Factory Tools for Apparel Buyers

The tools on this page are the ones our own team uses when a spec lands on the desk: converting a fabric weight between the units two markets use, checking a sample against its paper spec, estimating what an order will consume, and turning a delivery date into the day the order has to start. They run in your browser, they are free, and the arithmetic behind them is the same arithmetic our floor uses on incoming fabric and on the production calendar.

• Fabric GSM calculator — convert g/m² to oz/yd² and back, work out the weight of a sample you cut and weighed, and estimate the fabric weight and length behind an order.
• Production lead time calculator — work back from the date the goods are needed to the day an order has to start, or forward from the deposit to the day the goods land.

Why weight is the number to start from

Almost every conversation with a new buyer starts with weight. It decides how the garment hangs, how it survives washing, what it costs to freight, and whether the fabric a mill offers is the fabric you asked for. Getting the number right — in the unit your supplier weighs against — removes one of the most common sources of rework between a brief and a bulk order.

Each tool explains the arithmetic it performs, so you can check the result by hand. If a figure does not match what your side of the table expects, send us the numbers you have and we will tell you where they disagree.

Why the calendar comes next

Weight settles what the garment is. The calendar settles whether it can be made in time. A delivery date agreed without that arithmetic is a guess, and the lead time calculator exists to remove the guess: it takes the date the goods are needed, subtracts freight and clearance, then our bulk window, then the sample round, and returns the day the order has to start. It uses the published figures, 3–7 working days for a sample and 15–25 for bulk after approval and deposit.

If the answer lands in the past, the number worth reading is the gap rather than the date itself: it says how many days the plan is short, and the three inputs that can close it are freight, clearance and your own approval time. The production window is not one of them.

Reading a spec sheet with the calculator

A typical brief arrives with the weight written in one unit and the price basis in another, or with a sample in hand and no paperwork at all. The three tabs cover those situations: convert the unit first, weigh the sample if there is no spec, then size the order once the fabric is agreed. The tables on our manufacturing pages list both units side by side, so a figure checked here can be traced straight back to the fabric we would quote from.

From the numbers to a garment

Weight is one input among several. When you are ready to move from a spec to a sample, our T-shirt, hoodie and yoga category pages list the weight ranges we hold for each garment type, the small batch guide explains how a first order is structured around a 100-piece minimum per style per colour, and the production timeline sets out what runs inside each stage of the calendar.

Frequently asked questions

What tools does SLSPOLO provide for buyers?

The factory provides free browser-based tools for apparel buyers. The fabric GSM calculator converts grams per square metre to ounces per square yard and back, calculates the weight of a sample you have cut and weighed yourself, and estimates the fabric weight, area and length behind an order at a given quantity. Every tool explains the arithmetic it performs, so results can be checked by hand against your own spec sheet.

Do I need an account to use the calculators?

No. The tools run entirely in your browser, and nothing you type is transmitted or stored by the site. You can use them as often as you like before sending an enquiry, and you can check the results by hand because the arithmetic behind each calculator is written out on the page next to it. If a result does not match the figure on your own spec sheet, send us the numbers you have and we will look at where the two disagree.

Which unit should I use when briefing a factory?

Ask which unit your supplier weighs against and use that one. Mills in China quote fabric weight in grams per square metre, so giving a GSM figure removes one rounding step from the specification. If your side of the table works in ounces per square yard, the calculator converts either way, and the fabric tables on the category pages list both units side by side for every garment type.

How accurate are the order estimates?

The weight figures are exact arithmetic: fabric weight times area times quantity. What the tools do not include is marker waste, because the gap between pattern pieces depends on the style, the piece count and the roll width. Treat the estimate as the net figure your garment consumes, and ask the factory to produce the marker for your style to turn it into a purchase length you can plan an order around.

Can these tools plan a delivery date?

Yes. The production lead time calculator takes the date the goods are needed in hand and works backwards through freight, clearance, the 15–25 working day bulk window and the 3–7 working day sample window to the last day an order can still start. It also runs forward from a deposit date to an expected arrival date. Freight and clearance are entered by you, because those figures come from your forwarder and your broker rather than from the factory.