Garment sampling and prototyping in Bangladesh

A sample is a question put to a factory: can you make this, in this fit, this colour, with these trims. Garment sampling and prototyping in Bangladesh runs as a ladder, and each rung answers one question before money goes into bulk fabric. Brands launching a first range, adding a new garment type or moving production from another country all climb it, and many delays come from skipping a rung or sending incomplete inputs.

Sample charges are quoted alongside the unit price and, on most runs, credited against the bulk order. Each sample is made by the factory you pick from the quote sheet, then inspected and photographed before it is couriered to you. Bulk waits for your written approval of the PP sample, and every approval or rejection on the way is yours to give.

Kinds of garment sample

Proto sample

The first make from your tech pack or reference garment, often in substitute fabric and trims. It proves the design can be built and shows the construction before anyone argues about fit.

Fit sample

Made in the base size in fabric close to bulk and tried on a fit model or form. Measurement comments go back as a revised spec; one to three rounds is usual.

Size set

A piece in each size, or at least the smallest, base and largest, to check the grading before bulk. It proves the grade rule, not the base fit.

Lab dip and strike off

Colour and print approvals on cloth rather than garments. Lab dips match your colour standard; strike offs show print colour, size and placement on the real fabric.

Pre production sample

Bulk fabric, bulk trims, final labels and print, made the way bulk will be. Keep one signed piece: it becomes the reference the inspector works from.

Shipment sample

Pieces pulled from packed bulk and sent ahead of the goods or kept on file. They prove what shipped and settle questions after the goods arrive.

What to send for garment sampling and prototyping in Bangladesh

Tech pack or reference garment

A tech pack builds a proto fastest; a reference garment works if you mark on it what to keep and what to change.

Base size and measurement chart

Name the base size and give points of measure with tolerances, so the fit sample is judged against numbers, not impressions.

Fabric and trims for sampling

Say whether substitute fabric is acceptable for the proto. Nominated fabric or trims must be sent or booked early, because the sample cannot start without them.

Colour standards

A physical swatch or colour reference for every colour, so lab dips run alongside the fit rounds instead of after them.

Pieces per round

How many pieces each round and where they go: one to you, one kept at the factory, one for a lab or a buyer meeting.

Comments format

One document per round with photos, measurements and marked changes. Comments scattered across emails are a common cause of extra rounds.

Tests that run alongside sampling

ISO 5077 with ISO 6330

Dimensional change on the PP sample's fabric. If shrinkage is out, the pattern is corrected before bulk cutting, not after it.

ISO 105-C06

Colour fastness to washing on the approved shade, run on bulk fabric before PP approval for dark and bright colours.

EN 12127

Fabric weight from small samples. Confirms the sample cloth matches the specified GSM, so the hand feel you approve carries into bulk.

US CPSIA

For US children's products, third party testing at a CPSC accepted laboratory and a Children's Product Certificate. Ask on the quote form so the test sits in the sample timeline.

What moves the cost of sampling

• Number of rounds, since each proto or fit round adds making time and a courier charge.
• Sample fabric: bulk fabric must be bought first, while substitute cloth is quicker and cheaper for a proto.
• Pattern work, because a new pattern from a sketch takes longer than adapting the factory's existing block.
• Decoration set up: print screens, embroidery programmes and strike offs made for a handful of pieces.
• Express courier to your office, often several times per style.

Lead time for sampling and prototyping

Each sample round usually takes 7 to 14 days at the factory, plus a few working days by express courier and the days you take to comment. A new style typically goes through two or three rounds before the PP sample, so sampling often runs four to eight weeks before bulk can start. Nominated fabric, new artwork or a lab test lengthens it; the quote shows the expected sequence.

What we check in sampling and prototyping

• Sample against the tech packEach sample is measured and compared with the tech pack and the last round's comments before it is couriered.
• Comments carried overEvery comment from the previous round is ticked off on the new sample, so a fix made once is not lost again.
• PP sample materialsThe PP sample is checked to be in bulk fabric, bulk trims and final labels, since a PP in substitutes approves nothing.
• Photos before dispatchPhotos of each sample and the courier tracking go to you before dispatch, so comments can start before the parcel lands.

Questions buyers ask about sampling and prototyping