Quality, checked at every stage.

Every manufacturer says quality is a priority. What matters to a buyer is what happens between the sample and the shipped garment, and whether it can be checked.

Quality in clothing is the match between what you approved and what you receive, across every size and every reorder. It is not a feeling and it is not a logo. It is a reference, a set of tolerances and a series of checks against both.

This page explains how quality assurance works in practice, so you know what to ask of any supplier, including us.

Everything starts with the sample. You review a physical garment, and you approve it or ask for changes. Once approved, it becomes the standard.

The measurements, the fabric, the construction and the decoration of that sample are recorded. When bulk is made, it is compared with the sample, not with a description of the sample. That is the difference between a quality check and an opinion.

No two garments are identical. Fabric stretches slightly, sewing varies by a few millimetres, and washing moves a measurement. The question is how much difference is acceptable.

A tolerance is a written limit: this measurement may vary by this much and no more. Without tolerances, a size medium can drift from order to order and nobody can say whether it is wrong. With them, a result is either within the limit or it is not.

We record tolerances against the approved sample before production, so there is a reference to check bulk against.

Checking at one point is not enough, because problems arise at different stages.

• Fabric compared with the approved sample before cutting, for weight, colour and handle.
• During sewing garments are checked as they are made, so a problem is caught early rather than on the whole run.
• Finished goods compared with the approved sample and the recorded tolerances.
• Decoration and labels placement, size and colour checked against the approved sample.
• Packing quantities, sizes and labelling checked before the goods are closed.

See our quality assurance and inspection capability pages for the detail of each step.

For larger orders it is not practical to measure every garment, so inspection often uses a sampling plan. A number of garments are drawn from the lot and checked, and the number of defects found decides whether the lot passes.

An acceptable quality limit, often shortened to AQL, is the agreed level of defects a lot may contain and still pass. Different defects are weighted differently: a cosmetic mark is not the same as a split seam.

We agree the inspection approach with you in writing, so you know how the goods will be checked and what a pass means before production starts.

Some buyers need more than an inspection. They need a test report or a certificate: fibre content, colour fastness, shrinkage or a safety test. Others need a management system or audit.

Our certifications page lists the certifications we hold with the issuing body, reference and scope, and links to verify them independently. If your customers require a particular test or standard, tell us at the start. We confirm in writing whether the specification can meet it, and we coordinate laboratory testing where it is needed.

Whatever a supplier tells you, ask to see the document and check the reference.

The most useful quality feature for a buyer is simple: seeing the result before the goods leave.

We share the inspection results with you before shipping. If something is outside tolerance, you see it while it can still be put right, not after the parcel has arrived. That also changes the conversation. Instead of arguing about what happened, you are looking at the same record.

If you need results in a particular format, or photographs of specific details, say so at the start and we will agree how to provide them.

Ask us to show an example of inspection documentation as well. It shows how we record findings and lets you judge whether it fits your requirements.

A good way to understand a supplier's quality is to hold their work. A sample shows you the fabric, the stitching, the labels and the finish, and it becomes the reference for everything that follows.

Send us what you have and ask for a quote and a sample. They are small, reversible steps that give you real information before any bulk decision.