What an inspection can and cannot tell you
A final random inspection checks a sample drawn from the finished lot. If the sample stays within the agreed limits, the lot is accepted; if not, it is held. The result estimates the quality of the whole lot but does not examine every piece, so it cannot show that no defective piece is present.
Laboratory tests are separate. They measure properties such as shrinkage and colourfastness that cannot be judged by eye, and they are covered below.
Three inspection points
| Point | When | What it catches |
|---|---|---|
| Before production | Materials have arrived and the pre-production sample is approved | Wrong fabric, trims or labels; shade outside the approved band; a sample that does not match the tech pack |
| During production | Part of the order is finished | Repeated sewing faults, measurement drift and wrong assembly, before the whole lot is made |
| Final inspection | Production is complete and most cartons are packed | Remaining defects, wrong counts, label and carton errors, packing problems |
Final inspection is the one most buyers plan around. Doing it when the order is complete and mostly packed lets the inspector draw pieces from the cartons that will actually ship.
Defect classes for men’s underwear
| Class | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Unsafe, or breaks a rule in the destination market. No tolerance. | A broken needle fragment inside a garment; a fibre-content label that is wrong for the destination; a hazardous substance found in a test |
| Major | Likely to make the buyer or the end customer reject or return the garment | A hole or run in the fabric; broken or skipped stitches; an open seam; elastic that does not recover; a wrong size label; a measurement outside tolerance; a colour or shade outside the approved band; a misplaced or misprinted logo |
| Minor | A small deviation that does not affect use | Loose thread ends; slightly uneven stitching; a small mark that wipes off; a fold line from packing that relaxes |
Agree the list with your supplier and put it in the purchase order. A defect that is not on the list becomes an argument at inspection.
AQL in plain terms
AQL stands for acceptance quality limit (older texts say acceptable quality level): the highest percentage of defective pieces that is still treated as acceptable as a process average. It works with a sampling plan, such as ISO 2859-1 or ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, which tells the inspector how many pieces to draw and how many defective pieces the lot may contain.
Many apparel buyers use general inspection level II and set the limits at zero tolerance (accept none) for critical defects, 2.5 for major defects and 4.0 for minor defects. That is a common buyer convention, not a requirement. Choose limits that suit your product and your customers.
| Lot size (pieces) | Sample size | AQL 2.5 (major): accept / reject | AQL 4.0 (minor): accept / reject |
|---|---|---|---|
| 501 to 1,200 | 80 | 5 / 6 | 7 / 8 |
| 1,201 to 3,200 | 125 | 7 / 8 | 10 / 11 |
| 3,201 to 10,000 | 200 | 10 / 11 | 14 / 15 |
| 10,001 to 35,000 | 315 | 14 / 15 | 21 / 22 |
Worked example: a final inspection of 5,000 pieces falls in the 3,201 to 10,000 band, so the inspector draws 200 pieces. The lot passes on major defects if no more than 10 of the 200 pieces have a major defect, and on minor defects if no more than 14 have a minor defect. It fails with 11 or more pieces with a major defect, or 15 or more with a minor defect. Any critical defect fails the lot. State in the purchase order whether defective pieces or individual defects are counted; a piece with more than one defect is classed by its most serious one.
What to check on a men’s underwear sample
- Measurements at the points of measure against the tolerances in the tech pack, in more than one size when the lot has several.
- Fabric, colour and print against the approved sample and the lab dip or strike-off.
- Stitching: skipped or broken stitches, open seams, puckering, and seam placement at the pouch and leg openings.
- Waistband and elastic: width, recovery after stretching, rolling and logo placement.
- Labels: content, size, care and placement against the approved artwork and the destination rules agreed with your importer.
- Cleanliness: stains, marks, odours, loose threads and lint.
- Packaging: polybag, header card or box as specified, a barcode that scans, and a pack count that matches the pack format.
- Cartons: carton marks, pieces per carton and the assortment of sizes and colours against the purchase order.
Inspection and laboratory tests are different
Inspection is visual and dimensional. Laboratory tests measure what the eye cannot: dimensional change after washing (for example ISO 5077 and AATCC TM135 for fabrics, AATCC TM150 for garments), colourfastness to washing, rubbing and perspiration (the ISO 105 series), pilling (for example ISO 12945-2) and fibre composition.
Decide which tests you need, the method, the acceptance criterion and the laboratory, and write them into the Tests tab of the tech pack template or into the purchase order. Reports on the production lot, not only on the sample, are what support the claims you make about the product.
When a lot fails
Agree before production what happens if the lot fails. Common remedies are:
- Sort and rework: the supplier inspects every piece, repairs or removes the defects, and the lot is re-inspected.
- Re-inspection: after correction a new sample is drawn, at a cost split agreed in advance.
- Negotiated acceptance: the buyer accepts the lot with a documented price or quantity adjustment.
- Rejection: the buyer refuses the lot. The purchase order should say who bears inspection, re-inspection and storage costs.
Terms to put in the purchase order
- The inspection points and who performs each one.
- The sampling standard, the inspection level and the AQL for critical, major and minor defects.
- The defect classification list.
- Measurement tolerances, referring to the tech pack.
- Test requirements and acceptance criteria.
- What happens to a failed lot and who pays.
- No release of the shipment until an accepted inspection result is in writing.
Common questions
Who should carry out the inspection?
Many buyers use an independent inspection company, their own staff or an agent. Choose someone independent of the production line, and give them the tech pack, the approved sample and the defect list.
Does a passed inspection mean every piece is good?
No. A pass means the sample stayed within the agreed limits; it does not prove that the whole lot is within the AQL. A few defective pieces can still be present, which is why the limits and the remedy for a failed lot are agreed in advance.
Can YXLP follow my inspection standard?
Tell us which inspection standard and defect list you use when you send the brief, so that the quotation can state how they apply to your order.
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.