Labels: inside, care and brand labels
List every label the brand expects, garment by garment. Inside labels carry the brand name and size, care labels carry washing and care information, and any additional brand label carries the brand story or mark the buyer wants inside the garment. State for each label whether artwork is supplied by the buyer or made to the buyer's artwork, whether the label needs approval before production, and where on the garment each label goes. A label note that says only private label will be answered with questions about every label type, and a sample made without approved labels cannot prove the final brand product. Care labels deserve special care, because care information must be correct for the garment and the market it will be sold in. Ask the supplier to confirm care label content for each garment style, rather than assuming one care label covers a whole range, because different garments in a range may need different care notes.
Tags, packaging and brand presentation
Hang tags, packaging bags, boxes and any brand inserts are part of a private-label product, not an afterthought. List hang tags with their artwork and attachment method, list packaging with its material and branding, and state whether packaging must be plain, branded, or branded with a specific print method. A private-label range sampled in plain packaging cannot prove brand presentation, and a brand that discovers a packaging problem after garment approval will need a second round for packaging alone. For retail private-label orders, add resale notes: barcodes, size stickers, or retail-ready packaging requirements, where they apply. For team or gym private-label orders, add team or gym branding notes for packaging, where packaging will be seen by team members or customers. Packaging notes belong in the first brief, alongside garment and label notes, so the sample can be checked as a complete brand product.
Artwork, colours and garment range for a brand
Private-label artwork must be sent with the first brief, with colour references for brand colours, and with a note about which garments each artwork applies to. A brand logo that works on a top may need a different size on leggings, and a brand colour that is clear on a dark garment may need a different treatment on a light garment. List artwork and colour notes per garment and per colour, so each sample can be checked as a branded garment, not only as a plain garment with a logo added later. Garment range planning matters as well. A private-label brand range usually includes several garments — tops, leggings, hoodies or sweatshirts — and each garment needs its own style, colour, size and logo notes, even when they share a brand. A brand range briefed as a single private-label line will be sampled as a single product, and the other garments in the range will not be proven at all.
Sampling a private-label order as a brand product
Judge a private-label sample as a brand product, with separate checks for garment fit and movement, logo clarity and placement, label correctness and placement, tag and packaging presentation, and colour consistency across the range. Ask the supplier how each check will be done, and what the buyer should look for when the sample arrives. A sample that passes garment fit but fails label placement is not a brand sample, and it should not be approved on garment fit alone. Ask the supplier to confirm which styles can carry a private label without new development, and which need a label, tag or packaging development step, before sampling starts. That confirmation separates a quick private-label sampling order from a development order, and it prevents a buyer from assuming every style is equally ready for a brand launch. Share your quantity and target date to get MOQ and lead time for your order, once the label and garment plans are clear, and ask for sampling confirmation per garment, not only for the range as a whole.
Checklist to copy into a private-label brief
Copy this checklist into the first private-label brief, and fill in each line. Garment range, listed garment by garment, with scene, construction, colours and sizes per garment. Logo artwork, method, size and placement per garment and per colour. Inside labels, care labels and any additional brand labels, with artwork source and approval notes. Hang tags and packaging, with artwork, material and branding notes, plus resale notes where they apply. Full size run per garment, with the sample size named. Quantity band and target date, with a request for MOQ and lead time for your order. Certificate document request, naming the styles it must cover, if documents are needed. A private-label brief that passes every line of this checklist can be sampled as a brand product from the first round, because the supplier will have garment, label, tag and packaging information together, instead of receiving brand details in separate messages after a plain sample has already been made.
From guide to brief
Turn this guide into a brief by naming the scene, the garments, the construction, the colours and sizes, and the logo placement, then share your quantity and target date to get MOQ and lead time for your order. Certificates available upon request.