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A practical guide to inspecting a clothing order before it ships, using a sampling plan so you do not have to check every piece.
Checking every garment in a large order is rarely practical, so buyers inspect a random sample and use a sampling plan to decide whether to accept the whole lot. The most common approach is AQL, short for acceptable quality limit. This guide explains how an inspection works from start to finish. For the technology factories use, see our quality control technology guide.
Find your sample size and accept and reject numbers with the AQL Inspection Sampling Calculator.
Inspectors can only judge against something. Make sure the tech pack, measurements and tolerances, approved sample and any special requirements are agreed with the factory in writing. Agree what counts as a defect, too, so both sides read the standard the same way. See our guide to pre-production samples.
Many buyers inspect at more than one point: early in production to catch problems while they can still be fixed, and a final inspection when most or all of the order is finished and packed, before it ships. Build the dates into your timeline, and allow time to fix problems.
Plan inspection dates with the Production Timeline Planner.
An AQL sampling plan tells you how many garments to inspect from a lot, based on the lot size and an inspection level, and how many defects you may accept. The AQL itself is the highest defect rate you are willing to accept, and buyers often set a looser limit for minor defects than for major ones. The standard tables behind AQL plans, such as ISO 2859-1, are widely used, and your inspection company or calculator will apply them. Choose limits with your factory and write them into your order terms.
Defects are commonly grouped by seriousness. Critical defects could cause harm or break a rule, major defects would make a customer likely to return the garment, such as a hole, a wrong size or an open seam, and minor defects are small flaws, such as a loose thread, that most customers would accept. Agree your own definitions and examples in advance.
Draw the sample at random from finished, packed cartons. Check each garment against the spec: measurements, workmanship, color, fabric, labels, trims and packing. Record every defect with its type, and take photos of the problems. Check the carton marking and packing too.
The sampling plan gives two numbers: the most defects you can find and still accept the lot, and the point at which you reject it. If the count is at or below the accept number, the lot passes. If it is at or above the reject number, it fails. Then decide what happens next, such as rework and re-inspection, a discount or a replacement.
Write a short report with the counts, photos and decision, and share it with the factory the same day. Track results by factory and by order, so you can see trends and know where to look more closely next time.
AQL stands for acceptable quality limit. It is the highest defect rate you are willing to accept in a sampling inspection, and it sets how many defects a sample may contain before a lot is rejected.
They are the two limits from a sampling plan. If the defects found are at or below the accept number, the lot passes. If they reach the reject number, it fails.
No. AQL is a statistical sample, so a passing lot can still contain some defective garments. It helps you control the risk and does not remove it.
It can be your own team, a third-party inspection company or the factory's quality staff. Many buyers use an independent inspector for a more objective result.
Many buyers inspect during production, to catch problems early, and again after production when the order is finished and packed, before shipping.