WORKFLOW

Bales arrive at our Chengdu factory from a network of 70–80 raw-material suppliers. Each delivery is opened, inspected and weighed against the supplier's note before it enters the line. Material that does not meet our intake standard is rejected here and never reaches the sorting tables.

Goods are spread out and worked through by hand against a written grade definition. Whatever fails is pulled out and does not continue down the line.

On footwear, every pair passes five checks: upper, sole, structure, stitching and appearance. On bags the five checks are material, surface, sewing, hardware and appearance.

Sorted goods are pressed and baled at 20 kg per bale, then weighed on a floor scale before each bale is closed and labelled. Private-label packing starts from 10 bales.

Bales are loaded into a 40HQ container, about 28 tonnes per load. Mixed categories, meaning clothes, shoes and bags, can travel on the same load.

The container and seal numbers are recorded, and a load-and-seal video can be filmed on request so the buyer sees exactly what left the factory.

Four inspection stages before packing, and five checks on every pair or piece inside the sorting stage. The stage count describes the process. The five checks describe what is examined on each item.

Buyers are welcome to check stock on site in Chengdu, or to book their own third-party pre-shipment inspection, paid by the buyer so the inspector works for them rather than for us.

Ask what stays in the grade, what is removed, who checks it, and how bales are weighed. Those four answers are what make a grade comparable between suppliers.