What goes in a tech pack

Most sampling delays are not caused by factories being slow. They are caused by a factory having to guess, guessing differently from what the brand pictured, and both sides discovering it three weeks later.

A tech pack exists to remove the guessing. Here is what it needs to contain.

1. Identity and commercial context

Boring, and constantly omitted.

• Style name and your style number. Every email, sample, invoice and carton should reference the same code.
• Version number and date. Tech packs change. Un-versioned packs cause garments made to superseded specifications.
• Season and required delivery date. The date it must be in your warehouse — not the date you would like it shipped.
• Quantity and size ratio. The real ratio. It changes marker planning, consumption and price.
• Target FOB price. Telling a factory your target saves everyone a round of sampling something commercially impossible.
• Destination market. Labelling, safety and fibre-content rules differ between the EU, UK, US and Australia.

2. Design and construction

• Flat technical sketches — front, back, and any detail views. Not a mood board and not a photograph of a model.
• Construction callouts on the sketch. Which seam is coverstitched, which is flatlocked, where the binding goes, whether the hem is twin-needle or blind.
• Fit intent in words. “Oversized, dropped shoulder, boxy” tells a pattern-maker something no measurement chart does.
• A reference garment if you have one. It answers questions nobody thought to ask.
• Details listed explicitly: neck tape, shoulder tape, pocket bags, drawcord type and length, eyelets, vents, gussets, hood construction.

3. Measurements — the part that causes most arguments

• A points-of-measure diagram. Two people measure “chest” differently unless you show them exactly where. This is the single most valuable page in a tech pack.
• A full graded size chart, not just the base size, covering every size you intend to order.
• Tolerances for every point. ±1 cm on body width and ±0.5 cm on neck openings is typical. Without written tolerances, “out of spec” is unenforceable.
• How to measure: flat on a table (almost always) or on a body. Say which.

4. Fabric

A specification, not a description. “Cotton” is not a specification.

• Construction: single jersey, 1×1 rib, interlock, French terry, knitted terry, fleece, jacquard.
• Weight in gsm, with a tolerance. ±5% is normal. Specify the finished weight — fabric gains weight through compacting. Our gsm converter has a weight guide if you are unsure what suits the garment.
• Composition and blend ratio, plus yarn count (for example 30s combed cotton), which drives hand feel more than most brands realise.
• Certification required: GOTS, OEKO-TEX, recycled content — and whether you need transaction certificates per shipment.
• Performance requirements: shrinkage after wash, pilling, colour fastness to washing, rubbing and light, and the test method for each.
• Trim fabrics: rib, binding, pocketing. Frequently forgotten, always needed.

5. Colour

• Colourway list with your names and codes.
• Standards: Pantone TCX references, or better, physical swatches posted to the factory. Screens lie, and they lie differently on every screen.
• Tolerance and formula: a number, plus which formula (CMC 2:1 or ΔE 2000) and which illuminants you will approve under. “ΔE under 1.0” alone is not a specification — see how to read a shade report.
• Which components are contrast: ribs, bindings, drawcords, zips, stitching.

6. Trims, labels and branding

• Main label, care label, size label — woven or printed, exact position, and the exact text.
• Hangtags and how they attach.
• Zips, buttons, poppers, cords, elastic — brand, size, colour, finish. Nickel-free where children are involved.
• Artwork for print or embroidery as vector files, with placement measured from the high point of shoulder, and colours specified.
• Care instructions and fibre content in the languages your market requires.

7. Packing and shipping

• Folding method and polybag specification, including any suffocation warning your market mandates.
• Carton assortment — solid size or ratio packs — and carton marking.
• Barcodes: EAN or UPC, position, and who is supplying them.
• Incoterms and destination: FOB, CIF or DDP, and the port or door.

What happens when a section is missing

Not a moral failure — just cost, in three predictable forms.

Extra sampling rounds. Each is two to four weeks. A pack with no fit intent or no tolerances reliably adds one.

Padded pricing. A factory quoting against ambiguity prices the risk in. Specify precisely and the number comes down, because the risk went away.

Unwinnable arguments. If a tolerance was never written down, nobody can prove a garment failed it. That conversation always happens at the worst possible moment.

You do not need expensive software

Plenty of excellent tech packs are a well-organised spreadsheet plus clear flat sketches. What matters is that every point above is answered somewhere, unambiguously, in one versioned document.

If you are early and do not have all of it yet, send what you have plus a reference garment. Our free tech pack checklist will show you exactly what is still outstanding, and lets you copy the gaps straight into an email.

And when it is ready, send it to us with your quantity and target price. We will come back with fabric options, a costing and an honest delivery date.