What gets checked before the container leaves the factory?

Once the container is closed and sealed, fixing a defect becomes expensive or impossible. Pre-shipment inspection is not a formality — it is the last point at which you can still act.

Timing is everything

A serious inspection is carried out on a batch that is at least 80% finished and packed, not on an early sample and not on pieces the factory hands you. Inspecting an early sample tells you about the factory's intentions, not its output.

And schedule it before the balance is paid. A report that arrives after shipping is a document for the file, not a negotiating tool.

The AQL standard — what it means in practice

Not every piece is checked; a random sample is drawn against a standard table. For a 3,000-piece batch that is normally 125 pieces. Defects are then classified:

• Critical: makes the product unsafe or unsellable — a broken needle left in a garment, for instance. Accepted: zero.
• Major: a buyer would notice it and return the item — a visible stain, an open seam, a measurement outside tolerance.
• Minor: a slight deviation that does not prevent sale — a loose thread.

The common level in apparel is AQL 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor defects. On 125 pieces that means accepting at most 7 major defects and rejecting the batch at 8. Write these numbers into the purchase order; without them the word "inspection" means nothing.

The checklist

• Measurements: chest width, body length, shoulder width and sleeve length against the approved chart, within ±1 cm. Several pieces per size are measured, not one.
• Fabric: actual weight on the scale, colour fastness, freedom from stains, and no dye-lot variation between cartons — the last of these is among the most common defects and the least often spotted.
• Stitching: straight seams, stitches per inch, secure sleeves and collar, no loose threads or skipped stitches.
• Print: colour matched to the approved sample, placement accuracy, and adhesion after a tape-pull and a test wash.
• Labels: correct fibre composition, care instructions, size, and barcode where applicable.
• Packing: size assortment inside the carton, correct carton numbering, and counts matching the packing list.

Laboratory tests worth asking for

Visual inspection does not catch everything. For a large order or a market with requirements, ask an independent laboratory for:

• Shrinkage after three washes.
• Colour fastness to washing, dry and wet rubbing, and perspiration.
• Actual fabric weight — it often arrives 5–10 grams lighter than agreed.
• Freedom from restricted substances in the dyes, if your market requires it.

Who inspects?

• The factory's own QC: free, but it is inspecting its own work. Useful as a first layer, not as a guarantee.
• An independent inspection company: a day rate that is modest against the value of a container. The right choice for large orders or a new factory.
• Your agent in China: combines independence with knowledge of the factory and continuous follow-up.

What the report must contain

A report without photographs is not a report. Require: images of the defective pieces, a table of actual against approved measurements, defect counts by classification, photographs of cartons and labels, and an explicit pass or fail verdict.

When a batch fails

1. Do not pay the balance.
2. Require 100% sorting at the factory's expense, then a re-inspection.
3. If the defect is in the fabric or the measurements, rework is usually impossible — negotiate a discount or a re-run.
4. Document everything in writing; verbal agreements evaporate in a dispute.

The clauses that make a claim enforceable

Inspection is worthless without a contract behind it. Put in the purchase order: the AQL levels as numbers, the measurement tolerance, the maximum shrinkage, the right to inspect before shipping, and the balance payment tied to an accepted inspection report. Five lines that protect the value of a whole container.