Custom Knitwear Manufacturing for German Brands, Built to Spec

A German buyer usually opens with a measurement table rather than a mood board. The first sample is expected to be measurable against that table, and the discussion moves to tolerance, stitch density and how the fabric behaves after washing before it moves to price. Working that way suits a factory with its own pattern room, and it is how most of our German orders run.

Below: the specification workflow from chart to sealed carton, the recycled polyester position and the GRS documents behind it, German label copy, DDP delivery into the EU, and the sampling and inspection steps that sit in between.

The measurement chart arrives before the sketch

A German tech pack tends to carry a graded measurement chart, a tolerance column, construction notes and a care block. We build the pattern to that chart, grade it across your size set, and measure the first sample point by point against it, returning the numbers with the sample rather than a photograph and an opinion.

Where a chart is incomplete, the gaps are named before sampling starts. Our pattern room will not fill a missing measurement with a house figure and leave you to find it at the fitting; the run waits for the number. Files come in as tech packs in PDF or Excel and artwork in AI, EPS or high-resolution PDF, and a spec that arrives in one file moves faster than the same spec arriving across three emails.

Recycled polyester, and the documents that travel with it

Recycled polyester-spandex is a standard knit for us rather than a special order. For German buyers the material question is usually less about the yarn than about the paper: transaction certificates, the scope of the claim, and which stage of the chain each document covers. GRS documentation is arranged to your order, and the wording printed on the label is set to what that documentation supports. The certified fabric answer covers the document set in more detail.

We also run nylon-spandex, polyester-spandex and cotton blends. Knit weights sit in bands of 140–180, 180–220, 220–260, 230–240, 260–300, 240–320 and 220–280 GSM, with 240–550 for fleece hoodies. Naming a band at enquiry is enough to get a fabric card back with the quote.

German label copy, printed from the text you send

The care and composition block is written by the buyer and printed by us. German copy arrives as final text: fibre percentages, the five care symbols, the size designation and any care note the retailer asks for. We set it in the label format the tech pack names — woven, printed or heat transfer — and place it where the drawing shows.

Size designation is worth settling early. German retail often reads 36–48 on the ticket while the pattern is graded on an EU chart; both are supported, and the ticket text follows your instruction rather than a house convention. The same applies to the care wording: it is your compliance statement, set in our print.

DDP into Germany, alongside two other terms

A single EU order is often quoted DDP, delivered to the address on the purchase order, with the import formalities handled on our side. The alternative terms are EXW and FOB Shenzhen Yantian, used where your own forwarder and broker are already in place. We quote the three side by side so the landed comparison is visible before anything is decided.

Settlement is a deposit by T/T, the balance paid before loading, and a sight L/C for orders that fill a container. Nothing in the quotation is left as a range: fabric, trims and making-up are itemised separately, and the sampling date is stated rather than implied.

Sampling, bulk, and the inspection record that closes a run

A quotation starts at 100 pieces per style per colour, and at 200 where the construction is bonded or seam-sealed. On cost there is one arrangement, set out in the quotation before anything is cut: a fee quoted per style, confirmed in writing before sampling, and credited against your first order at 300 pieces per style.

The first sample takes 3–7 days and includes a wash test, which carries more weight here than in most markets: a garment that measures correctly before washing and drifts past tolerance afterwards has not met the chart. Once the pre-production sample is approved it becomes the reference for bulk, and bulk takes 15–25 days from that approval.

Quality control is 100% inspection, in-line and final, accepted to AQL 2.5 and measured against the graded spec. The record is kept against the order number and can be sent with the shipping documents. Our floor in Dongguan has run since 2009 across 18,000 square metres with 180 staff and ISO 9001 certification, producing 150,000 to 200,000 pieces a month.

Questions German buyers raise before a first run

Can you supply GRS documentation for a recycled polyester order?

Yes. Recycled polyester-spandex is a standard knit here, and GRS documentation is arranged to your order so the claim on the label matches what the paperwork supports. Tell us at enquiry which scope of claim you need to make and the document set is confirmed alongside the quotation, before sampling begins.

Do you work to a measurement chart with tolerances?

That is the normal basis for a German order. The chart is graded, the first sample is measured against it point by point, and the numbers come back with the sample. Where a measurement is missing, we ask before cutting rather than substituting a figure of our own.

Who writes the German care label text?

You do, and we print it. Fibre percentages, care symbols and size designation are set from your final copy, in the label format your tech pack specifies, and placed as drawn. We do not translate or draft the wording, which keeps the compliance statement with the party accountable for it.

Is DDP available on a single EU order?

Yes. DDP is quoted alongside EXW and FOB Shenzhen Yantian on most German enquiries, with delivery to the address on the order. The invoice currency is agreed when the order is confirmed, and the import formalities sit on our side of the term rather than on yours.

Next step

Send the measurement chart, the fabric call and the claim you need to make on the label, and the quote comes back with the document set attached and a sampling date on it. Write to the factory, or see how recycled knit activewear is built for the category. Brands also producing for the French and Dutch markets run the same specification workflow from this floor.