Cotton Jersey Lot That Shrinks 8.2% With 2,400 Shirts Already Cut
A Ludhiana unit must ship 6,000 cotton single-jersey polo T-shirts (180 GSM) for a school-uniform order in 12 days. The buyer's specification allows a maximum of 5% length shrinkage and 4% width shrinkage after one 40 °C wash. The fabric lab report on the bulk lot shows 8.2% length and 5.6% width shrinkage. Fabric for 2,400 shirts has already been cut and is in the sewing line; the rest is still in rolls. The buyer will not accept a heavier GSM, a change in hand feel, or a renegotiated delivery date, and the contract carries a 3% late-delivery penalty. The finisher can compact the remaining rolls in four days. The production manager wants to ship everything as it is and argue that the buyer's own wash test may give a different result. The merchandiser has one week to reply to the buyer and must decide what to do with both the cut panels and the remaining fabric.
1. Explain why the bulk fabric shrank beyond specification and evaluate the production manager's proposal to ship as-is.
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Why the lot fails
- Both directions fail, not marginally: 8.2% length against a 5% limit and 5.6% width against 4%.
- Cotton single jersey shrinks by two mechanisms: relaxation (stresses built up in knitting, dyeing and wet finishing release in the first wash) and, to a smaller degree, felting and drying shrinkage. A bulk figure of 8.2% usually means the fabric was not fully compacted or relaxed at the mill, or was stretched wet on the stenter and delivered with high residual tension.
- Cutting does not remove that tension; a cut panel still shrinks, and may distort more because it is no longer held by the roll.
The production manager's proposal
- 'Ship and hope' converts a known technical failure into a commercial one. The buyer may use a different method, but an 8.2% result will show up in any 40 °C wash. The 3% penalty, return freight, rework and a failed-lab charge will cost more than fixing the lot now.
- It also puts the relationship at risk. A measured, evidence-based response is the cheaper route even if it delays part of the shipment.
2. Recommend a disposition plan for the 2,400 cut shirts and the remaining rolls, including the tests you would use.
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- Quarantine everything - hold all 6,000 pieces, cut and uncut. Issue a written stop-shipment note.
- Test what is already cut - pull 3 sewn shirts from each lay and each size, wash at 40 °C with the buyer's stated method, dry as specified, condition, then measure garment length and chest against the size spec. Record garment shrinkage, not just fabric shrinkage; this is what the buyer will see.
- Check the pattern - confirm whether the pattern was cut with a shrinkage allowance. If an allowance was already built in and the garment still fails, the panels cannot be saved by washing.
- Trial a garment wash on 20 pieces before committing the batch. A garment wash can distort seams, trims and the collar, so approve it only if measurements, appearance and hand feel all pass.
- Remaining rolls - compact or relax in four days, then re-test. Re-check width and GSM after compaction, because both change and re-cutting may be needed.
- Recover the schedule - re-cut affected sizes from compacted stock, add a shift, and rank sizes by the buyer's ratio so the first shipment is complete.
3. Draft the technical position you would put to the buyer, including what you would not promise.
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State the facts and the plan in writing:
- The bulk test result (8.2% / 5.6%) against the agreed specification.
- The root cause as you understand it: insufficient relaxation/compaction at the mill.
- Containment: no shipment until the lot passes; the affected quantity and sizes.
- Corrective action: compaction and re-test of remaining fabric, garment-wash trial on cut panels, re-cutting where needed.
- Evidence you will supply: fabric test report before and after compaction, garment measurement charts before and after wash, third-party test if requested.
- A revised delivery plan with dates you can hold.
Do not promise 'zero shrinkage', a date you cannot hold, or that the buyer's test will differ. Do ask the buyer to confirm the exact wash method - temperature, detergent, drying - because most shrinkage disputes are really method disputes. Offer to share the cost of third-party testing so both sides measure the same way.