AQL Inspection Calculator

AQL stands for Acceptable Quality Limit, and 2.5 is the defect rate at which a lot is still considered acceptable in the long run. It is not a promise that 2.5% of your goods will be faulty, and it is not a target. It is the parameter that sets how many defective pieces the inspector can find in the sample before the lot is rejected. On a 5,000-piece lot the inspector draws 200 pieces at General Level II, and at AQL 2.5 they accept the lot at 10 defects and reject it at 11.

Far fewer than most buyers expect, and the number does not scale linearly with the order. A 1,000-piece lot gets an 80-piece sample. A 5,000-piece lot gets 200. A 30,000-piece lot gets 315. That is the whole point of statistical sampling - the confidence comes from the sampling plan rather than from checking everything - but it does mean a single inspection is a check on the process, not a guarantee about every piece in the container.

AQL 2.5 for major defects with 4.0 for minors is the common hospitality standard and is what most third-party inspection bodies will assume if you do not say otherwise. Critical defects are inspected at zero, meaning any one of them fails the lot. Retail and private-label programmes often tighten majors to 1.5. Going below that starts to cost real money in rework without much practical gain, because at some point you are paying to chase defects the guest would never see.

A critical defect makes the goods unsafe or unsaleable, or creates a legal problem - a broken needle fragment, or a missing fibre-content label in a market that requires one. A major is something the guest or end customer would notice and reject: a hole, a prominent stain, a shade materially off the approved swatch, a size outside tolerance. A minor is a departure from spec that would not on its own cause a rejection, like a loose thread or a slightly uneven hem within tolerance.

Because almost every dispute is about classification, not about the number. Buyer and mill both agree on AQL 2.5, then disagree about whether a shade variation is a major or a minor - and that single judgement can flip a lot from accepted to rejected. The fix is unglamorous and effective: agree the defect classification list, and an approved shade swatch, before production starts rather than at the inspection.

It is the default inspection level in ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 and ISO 2859-1, and it is what third-party textile inspections almost always run. Level I uses a smaller sample and gives less protection; Level III uses a larger one and costs more. There are also special levels used for destructive or expensive tests where only a handful of pieces can be sacrificed. Unless you have specifically negotiated otherwise, assume Level II.

No, and it is worth being clear-eyed about that. A passed inspection means the sample drawn was consistent with a lot at or better than the agreed quality limit. Defects below the accept number were found and accepted - that is how the plan works. If you need certainty on every piece you are asking for 100% inspection, which is a different service at a different price, and for most linen programmes it is not worth what it costs.

Our standard minimum is 500 pcs trial / 2,000 pcs wholesale for towels, 200 sets trial (wholesale threshold to confirm) for bed linen, and 200 pcs trial (wholesale threshold to confirm) for bathrobes. "Per SKU" means per size and colour combination. We can run 500 pcs (trial run, small premium) for a genuine first trial. Below roughly 300 pieces we are honestly the wrong supplier — a loom set-up and a dye lot cost the same whether you order 100 towels or 1,000, so the per-piece price stops making sense for you. At that size a local wholesaler will serve you better, and we would rather tell you that than waste your week.

2 free pcs per spec — you pay courier only. Courier from Kerala to most countries runs $35–$60 via DHL or FedEx and arrives in 7–14 days. We recommend asking for two GSM weights side by side — most buyers change their mind about weight once they hold both. Sample cost is credited back against your first bulk order.

30% advance, 70% against B/L copy — so 70% of your money is still with you when the goods leave the port. You get photos of the actual production run before the balance is due. You can also appoint a third-party inspector (SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek, roughly $300–$500 for a single inspection) to check the goods at our factory before you release the balance; we will schedule it and give them access. If a shipment does not match the approved sample, we remake or credit it.

In most countries, no — not for commercial quantities of ordinary cotton textiles. In the US, UK, EU, UAE, Australia and Canada, a business tax or VAT registration number is normally all that is required, and your freight forwarder or customs broker files the entry for you. Some markets do require an importer registration (Saudi Arabia and Egypt among them). Tell us your country and we will tell you plainly what you need before you commit any money.

FOB means the price to get goods loaded onto the ship at Cochin port — freight, duty and local delivery are on top. As a rough guide, sea freight adds $0.15–$0.45 per towel on a shared container and less on a full one; import duty is typically 6–12% depending on your country. We quote CIF (freight included) or DDP (everything included, delivered to your address) on request, so you can compare one final number instead of guessing. Our landed-cost calculator does the arithmetic for you.

Yes, absolutely. Certification is not a hoop we make you jump through — it is simply how we already manufacture. Every piece is made under OEKO-TEX Standard 100 whether you ask for the certificate or not, and it costs you nothing extra. If you do not need the paperwork, do not ask for it and nothing about your order or price changes. Buyers who supply hotel groups or EU retailers usually want the documents; an Airbnb host or a salon owner almost never does.

30–45 days for production, plus shipping. Sea freight is 10–16 days to the Gulf, 22–30 days to Europe and the UK, 28–38 days to the US east coast, and 18–25 days to Australia. Air freight cuts that to 3–5 days but costs roughly 6–8× more per kilo, so it is worth it for samples and rarely worth it for bulk. Plan on about 8–10 weeks door to door for a first sea shipment.

Fair question, and one you should ask everyone. We are a manufacturer in Kerala, India — you can video-call the floor during Indian working hours with no notice, and we will walk the looms and the dye house for you. We will also give you our IEC (Import Export Code) and GST registration to verify independently. A trading company will usually decline a live unscheduled video call, which is the cheapest test you can run on any supplier.

Yes. Woven labels, printed care labels, embroidered logos, custom packaging and retail barcodes are all standard. Logo embroidery adds about $0.30–$0.60 per piece; a custom woven label adds about $0.06–$0.12. Private-label MOQ is 2,000 pieces per SKU rather than 500, because the label and packaging themselves carry a minimum run.