How clothes get checked before they ship
An inspection checks finished clothes against what was approved; its findings decide whether the order can ship or needs correction and another check.
Quick answers from this guide
When are clothes inspected before shipping?
The final inspection usually happens when the order is substantially complete and enough clothes are packed to represent the quantity being offered for checking. Checks should also happen when materials arrive, when the sample is approved, on the first clothes made for the order and while making continues. Those earlier checks allow faults to be corrected before more clothes are affected.
What does an inspection of finished clothes check?
An inspection checks the available quantity, sewing and appearance, selected measurements, labels and packing against the approved instructions and sample. The inspector records faults and judges them using rules agreed before the visit. The report should identify the clothes available, the pieces selected, the checks completed and whether the inspected quantity met the agreed conditions for shipping.
How many pieces of clothing get checked?
The number of pieces checked comes from an agreed selection and counting plan, using the quantity available for inspection and the chosen level of checking. The inspector selects pieces randomly across boxes, sizes and colours. The plan also sets the fault counts that lead to a pass or failure, with separate limits for faults of different seriousness.
Does a passed inspection mean every piece is fault-free?
A passed inspection means the pieces selected from the stated quantity met the agreed inspection rules at the time of checking. Other pieces may still contain faults. Visual checks also cannot establish how the fabric will withstand washing or whether colour will transfer. Relevant laboratory tests and records of checks during making provide separate evidence about the clothes.
What does a failed inspection mean for the delivery date?
A failed inspection can move the delivery date because the affected clothes need to be held, the cause checked and the correction completed. Repairs, replacement materials and another inspection all take time. The maker and brand need to establish which clothes are affected and what work remains before agreeing a revised shipping date and considering its effect on delivery.
On this page 7 sections
Before clothes ship, an inspector checks a randomly selected group against the approved sample and written instructions, then reports whether the available order meets the agreed rules for shipping. The check covers how the clothes are made and presented, including selected measurements, labels and packing. A failed result means the affected clothes need to be held while the problem is investigated and corrected, with time allowed for another inspection.
The maker, brand and inspector need to agree what the clothes should look like and which faults would stop them leaving. Record that agreement when approving the sample.
01The approved sample gives the inspector something to check against
The sample production is checked against is a physical reference for the clothes the maker has agreed to reproduce. Identify it by the design, colour and version approved. Keep it with the current document that tells the maker what to make, so the inspector can compare the finished clothes with the same instructions used during making.
The measurements need more than a target for each size. They also need the amount of variation allowed and instructions showing where and how to measure. Without those details, two people can measure from different points and reach different conclusions about the same piece of clothing.
Appearance needs references too. The approved fabric and colour show what the cloth should look like. Artwork records how a print should appear and where it should sit. Photographs can help settle an appearance detail that would otherwise be left to personal judgement.
Keep approved changes together with these references. If the maker was instructed to change a measurement after the sample was approved, the inspector needs that instruction. Otherwise, clothes made to the later instruction can be rejected against an earlier one. Name the person who can authorise a change or decide what happens when the references disagree.
02Checks during making catch problems before more clothes are affected
Final inspection is the last confirmation in a sequence of checks. Earlier checks happen when materials arrive, when the sample is approved and when the maker produces the first pieces for the order. Checking continues while the rest of the clothes are being made.
Each stage gives a different opportunity to correct the work. A fault in fabric can be identified before the fabric is used. The first finished pieces show whether the maker's production methods reproduce the approved sample. Checks while making continues can reveal repeated sewing or finishing faults while there is still time to change the process.
The final inspection usually happens when the order is substantially complete and enough clothes are packed to represent the quantity being offered. The inspector first confirms what is physically available. An order for more clothes does not make the unfinished portion part of the inspected quantity.
This distinction belongs in the report. A pass applies to the defined quantity offered for checking. If only part of the order was available, the result cannot stand for the rest. Confirm the available colours and sizes, along with the boxes containing them, before selection begins.
03The inspection covers sewing, appearance, measurements and packing
The inspector looks for sewing faults such as open seams, missed stitches and uneven visible stitching. Fabric and appearance checks can reveal holes, stains or differences in colour between pieces. A print may be the wrong artwork or sit in the wrong position. Each finding is compared with the approved reference.
