The ultimate clothing quality control checklist
Last updated: 9 Jul 2025
Streamline clothing quality control by following a comprehensive checklist, covering pre-production to final shipment inspections.
Key takeaways
- Ensure fabric quality, strength and colour consistency during pre-production to avoid defects
- Inspect fit, seam strength and stitching accuracy during production to ensure consistency
- Conduct final checks on visual defects, functionality, packaging and labelling before shipment
- Watch for fabric issues like stains and holes and construction problems like misaligned seams
- Use WorldFirst for secure, timely payments to suppliers to ensure smooth production and delivery
When you’re sourcing clothing from a supplier based in a whole different continent, the biggest concern is always quality. Can the supplier consistently deliver the same quality? Will they use the same materials as agreed upon? Will the stitching and finishing be perfect?
That’s where garment quality control can help.
Quality control in clothing is ideally carried out on the supplier’s side to ensure every product that’s being shipped aligns with the pre-discussed specifications.
Effective quality control in the clothing supply chain can reduce defective products, mitigate the chances of product recalls and improve customer trust.
Before you source garments for your business, take a look at our exhaustive garment quality control checklist.
Table of Contents
Stages of quality control in garment manufacturing
Pre-production quality control
The quality control process starts with pre-production, where every component of the garment is tested before it is assembled. The goal is to identify any defects in the fabric or garment accessories before construction starts. In fact, you should discuss this with your supplier before sourcing the products and placing an order.
If the clothing material is subpar, everything else will fall apart. The inspection should involve checking the fabric’s strength and shrinkage. You should also check for any defects and uneven colouring.
Here are the different ways fabric is tested for quality:
Durability: It assesses how well the fabric can withstand normal wear and tear over time. The fabric is tested under different conditions to analyze its long-term usability.
Colour fastness: It analyzes how the fabric resists losing its colour when exposed to different agents like heat, light and washing.
Comfort: This measures how comfortable it is to wear the fabric. Comfort is assessed by considering clothing aspects like moisture management, heat management, stretch and recovery, breathability and anti-static resistance.
Quality fade: Fade is the gradual decline in the fabric over time as the clothing is worn, washed and ironed. Generally, the lower the quality of the fabric, the quicker it will fade.
In-process quality control
Garments are checked throughout every stage of production, including when they are cut, sewed, washed, and finished. The goal of this apparel inspection process is to identify defects early on so that they can be fixed promptly, leading to time and cost savings.
Here are the key factors considered at this stage:
Fit: When it comes to clothing, it’s always the fit that determines whether customers will buy your products or not. Provide standard measurements to the supplier for every clothing size, along with the tolerances for each. These measurements can be shared in a size guide to help online buyers choose the right size.
A consistent fit aligned with your size guide can reduce returns and replacements.
Seam strength: The seam strength is inspected by applying controlled force to ensure the seams can comfortably withstand wear and tear.
Stitching accuracy: The stitching is checked for accuracy to prevent skipped stitches, loose threads, or irregular hems that could weaken the garment’s structure.
Post-production/ pre-shipment inspection
When the garments are manufactured and ready to be shipped, it’s time for the final pre-shipment inspection. Products are checked for defects using a garment quality control checklist and tested for their performance requirements
Here are the different checks that are carried out at this stage:
Visual inspection: The garment is inspected for any visible defects like stains, uneven dyeing, or irregularities in design or print.
Functionality test: The garment’s main features, including its buttons, hooks, snaps, and zippers, are tested.
Packaging and labelling: The garments should have the correct size labels, brand information and care instructions. The packaging should be good enough to protect the garments in transit.
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Types of garment defects to look for
Defects can occur at just about any stage of the production process. Understanding these issues and referencing a garment defects list can help you identify and address them before it’s too late.
Fabric defects
- Variations in colour: There can be variations in the final garments due to inconsistencies in the dyeing process. Identify colour variations early on and ensure all the garments have consistent colours across all the production batches.
- Stains: Oil or other stains can accumulate on fabrics during the manufacturing process. Check for these stains and ensure they are removed before shipment.
- Holes: Any tears, snags, or damage during the production and transportation process can leave the fabric with holes. Identifying and repairing them promptly is important. If a lot of pieces are showing up with holes, then there might be an issue with fabric quality.
Construction defects
- Misaligned seams: When pieces of fabric are not sewn together correctly, it can lead to misaligned seams.
- Broken stitches: There can be broken stitches in garments due to faulty sewing machines and it can also lead to holes and loose seams.
- Loose threads: Loose threads from improper trimming can make garments look low-quality and turn off customers.
Sizing defects
- Incorrect measurements: Garments may be oversized or undersized if they don’t match the size guide. Batch-wide sizing issues often occur due to errors in the template or cutting pattern.
- Inconsistent sizing occurs when garments in the same batch have varying measurements, leading to fit and comfort issues.
Make fast and secure supplier payments with WorldFirst
When you send supplier payments on time, garments are manufactured on time, quality control proceeds smoothly and shipments are sent promptly.
With WorldFirst, you can pay suppliers in China or anywhere else in the world like they are just around the corner.
Your World Account lets you set up virtual local currency accounts in 15+ currencies, including GBP, USD, CAD, EUR, AUD, NZD and CNH. Pay suppliers, collect payments from customers and hold funds until you are ready to repatriate them back to your bank account.
WorldFirst supports same-day or next-day payments at competitive interbank/mid-market rates (cut-off times apply), ensuring fast payments to suppliers. World Pay is also the only authorized payment partner to pay suppliers on 1688.com.
You’ll always get transparent and competitive transaction fees to collect, convert and manage funds in multiple currencies.
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Disclaimer: The information contained is general only and largely our views. Before acting on the information you should consider whether it is appropriate for you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions, estimates, mentioned products/services and referenced material constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. WorldFirst shall not be responsible for any losses or damages arising from your reliance of such information.
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