How does garment manufacturing actually work?
The Anmol Journal.
Girls Checkered Knee Length Frock · Viscose. A style from current production. From the lead guide, below.
01Lead guide · Development · 2 min read
How a tech pack becomes a production style
The route from a buyer's document to a style that can be cut in bulk, and the questions that come up on the way.
AnswersWhat happens to my tech pack once I send it?
Read the guide02Contents
Ten guides, by topic.
Each guide takes one question a buyer has to settle, from the first tech pack to the last carton, and answers it in plain language, with figures drawn from real styles and real stages.
Development
02 guides
- 01What happens to my tech pack once I send it?How a tech pack becomes a production styleLead guide, above
- 03Why does sampling take more than one round?What happens between proto and bulkSampling is where a style is proved. Each sample answers a different question, and bulk starts only when the last one is answered.
Quality
02 guides
- 04What does AQL actually mean?How garment QA worksQuality control in garment production is a sequence of checks, each placed where a defect is cheapest to catch. Here is the sequence, and what AQL means.
- 05What should I check before I approve bulk?What buyers should check before bulk approvalApproving bulk is the last inexpensive decision in a programme. A short list of checks makes sure it is the right one.
Programmes
02 guides
- 08How are many styles kept moving at once?How retail programmes are managedA retail programme is many styles, colours, sizes and deliveries moving at once. Managing it comes down to owners, gates and one reference for every decision.
- 10Who owns what in private label?How private-label manufacturing worksPrivate label means garments made to a retailer's or brand's specification and sold under their name. Here is how the responsibilities divide.
03Index
The words of the trade, and where they are explained.
45 terms that a tech pack, a sample comment or an inspection report will use, each linked to the section of a journal guide or a buyer guide that explains it.
- Carton marksBuyer guide 09 · §01Packing requirements
- Certificate of originBuyer guide 10 · §01Export documentation guide
- Collar standJournal 06 · §03Understanding woven construction
- Commercial invoiceBuyer guide 10 · §01Export documentation guide
- Corrective action planJournal 09 · §05Preparing for a factory audit
- Counter sampleJournal 03 · §04What happens between proto and bulk
- Critical, major and minor defectsJournal 04 · §04How garment QA works
- Cuban and camp collarsJournal 06 · §03Understanding woven construction
- Piece printingJournal 07 · §04Embroidery and value addition
- Placement printJournal 07 · §04Embroidery and value addition
- PlacketJournal 06 · §03Understanding woven construction
- Plain weaveJournal 02 · §02Why fabric choice changes garment performance
- Private labelJournal 10 · §01How private-label manufacturing works
- Proto sampleJournal 03 · §01What happens between proto and bulk
- Salesman sampleJournal 03 · §03What happens between proto and bulk
- Shipping billBuyer guide 10 · §01Export documentation guide
- ShrinkageJournal 02 · §03Why fabric choice changes garment performance
- Social compliance auditJournal 09 · §01Preparing for a factory audit
- Strike-offJournal 05 · §04What buyers should check before bulk approval
04Buyer resources
Read the reasoning. Then use the checklist.
The resource centre turns the same ground into twelve printable checklists and tables: what to send, what to decide and what to approve, in the order a programme needs them.
All buyer resources- GuideHow to prepare a tech packWhat a complete tech pack contains, how to check it before sending, and what to send if you do not have one yet.
- ChecklistWhat we need for a quoteThe information that turns an enquiry into an accurate quotation, and why each item moves the price.
- GuideSampling: a buyer's guideWhat each sample is for, what to check on it, and how to give comments that move a style forward.
- ChecklistPre-production checklistEverything that should be approved and confirmed before bulk cutting starts, in one list.
A question the guides don’t answer?
Ask it with your enquiry, or read the questions buyers ask most, answered by topic.