Selected pieces are measured against the approved measurements for their sizes and the allowed variation. A measurement outside that allowance can change fit or proportion. The measurement method matters here: the result needs to describe the clothes using the same approach that was agreed with the maker.
Fastenings and labels are checked too. A zip may be broken, a button insecure or a label different from the approved artwork. Packing checks cover how the clothes are folded, whether the right mix of sizes and colours is in the boxes, and whether the writing on the boxes matches the instructions.
State any required tests or additional checks in the written brief before the visit. A visual inspection cannot establish wash durability, colour transfer or fibre content. Those questions need relevant laboratory testing, planned early enough for the findings to affect material or making decisions. Keep the test results alongside the inspection report.
04Random selection makes the result relevant to the available clothes
The inspector checks a selected group from the quantity available. How many pieces to select comes from a plan agreed in advance. That plan uses the available quantity and the chosen level of checking to set the number examined, along with the fault counts that decide a pass or failure.
Do not choose the number by guessing a proportion on the day. Ask the inspection provider to record the exact plan being used, including its version. Reusing a calculation from an earlier order can give the wrong basis if the quantity or the agreed method has changed.
Selection must reach across the available clothes. Taking only pieces from the top boxes, one finished colour or a group prepared by the maker can hide differences elsewhere. Boxes should be selected across the available order, with pieces drawn across sizes, colours and positions within the boxes in a way that represents what is being offered.
A pass means that the pieces checked met the agreed plan at that time. There can still be faults among pieces that were not examined. Read the result together with the quantity it covers and the checks carried out. Records from earlier checks and any corrections help show what happened during making, beyond what the final selection revealed.
05Faults are judged by their effect on the clothes
Agree how faults will be treated before inspection. A short document with photographs can show the likely faults for each design and how seriously each should be counted. The position and consequence of a fault matter. A loose thread hidden inside a top and a thread caught in a working fastening do not necessarily call for the same decision.
Faults with a safety consequence require the strictest handling under the agreed rules. An exposed sharp point or needle fragment can require an immediate hold and escalation. State who must be contacted and which clothes must be held while the cause and extent of the problem are checked. If the inspector finds a safety concern that the written examples do not cover, hold the affected clothes for a decision.
Other faults materially change appearance, fit or use. A broken zip, an open seam at a point under strain or a conspicuous difference in colour can fall into this group. Smaller departures, such as a removable pressing mark in a concealed position, may receive a less serious classification under the agreed rules. They still get recorded.
Each group has its own acceptance and rejection counts. A small number of less serious faults cannot cancel out a failed count in a more serious group. Agree how related faults are counted as well, so one damaged area is not counted repeatedly under different descriptions and separate faults are not hidden inside one vague entry.
06A failed result needs correction before a new shipping decision
The report should show what was available and what was selected, with measurements, photographs and recorded faults. It should state whether the defined quantity met the agreed inspection rules. The brand then decides the response to a hold, including the work needed before the clothes can be offered again.
Start by identifying and setting aside the affected clothes. Look for a pattern in the findings. A fault concentrated in a particular colour, size or part of the making process may point towards a fabric roll, a fastening batch or a machine setting. The correction needs to address that cause and include a check that it worked.
Repairing only the pieces the inspector found can leave the same problem in the rest of the order. Establish how far the fault extends, correct the affected clothes and check them. Then define the quantity being presented for another inspection and record what changed.
A failed order can be inspected again after correction. Keep the first findings and the evidence of the work completed with the later report. That record makes the new shipping decision traceable and gives the next order a clearer set of known faults to check during making.
07The delivery date must allow for correction and another inspection
Repairs take time. Replacement materials and another inspection also need time, and those steps can move the shipping date. The useful response to a failure is a revised sequence of work based on the fault found and the quantity affected.
Ask the maker to set out the correction needed and when the affected clothes will be ready to check again. Confirm the arrangements for that inspection and who will decide whether the clothes can ship. Use those dependencies to review the delivery date. Until the cause and extent of the fault are established, the original date does not describe the work still required.
Plan for these decisions before shipping is due. The inspection brief should already name the person who handles a failed result, and the making schedule should account for correction and further checking. A final report then leads to a clear action: approval to ship, a hold while a fault is investigated, or correction followed by another inspection. The delivery plan can follow the recorded condition of the clothes.