO : , Size designation of clothes &#; Infants garments

Another option is to base your size chart from another brand, such as Asos.com.

Size chart example

MDescriptionToleranceSML

Waist

(+/-) 10 mm

730 mm

830 mm

930 mm

Inseam

(+/-) 10 mm

810 mm

Front Rise

(+/-) 5 mm

200 mm

210 mm

220 mm

Length

(+/-) 5 mm

800 mm

810 mm

820 mm

Seam allowance

While the seam allowance must be clearly defined on the pattern, the size chart should specify the measurements of the final product.

Measurement tolerances

Fabric cutting, sewing, and pre-washing result in natural dimensional tolerances. That said, such differences must be contained within a clearly defined dimensional tolerance (i.e., +/- 5 mm) for each measurement in the size table.

Can I tell my supplier to simply use standard sizes in my country?

No. There are no clearly defined &#;national size tables&#;. If you allow your supplier to take care of pattern grading and size measurements, you&#;ll most likely end up with pieces that are either too small or too big.

Logos, prints, and embroidery

Printed logos, fabric prints, and embroideries must also be included in your techpack. In addition, you should also provide all necessary files to your suppliers in .ai (Adobe Illustrator) or .eps format.

Further, the supplier must also be instructed on the type of print, position, and color:

Print position
Dimensions
Color
Printing technique

Printing techniques

There are various types of textile printing techniques. Some of the most common follow below:

Screen printing

Screen printing is the most common textile printing type and can be used for both light and dark fabrics.

Digital textile printing (DTG)

An inkjet printer, with textile ink, is printing text or graphics directly on the fabric &#; based on a file uploaded to the connected computer. As such, you don&#;t need print tools, that can be relatively expensive &#; especially when you have many different prints.

Block printing

Metal or wood blocks are cut to a certain pattern and then stamped on the fabric. This is a more traditional method but is still used for certain types of home textile prints, such as curtains.

Heat/thermal transfer printing

Heat transfer printing is a low-cost method that adds a layer to the fabric. This method is often used for printing numbers or text. The print may crack after washing several times.

Material specifications

a. Cotton

Cotton is a plant fiber commonly used in all types of apparel and textiles. Cotton can be combined with synthetic fibers, such as polyester. Cotton fabric is breathable.

b. Polyester

Polyester is a type of plastic, which fibers are also used to make fabrics. Polyester fabrics are generally cheap and durable and used for various types of apparel. Unlike cotton, polyester is not breathable. However, there are cotton and polyester blend fabrics.

c. Wool

Wool is a textile fiber obtained from animals, mostly sheep. Wool is generally more expensive than cotton. There are various types of wool, including cashmere and merino wool. Many suppliers sell &#;generic&#; wool as cashmere and merino wool.

d. Bamboo Rayon

Bamboo fabrics are not purely made of bamboo fibers. Instead, bamboo fibers are melted and mixed with chemicals to produce bamboo rayon fabrics. Virtually all so called bamboo fabrics are bamboo rayon fabrics. Many workers are exposed to extremely dangerous chemicals and toxic fumes during the refining process. Carbon disulfide is one such substance, that causes heart attacks, blindness, and even psychosis.

Bamboo fabrics do have some benefits:

Limited water usage
Biodegradable
No soil erosion (rather the opposite)
No pesticides

Notice that most countries don&#;t allow bamboo rayon is described or marketed as organic.

e. Organic Cotton

By definition, organic cotton is grown using methods that leave a smaller environmental footprint on the environment. For example, organic cotton is only defined as such if the following criteria are met:

No use of toxins
No use of persistent pesticides (POP)
No use of chemical fertilizers
No use of GMO seeds

In the textile industry, organic cotton is the exception, not the rule. Further, the reduction of POP and chemical fertilizers reduces yields and therefore results in higher prices.

f. Nylon

Nylon is a durable polymer, that can also be used for textiles. Nylon can be blended with fibers or polymers such as cotton, polyester, and spandex.

g. Spandex

Spandex (also known as lycra and elastane) is a synthetic fiber, with high elasticity. Spandex is often blended with cotton, or other fibers, and used in sportswear.

