Which Tech-Pack Fields Must Be Locked Before A Sportswear Sample?

The first page should identify the style before it describes the fabric. Give the garment a stable style code, product name, sport, intended wearer, use case, destination market, season or order reference, sample stage and revision number. Put a date and named approver beside the revision. When the artwork, label or measurement table changes, issue a new revision and list the changed fields rather than replacing an attachment silently. This prevents a supplier from sampling the latest jersey body with an older sponsor file or care label.

Destination belongs at the top because label and traceability fields are not universal. The current EU General Product Safety Regulation text requires product identification such as a type, batch or serial number and manufacturer contact information, with placement alternatives where the product itself cannot carry it. The US Textile Fiber Rule calls for generic fibre percentages, the manufacturer or marketer identity and country of processing or manufacture on covered products. UK guidance says fibre content must be shown and assigns responsibility to manufacturers and retailers. The brand or importer should determine the rules that apply to the exact product and market, then supply approved copy; a factory tech pack is not a substitute for destination-specific legal review.

Evidence: EUR-Lex, European Union · United States Federal Trade Commission · UK Department for Business and Trade

A size name such as adult medium does not tell the pattern team what to make. ISO 8559-1 provides anthropometric definitions and measurement principles for building population size and shape profiles. That is a body-measurement reference. The tech pack must separately state the finished-garment points of measure used to approve the sample: for a jersey these may include half chest, body length, shoulder width, sleeve length, sleeve opening and hem width, each with a diagram, measurement path, unit and tolerance.

Link each finished measurement to the size row and identify whether the garment is relaxed, slim, compression or designed to fit over protective equipment. State whether dimensions are measured flat, whether rib and elastic are relaxed or extended and whether curved seams follow the seam line. Record the base size and grade increments rather than asking the factory to infer every size from one sample. A club roster sheet can then map player names and quantities to the approved size chart without changing the garment specification itself.

Evidence: International Organization for Standardization

Fabric weight alone is not a fabric identity. Record the construction, fibre composition supplied for verification, target mass with an agreed tolerance, usable width where purchasing depends on it, stretch direction, colour reference, finish and panel location. A mesh underarm panel and an interlock body require separate entries even if both are polyester. Attach a swatch reference or supplier article code and state which approved physical sample controls hand feel and appearance.

Label copy must use the terminology required in the destination. EU Regulation 1007/2011 reserves the listed textile fibre names for fibres that match its Annex I descriptions and requires composition information to be legible, visible and clear, including before electronic purchase. The FTC rule summary requires generic names and percentages by weight for covered US textiles. UK guidance requires fibre content and says components with different compositions may need separate disclosure. The buyer should therefore provide verified component-by-component copy and language requirements instead of asking the sewing line to derive label percentages from a fabric nickname or purchase invoice.

Evidence: EUR-Lex, European Union · United States Federal Trade Commission · UK Department for Business and Trade

Care instructions cannot be approved from the shell fabric alone. The printed number, transfer film, embroidery backing, elastic, rib, zip, label and mixed-colour panels may create the limiting treatment. ISO 3758:2023 establishes graphic care symbols for the most severe treatments that do not cause irreversible damage and covers washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional textile care. The tech pack should identify the standard or destination system used, the exact approved symbols or words, label order and language, and the evidence supporting that instruction.

For covered US wearing apparel, the FTC Care Labeling Rule requires manufacturers and importers to attach care labels and says the label must state the regular care needed for ordinary use. If packaging or folding prevents the consumer from seeing or easily finding the label, care information must also appear outside the package or on an attached hang tag. Before label production, test the complete decorated sample using the proposed method, inspect colour change, dimensional change, print, trims and seam appearance, then record who approved the result. Do not turn a generic wash cold note into a durability promise.

Evidence: International Organization for Standardization · United States Federal Trade Commission

Every decoration needs a production file and a placement instruction. Name the editable vector file, colour mode or references, finished dimensions, distance from a seam or centre line, application method and version. Give front, back, sleeve and short views with each crest, sponsor, player name and number zone called out. For variable data, use one controlled roster with one garment per row and separate columns for style, colour, garment size, number and name. The visual mock-up shows intent; the dimensioned artwork page controls production.

Use a label schedule for the main brand label, size pip, fibre and care label, country-of-origin line, batch or product identifier, hang tag and barcode. Show the label artwork, finished size, fold type, substrate, attachment seam and reading direction. Identify which party owns the barcode and final consumer copy. Keep other marketing statements separate from regulated fibre descriptions where the destination requires that separation. A sample should be rejected for missing or obsolete label content even when its stitching and fit are acceptable.

Evidence: EUR-Lex, European Union · EUR-Lex, European Union

Complete the tech pack with the unit-fold diagram, polybag or alternative packaging specification, size sticker position, units per inner pack, inners per carton, size assortment, carton dimensions or limits, carton marks and destination shipping label. State whether player orders are packed by person, team, size or SKU. If a retailer needs barcodes or price-free hang tags, place the approved data in a separate packing table rather than embedding it in email instructions.

The sample approval sheet should point back to the exact tech-pack revision and list unresolved deviations. Sign fit, measurements, fabric, colour, decoration, labels and packing separately so a conditional approval cannot be read as permission to ignore an open issue. After approval, archive the PDF, source artwork, roster, test evidence, sample photographs and signed comments under one job reference. For a reorder, begin with that record but reconfirm current destination rules, contact data and label copy before releasing production.