How this differs from the tech pack guide
The tech pack guide explains how to measure a finished boxer brief, which sections a full pack contains, and how to use the blank spreadsheet. Use it when you are filling the document. Use this checklist when you are deciding whether a first purchase order is ready.
- Tech pack guide: points of measure, tolerances, grading and the template.
- This checklist: lock now, confirm on sample, or leave open.
- RFQ workbook on the OEM page: the same brief sent to more than one supplier.
Lock these before you compare bulk quotations
Suppliers can price a direction. They cannot price an unspoken one. If a line below is still a guess, mark it as a preference and ask the quotation to list the assumption.
| Item | Before you compare quotes | On the sample | Can stay open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silhouette | Name the cut | Confirm shape against the reference | A later colourway of the same cut |
| Fabric direction | Composition family and hand feel you want | Hand feel, weight and the written composition | A backup cloth if the first is refused |
| Size range | Base size and the sizes you intend to sell | Base size measured | Graded table for sizes not in the first sample |
| Quantity split | Units by style, colour and size | Not a sample question | A revised split if a minimum forces it |
| Waistband method | Woven, printed, covered or plain | The actual band, stretched | Exact repeat spacing if you have not seen a strike-off |
| Labels | Which information must appear, and where | Wording and comfort | Translator’s final legal check with your importer |
| Pack | Polybag, box, header or undecided | The pack format you will approve | Carton marks, until the ship window |
| Destination | Country and channel | Not a sample question | Named port, until you choose a forwarder |
Leave these for the sample to prove
Do not invent finished measurements to look complete. A reference garment, a sketch and the base size are enough to start. The sample is where those numbers become a specification you can approve.
- Finished measurements and the tolerances you will accept.
- Elastic recovery and waistband comfort on a body, not only on a table.
- Stitching at the pouch, gusset and leg opening.
- Wash behaviour after the care method you expect to print.
- Logo placement on the real elastic or fabric, including at the smallest and largest size if the repeat matters.
- Any claim you intend to print: only after you have the record that supports it.
How to take each measurement sits in the tech pack guide, with the lettered diagram. Copy approved numbers into the template. Do not keep them only in a message thread.
First-order checklist
- One style name, one base size, and the sizes you plan to order.
- A reference garment, flat sketches, or both.
- Fabric direction written as a request, not as a claim copied from a catalog title.
- Quantity by style, colour and size, even if some lines are still estimates.
- Waistband and label method, or a clear statement that branding is undecided.
- Destination market and the channel (your store, a marketplace, or wholesale).
- The sample you are asking for, and the decisions that sample is allowed to approve.
- A revision note: what changed since the previous version of the brief.
- The name of the person who may approve the pre-production sample.
- An explicit list of lines still open, so the quotation can flag assumptions.
What to send if you do not have a tech pack yet
Send the reference or the sketches, the checklist above, and say which lines are undecided. Ask the factory to repeat those assumptions in the quotation. A quotation that silently fills the gaps is harder to compare than a short brief with blanks marked.
You can also start from the RFQ workbook on the OEM page so that every supplier answers the same grid. That workbook is a brief, not a production-ready pack. Move the approved lines into the tech pack template during sampling.
Revision control before the purchase order
- Give every file a date and a version. “Final” is not a version if it changes again.
- When a comment reverses an earlier comment, say so.
- The purchase order should name the sample and the file version it follows.
- A change after that approval needs a new sample decision and a look at price, minimum and schedule.
Use the blank template for the lines you have approved
Common questions
Do I need a finished tech pack to ask for a price?
No. A reference or sketches, a quantity split and a destination are enough to request a quotation. Mark undecided lines so the supplier lists assumptions. Build the pack as the sample confirms each line.
Can the factory fill in the measurements?
They can draft numbers from your reference garment for you to check. You still approve the finished measurements and the tolerances. A draft is not an approval.
What if I only have a catalog photo?
Say which photo is the reference and which details in it are not yours, especially waistband lettering and fabric names. A photo starts the conversation. It does not replace a sample or a composition.
When is the checklist done?
When every line you need on the purchase order is either approved on a sample or written as an open assumption the supplier has priced. Open lines that affect fit, fibre text or branding should not stay open into bulk production.
Ready to brief a style?
Send a reference garment or sketch, the quantities you are considering and your destination. The quotation will state what is included and how minimums are counted.