Fabric Standards

a. GOTS

GOTS is the acronym for Global Organic Textile Standard, which is defined as follows:

1. Only fabrics that contain at least about 70% organic fibers can become GOTS certified

2. All chemicals such as dyestuffs and auxiliaries used must meet certain environmental and toxicological criteria

3. A functional wastewater treatment plant is mandatory for any wet-processing unit involved and all processors must comply with social criteria

A supplier can be GOTS certified if they pass a factory inspection performed by an accredited third party. There are only a handful of &#;GOTS accredited&#; inspection companies with offices in China:

CERES GmbH
Control Union Certifications b.v.
Ecocert Greenlife

b. OEKO Tex Standard 100

OEKO Tex Standard 100 is an international and independent testing and certification system for textiles. OEKO Tex Standard 100 &#;certified&#; textiles meet various requirements, such as the following:

Compliant with REACH (EU)
Not containing Azo colorants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium, nickel
Compliant with US CPSC regulations

Technical Specifications

a. Weight

Fabrics are generally not defined by thickness, but by their weight, in terms of grams per square meter (gsm). Lighter fabrics are thinner, less durable and often cheaper than more heavy fabrics. A few examples follow below:

Baby clothing: 120 &#; 140 gsm
T-shirt fabric: 120 &#; 200 gsm
Pique fabric: 200 &#; 240 gsm
Hoodie fabric: 280 &#; 350 gsm

a. Fiber Composition

Some fabrics are made of a single fiber, such as 100% cotton. However, many fabrics are blended, consisting of two or more different fibers. A few examples follow below:

70% Cotton, 30% Polyester
95% Cotton, 5% Spandex

c. Color system

Fabrics can generally be dyed according to a Pantone color. It&#;s important that you always specify the correct Pantone code to your supplier. However, notice that &#;custom dyed fabrics&#; (according to certain Pantone colors) often result in a higher MOQ, compared to if you buy fabric in one of the supplier&#;s standard colors.

Garment labels

Garment labels are not optional but are required by law. Importing products without a textile label, or without sufficient information, can be enough reason for the customs authorities to seize and destroy the products. As such, you must create the care label file as part of your tech pack, according to applicable labeling requirements in your country or market.

Notice that each country or market have their own labeling requirements. However, the following is generally required:

Fiber composition (e.g, 95% Cotton, 2% Spandex)
Care symbols or written care instructions
Size
Country of Origin

Note that additional labeling requirements may apply to babywear and children&#;s clothing.

FAQ

How can I protect my clothing designs?

Clothing designs cannot be patented. At best, you can protect your brand name, logo, and graphical artwork. That said, you cannot get a design patent for a generic garment design, even if it differs from what&#;s already on the market.

How do I protect my brand and logo?

You must register your brand and logo under a trademark in your country, and other target markets. You should also consider registering your trademark in China, as a way prevent &#;trademark squatters&#; to take it before you do.

Why can&#;t I buy ready-made apparel listed on Alibaba?

Chinese clothing factories rarely have standard designs, or even in-house designers, launching new collections. This is often confusing, as suppliers often list hundreds of ready-made designs on their Alibaba.com pages. What you normally see on Alibaba and other supplier directories can be categorized as follows:

Products made for other customers
Photos are taken from a random website
Concept design

That said, clothing manufacturers rarely have an archive of complete tech packs you can choose from. As such, you must still create a techpack prior to ordering product samples.

Can I send a reference sample instead?

Whenever possible, it&#;s recommended to provide reference garment samples to your factory. This method can greatly speed up the sampling process and prevent misunderstandings. That said, a physical reference sample alone cannot replace a techpack, as the latter is used in various stages of the process:

Request for quotation (RFQ)
Production manual
Quality inspection

How do I select buttons, zippers, velcro, and other components?

You must include all parts in the bill of materials. Further, you either provide images or a specific brand SKU (e.g. YKK 4EF)

How can I create a techpack if I have no design experience?

Perhaps you have a vision or concept but are not sure how to turn that into a workable pattern file. Rather than asking the factory for help, I recommend that you find a pattern maker on a freelancer website such as Upwork.com.

There are thousands of qualified pattern maker freelancers that can turn that vision into PDF pattern files that the factory can understand.

It&#;s not very expensive either, as most pattern makers charge less than $150 per pattern design &#; which generally include the following:

Pattern file
Logo files
Size chart
Material specification

2. Garment sample production

Once you have a complete techpack, it&#;s time to move on to sample production. The purpose of this stage is to both test the supplier and confirm materials &#; assuming you have not already done so.

In my experience, roughly 50% of the suppliers fail to manufacture satisfying samples. They might lack the precision to get the seams the right way, provide low-quality fabrics or prove that they don&#;t have much care for detail.

As such, I recommend you order clothing samples from at least two or three suppliers.

