Tech pack

A tech pack is the document set a factory uses to quote and build a garment: flat sketches of the front and back, a measurement chart graded across every size, a materials list naming fabric weight and content, trim callouts for labels and drawcords, Pantone references for every color, and construction notes covering seams and stitch types. Cut-and-sew factories and most overseas private-label manufacturers won't quote without one.

We've seen a private-label order stall three weeks because the buyer sent reference photos and a paragraph of description instead of a real spec sheet — the factory came back with three different fit samples, none matching what the buyer pictured, because "longer in the body" means nothing without a measurement in inches on a grading chart. A proper tech pack turns that guessing into a single approved sample round.

Pros build a tech pack even for smaller private-label runs, not just full cut-and-sew programs, because it's the only way to get an apples-to-apples quote from more than one factory. At minimum it needs a point-of-measure chart, fabric spec including GSM, and a labeled flat sketch; complex garments add construction detail pages for seams, closures, and trims.

The mistake is treating a tech pack as optional paperwork for a "simple" order — even a straightforward relabeled blank benefits from a one-page spec covering label placement and size grading, and any garment involving pattern changes or new fabric sourcing is effectively unquotable without one.