Textile & apparel sourcing in China
Fabric, fit, finish: textile does not forgive the approximate.
From fabric to finished garment, Chinese textile covers an immense range of qualities and prices. The difficulty is not finding, it is qualifying: compliant material, consistent cut, deadlines met.
Textile clusters split by specialty: knitwear and ready-to-wear around Guangzhou and Zhejiang (Keqiao, the world's largest fabric market), home linen in Jiangsu, technical and outdoor elsewhere. That specialisation is an advantage, provided you pick the factory whose craft truly matches your product, not the one that says yes to everything.
Textile drifts batch after batch: weight, dye lot, drape, sizing. You do not secure a programme on a good sample, but on a protocol: approved material, sealed pre-production sample, in-line control and an AQL inspection before shipment. That net, laid on the ground, is what turns a good price into a good delivery.
- Ready-to-wear
- Home linen
- Fabrics & materials
- Accessories
- Technical textile
We approve materials and pre-production runs, follow production and inspect before shipment. On a product where each batch can drift, fieldwork is what makes the difference.
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100
- Certifies the finished product is free of harmful substances. A benchmark expected by most European distributors.
- REACH
- Azo dyes, formaldehyde, heavy metals: EU rules restrict several substances common in dyeing and finishing.
- Labelling (EU 1007/2011)
- Fibre composition and care must be labelled per EU regulation. Build it into the spec, not at the end of the line.
- GOTS (organic)
- For organic-cotton ranges, GOTS certification covers material and processing chain.
- Flammability (childrenswear)
- Some categories, sleepwear, childrenswear, carry flammability requirements depending on destination markets.
300 to 1,000 pieces per colour in garments; fabrics are ordered by the roll, with a minimum per dye lot.
Development and sample 3 to 6 weeks, production 30 to 60 days, then transport.
Colour drift between dye lots, weight below spec, sizes off the European block, and poor wash colourfastness. We lock each point with a sealed sample and an AQL.
- How do you keep colour consistent batch to batch?
- With a signed sealed sample as the reference, and dye-lot control in production. A dye-lot gap is the number-one textile dispute: it is prevented, not fixed afterwards.
- Is the stated fabric weight reliable?
- Not always: it is a classic cost lever on the factory side. We measure actual weight at pre-production and inspection against the written spec.
- Will sizing match the European market?
- Only if the pattern and measurement chart are fixed and checked. We approve a block and verify measurements per size before shipment.