Garment sample limitations

The purpose of a garment sample is to test the supplier and confirm materials. That said, there are certain sampling limitations that you must be aware of:

1. The supplier can only use standard fabrics and colors, as you need to buy a certain volume before they can dye the fabric

2. Care labels are normally not included in the sampling process due to MOQ constraints

3. The supplier must also use standard thread colors, resulting in embroidery color deviations

4. Garment samples are always made using standard fabrics

FAQ

How do I select fabrics and other materials?

Visiting a factory and selecting fabrics is the most effective method, as you can compare and feel hundreds of fabric samples. However, if you don&#;t have the budget or time to visit factories in China, you can also consider these options:

Order fabric samples from your supplier
Send a reference fabric to your supplier

How much do clothing samples cost?

Product samples naturally cost more than bulk production, on a per-unit basis. Expect to pay somewhere between $50 to $150, depending on the complexity and material cost. Prints and embroideries also impact the clothing sample cost.

How long does the process normally take?

The first sample batch is normally delivered in 2 to 4 weeks. That said, it often takes two or more sample revisions before you can move forward and place an order.

How many samples should I order?

We recommend that your initial sample order only includes one or two sizes per garment SKU. Normally, clothing manufacturers only make one unit per size.

3. Create a Production Manual

Now that you have a set of half-decent product samples in your hand, it&#;s time to pull the trigger and place your first order. Whenever placing your very first order with a supplier, I strongly recommend you keep the order volumes to a minimum.

However, before you wire the deposit payment, you need to prepare a production manual. This is a document listing all relevant requirements and order terms:

Techpack attachment list
Compliance requirements
Shipping terms
Export packaging
Payment terms
Quality control terms
Lab testing terms
Brand usage terms

The purpose of a production manual is to standardize the overall ordering process, which is why it covers everything from export packaging to payment terms.

The enforcement mechanism is based on a standard 30/70 payment plan. While you must pay the initial 30% deposit before production starts, the remaining 70% must be withheld until the following criteria are met:

Quality inspection passed
Fabric lab testing passed

You only maintain your leverage as long as the supplier has not been paid in full.

4. Book a Quality Inspection

Manufacturing is not a science. Quality issues are certain to occur, to a varying degree. While quality issues cannot be completely eliminated, but can be managed and reduced to a degree that it doesn&#;t affect your profit margins.

There are a number of defects that may occur when manufacturing clothing. Below follows a list of defects I&#;ve stumbled upon:

Poor seams (e.g. not straight, loose threads)
Discoloration
Skewed embroidery
Incorrect dimensions
Loose buttons and zippers
Dust and dirt

Thus, a Quality Inspection must be performed in the factory, after production but before the balance payment

You cannot return defective units back to your Chinese factory, so you&#;ve only got one chance to ensure that the products match your techpack.

Creating a garment quality checklist

The quality inspection follows a clearly defined checklist, which can either be based on your own checklist &#; or a standard clothing and textiles checklist provided by the inspection agency. I strongly recommend that you first draft your own checklist, and request the inspection agency to add their own standardized tests. The checklist should include:

Visual inspection
Measurements
Seams
Washing
Labels
Color comparison
Export packaging

Booking a quality inspection online

Quality agencies such as Sofeast.com and Bureau Veritas make booking inspections online very easy. All you need to do is to create an account and provide the following:

Tech pack
Proforma Invoice
Quality checklist
Supplier name
Supplier contact details (Name, , and )
Supplier address

FAQ

Can all quality issues be discovered during an inspection?

Certain quality issues cannot be detected during a single factory inspection. For example, low-quality fabrics may lose fitting, only after a few washes. This is why extensive sample testing, and actual usage, is critical before production begins.

How much should I expect to pay for a garment quality inspection in China?

The standard price is normally USD 300, per inspection. The number of inspections needed depends on the order volume. That said, one is normally sufficient if you order less than pcs per order.

What should I do if the quality inspection fails?

First, what you should absolutely not do is to pay the remaining 70% balance. Instead, you should give the supplier 1 or 2 weeks to correct the quality issues and book a follow-up inspection.

Which companies can help us with garment quality inspection services?

Here&#;s a list of companies offering garment quality inspection services in Mainland China:

Sofeast limited
Bureau Veritas InSpec
QIMA
Asia Quality Focus
SGS

5. Book material lab testing

While existing test reports can be used to assess if a supplier has the capability to manufacture or procure compliant fabrics, &#;old test reports&#; cannot be applied to fresh batch of garments. The only way to be sure is by booking third-party compliance testing.

Lab test options

You can either book a lab test to verify compliance with a certain regulation, or a standard. You can also book testing to only check whether the product contains specific substances, such as lead or formaldehyde.

