The 2% Discount on a Misdeclared Cotton Jersey
A merchandiser at a Jaipur knitwear unit receives a 480 kg lot of single jersey declared as '100% combed cotton' for 3,000 baby T-shirts. The buyer's spec requires no more than 5% length shrinkage after three home washes and a pilling grade of at least 4. The in-house lab reports length shrinkage of 8.2% on the tubular, unmercerised fabric, a pilling grade of 3, and a burn test on yarns pulled from both wale and course directions that leaves a hard black bead with a faint sweet chemical smell together with a small amount of soft grey ash. The fabric weighs 150 gsm and has 22 courses per inch. The supplier insists the lot is cotton and offers a flat 2% price discount to close the issue. The buyer ships in 21 days and the cutting room is already booked for the following week, so any replacement fabric must arrive within seven days to keep the line running.
1. Interpret the burn test result and state what further testing you would commission before replying to the supplier.
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Burn behaviour must be read as a set of observations, not a single one.
- Cotton ignites quickly, smells of burning paper, burns with a yellow flame and leaves soft grey ash that crumbles. It forms no bead.
- Polyester melts and shrinks away from the flame, smells sweet and chemical, and leaves a hard black bead that cannot be crushed.
This sample gave both soft grey ash and a hard black bead, so the yarn contains a cellulosic fibre and a thermoplastic fibre. That is sufficient to reject the declaration '100% combed cotton', but not sufficient to state a blend ratio.
Confirm with three tests before you write to the supplier:
- Longitudinal microscopy - cotton appears as a flattened, twisted ribbon with convolutions; polyester appears as a smooth cylindrical rod.
- Solubility - 70% sulphuric acid dissolves cotton and leaves polyester undissolved, a quick mill-floor check.
- Laboratory blend analysis (dissolution/gravimetric) - you need the exact percentage for the label, the buyer's claim and any customs declaration.
Note that pilling grade 3 is a second, independent non-conformity. It fits a blend or a low-twist yarn, but it is not proof of composition.
2. Explain the cause of 8.2% length shrinkage and set out the correction options at fabric stage and at pattern/cutting stage, with the risk attached to each.
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Diagnosis. 22 courses per inch on a 150 gsm single jersey is a loose, low cover-factor structure: the loops are long and carry high residual bending strain from knitting. Tubular, unmercerised fabric that has not been compacted or relaxed retains that strain, and the first home wash releases it - length shrinks, width grows. The number is structural, not a one-off dyeing fault.
Fabric-stage corrections (preferred):
- Specify compacted or sanforised jersey, preferably open width, with a mill test report showing residual shrinkage of 3-5% after three washes.
- Raise the cover factor - 26-28 CPI at 160-170 gsm - which reduces loop distortion.
- Risk: roughly 8-12% higher fabric cost and a lead time you may not have inside seven days.
Pattern/cutting-stage corrections (stopgap):
- Pre-wash and tumble-dry the whole 480 kg lot before cutting, measure the actual shrinkage on five randomly cut panels, then apply the allowance. Risk: washing cost, edge curling, shade change and three to four lost days.
- Cut 8% longer using a shrinkage allowance. Risk: if the allowance is wrong in the other direction the garment grows, and a shrinkage allowance cannot fix width growth or the pilling failure.
Do not accept the 2% discount as a substitute for a correction - it compensates price, not the risk of a returned order.
3. With 21 days to shipment, recommend a decision and the commercial terms that should accompany it.
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Decision: reject the lot as non-conforming on fibre declaration, and do not sign off the discount.
Reasoning, in order of risk:
- Legal/label risk dominates. A blended fabric sold as 100% cotton is a misdeclaration. A 2% discount does not cover a buyer claim, a labelling penalty or the loss of the account, and the same mill may repeat it.
- Shrinkage and pilling are separate failures. Even if the composition were correct, 8.2% against a 5% limit and pilling grade 3 against a 4 would still fail the inspection.
- Time is the binding constraint. A replacement from an approved mill with compacted cotton within seven days is the only route that protects the ship date.
Terms to put in writing:
- Replacement lot with mill shrinkage and pilling reports, and a pre-shipment test on a 5-piece trial garment washed three times.
- If replacement is impossible, ask the buyer in writing to accept a declared blend at a re-negotiated price, with a shrinkage guarantee and a revised care label. Get the buyer's approval before cutting.
- Debit the supplier for the lab tests and any line idle time, and hold 10% payment against the next lot's test reports.