Maintenance
Part of Graphic apparel business guide: operations, rights, and records
Apparel product description, artwork permission, price, invoice, care, shipping, and record checklist
Apparel order checklist for product descriptions, artwork rights, costing, price, approvals, invoice, labels, care, production, shipping, returns, and records.
What to take away
- Verify eleven fields against the physical garment before copy goes live: fiber content, GSM weight, construction, print method, placement, dimensions, color, size chart, care code, origin claim, SKU.
- Write artwork authority that names product, quantity, territory, channel, term, edits and subcontracting, then file it beside the source asset.
- Chain every number through one job numberestimate, quote, change order, actual cost, invoice, payment and credit.
- Set retention on purpose. Tax and commercial records commonly run three years; contracts, rights and quality claims run longer.
- Reconcile units at purchase, sample, shipment, return and disposal, and keep label, page, packing slip and invoice matched.
An apparel order record answers seven questions: what the garment is, who owns the artwork, what it costs, what was invoiced, how it is cared for, how it ships, and how long the file stays. The sections below follow that order.
Product identity and description
The description is the specification customers, decorators and customer service work from. Build it from the sealed sample, not the supplier photo.
- Fiber content and construction taken from the garment label, not the line sheet.
- Fabric weight recorded in grams per square meter for fleece and knits.
- Print method named as screen print, direct to garment, or heat-applied vinyl.
- Placement measured in inches from a stated reference point, such as the front collar seam.
- Print area recorded as width by height in inches.
- Color described with a Pantone number and a simple name.
- Size chart gives chest, body length and sleeve length for each size.
- Care code, country of origin and SKU repeat on page, label and invoice.
Print method sets the durability claim you can make. A screen print and a direct-to-garment print on the same blank behave differently after ten washes, so the care code and the test record should agree.
Where placement, color and wash results already live in one file, the print placement, color, hand, cure, adhesion and release checklist shows how to keep them aligned.
Product identity and description
- Product name, style, supplier, color, size, variants
- Fiber, construction, fit, dimensions, finish, country
- Decoration method, graphic location, dimensions, colors
- Care and performance statements match decorated garment
- Handmade, local, recycled, organic claims have basis
- Product page, listing, ad, label, hangtag agree
Origin claims and market labeling
The FTC's Made in USA Rule page says an unqualified Made in USA claim should rest on evidence that the product is all or virtually all made in the United States. Flags, maps and factory photos feed the same net impression.
| Wording on the page | Evidence to hold |
|---|---|
| Made in USA, unqualified | Records showing all or virtually all US content and processing |
| Assembled in USA | Imported component records plus domestic assembly records |
| Printed in USA | Blank origin plus decoration location and date |
Keep qualified wording close to the claim and hold dated evidence for the exact variant on sale.
Artwork permission and license scope
Record creator, source, owner and file history for every graphic element. Permission fields must cover reproduction, product type, quantity, territory, channel, term, edits and subcontracting. Trademark approvals and brand guideline versions belong in the same folder.
Possession of a file does not prove a right to reproduce it. The Copyright Office's Circular 30 on works made for hire explains that a commissioned work does not automatically transfer authorship, so written scope carries more weight than payment alone.
When rights status is unclear, hold the job and ask the rights owner or qualified counsel rather than a customer warranty.
Cost, quote, invoice and payment trail
- Estimate. Give a range, label it an estimate, and list the assumptions behind it.
- Quote. Fix unit price, quantity breaks, setup, blank cost, decoration, freight, tax treatment and expiry date.
- Change order. Re-price and re-approve any artwork, quantity or date change in writing.
- Actual cost. Book blanks received, print time, spoilage, freight and duty against the job.
- Invoice. Use the same item names as the quote and show tax and credits on separate lines.
- Payment. Record terms, deposit, balance, method and date.
- Credit. Log shortages, defects, returns and royalty adjustments to the same job number.
A running cost file makes the invoice defensible. For the arithmetic on blanks, spoilage and setup, read how to cost and document a graphic apparel production order.
Cost, quote, and price
- Scope includes quantities, variants, locations, art, proofs
- Garment, decoration, labor, setup, overhead, spoilage costed
- Assumptions, cost date, currency, taxes, validity shown
- Margin or markup method defined and used consistently
- Deposit, balance, cancellation, rush terms explicit
- Accepted quote number and version linked to job
Care labels and durability evidence
The FTC Care Labeling Rule at 16 CFR 423 requires at least one care instruction on apparel, and ISO 3758 defines the care symbol set. ASTM Committee D13 publishes the textile test methods used for dimensional change, colorfastness and fabric strength.
Care wording on the garment should match the product page and packing slip word for word. Prints that crack, peel or fade usually trace to cure temperature, ink type or wash routine, and the guide to cracking, peeling, fading and shrinkage shows how to find the cause before you rewrite the claim.
Children's apparel adds CPSIA lead and phthalate limits, and Proposition 65 warnings for certain inks sit with the label and page.
Shipping, returns and quantity reconciliation
| Record | Fields it must carry | Dispute it closes |
|---|---|---|
| Packing list | Cartons, variants, quantities, destination | Carton count shortfalls |
| Carrier record | Service, tracking, declared value, insurance, handoff time | Loss and damage claims |
| Return record | Order number, condition, complaint, disposition, credit | Credit and replacement disputes |
Carrier claim windows are typically measured in days from delivery, so file damage and shortage claims the same week and photograph cartons first. Which party holds each record depends on your model, and the comparison of retail, wholesale, print-on-demand and licensing models sets out who files what.
Retention periods and disposal
Ranges below are typical for small US apparel businesses, not a legal standard. Confirm them with a tax adviser.
| Record | Typical retention |
|---|---|
| Tax returns and supporting sales records | 3 years after filing |
| Employment tax records | 4 years |
| Contracts, licenses and artwork assignments | Life of agreement plus sell-off window |
| Quality complaints and safety test files | 5 to 10 years |
| Warehouse, shipping and return records | 3 years |
A legal hold, audit or open complaint overrides routine deletion. Expired licensed files and personal data need controlled disposal rather than a shared drive.