REACH
OEKO text standard 100
California Proposition 65
Heavy metals
Chemicals

Note that third-party lab testing is mandatory for most non-children&#;s garments. That said, it&#;s the only way to verify if the material is compliant, which comes in handy the day a retailer or government agency asks for a test report.

Sample collection

Preferably, the Quality inspector collects batch samples and submits them to the testing company. You should, to the extent possible, not allow the supplier to submit samples.

There is a risk that they will, for their own benefit, submit compliant samples (made specifically to pass lab testing) &#; while your products are non-compliant.

Furthermore, ensure that they affix the Booking ID / Sample ID on or inside the envelope. Otherwise, the testing company cannot identify the samples.

Lab test report

Once the test is performed, you will receive a test report telling you if the products passed or failed. This test report (PDF) can later be used to prove that your products are compliant with relevant safety standards and chemical regulations, such as REACH and CA Prop 65. Note that the customs authorities, other government agencies or Amazon may require that you provide a test report at some point.

FAQ

How much do textiles lab tests cost?

The testing cost is based on the number of fabrics, colors, and tests. On average, our customers in the textiles industry pay between USD 400 to 800 to test up to 5 different fabrics.

Do I need to test every single order?

Our recommendation is to book lab testing when you place your first order with a supplier, or when you change materials. Ultimately, it comes down to cost of compliance versus risk.

Which companies can help us with garment testing services?

Here&#;s a list of companies offering textiles testing services in Mainland China:

Bureau Veritas
QIMA
SGS
Intertek
TUV

6. Shipping garments from China

Once the products have passed both the quality inspection and the lab testing, it&#;s time to wrap everything up. First, however, you need to wire the remaining balance payment of 70% to the supplier&#;s bank account.

Balance payment checklist

1. Don&#;t send the payment until all quality issues are resolved. Once paid in full, the supplier can&#;t be made to remake defective or damaged items.

2. Make sure you pay the right bank account, as explained at the beginning of this chapter.

3. Send a payment record to the supplier as soon as you&#;ve wired the funds.

Book shipping

I recommend that you book shipping through a platform such as Flexport.com. That way, you can keep track of the full door-to-door shipping cost and make sure that your cargo is insured. I strongly recommend that you don&#;t let your supplier take care of the shipping process, even though it may seem like the easiest alternative.

Airfreight or sea freight?

Airfreight is both faster and more cost-effective for smaller shipments. As a rule of thumb, I recommend air freight if the total cargo weight is less than 150 kgs. However, that is rarely the case when it comes to textiles. As such, sea freight or normally the best option when shipping clothing or other textiles from China.

Shipping Insurance

Transportation damages, such as broken cartons or mold-covered items, are common. If your goods arrived damaged, you can only receive compensation if you bought shipping insurance before the goods depart from the country of origin. Shipping insurance is not included by default, so you must specifically instruct your forwarder that the shipment should be insured &#; from the moment they collect the cargo at the factory, to the final delivery.

The insurance cost is calculated based on the cargo value, normally between $50 to $150. Whatever you do, make sure that you got insurance. That said, shipping insurance doesn&#;t cover the following:

Quality issues caused by the supplier
Lost sales caused delays
The shipping cost

Incoterms

Incoterms specify how and when the cargo is transferred from the seller to the buyer. I recommend that you buy according to FOB terms while booking a DAP shipment directly from the forwarder. Do not buy according to EXW terms, and do not book shipping according to CIF terms.

Export packaging

Many manufacturers use cheap and substandard export packaging, which often results in severe cargo damage during transportation. Hence, you must provide explicit instructions for how the cargo should be packed.

Inner cartons: 3 layers or 5 layers
Outer cartons: 5 layers, wrapped in plastic sheets and strapped to the pallets (if any)
ISPM 15 Pallets: May be required (if heavy cargo that cannot be manually unloaded)
Styrofoam frame: May be required
Plastic cover on all cartons (prevents mold)

Shipping Process

Below follows a summary of the door to door shipping process:

1. The supplier receives the balance payment

2. The products are packed and loaded on pallets

3. The freight forwarder sends a truck to the factory to pick up the cargo

4. The cargo is transported to the port of loading (e.g, Hong Kong). The forwarder should confirm the final cost, based on the actual weight and volume.

5. Pay the shipping cost directly to the forwarder

6. The cargo is loaded on the vessel and shipped to the final destination

7. The cargo arrives at the port of destination and is cleared through customs

8. The forwarder transports the cargo from the port of destination to your address

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