Testing and inspection are two different jobs
The two words travel together and mean different things. Testing is laboratory work on the fabric and components: what the dye lot does in the wash, what the pH reads after finishing, how much a lace shrinks. Inspection is sampling work on the finished batch: what the actual cartons contain and whether the garments inside match the sealed sample. A program that skips the first ships fabric whose behavior is unknown; a program that skips the second ships dimensions nobody measured. The desk books both, and the split of duties is written into the program sheet - the plant's line checks live on the quality control page.
The OEKO-TEX baseline
Intimate apparel sits against skin for hours, which is why OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is the baseline document in this category. It tests more than 300 harmful substances from yarn to finished product - including threads and elastics, not only the face fabric - and it is issued per article, held by the partner plants per lot. The desk's job is verification: that the certificate article actually matches the fabric proposed, that it is in force, and that a copy is filed with the program record. What OEKO-TEX does not do is measure performance - a certified fabric can still bleed color - which is why the performance tests below are agreed separately.
Order-agreed performance tests
The test list is set per order, in the program sheet, before the batch. The usual items for intimate apparel:
| Test | What it measures | Why it matters here |
|---|---|---|
| Color fastness to washing | Shade change and staining after wash cycles | Bras and panties are washed often and in mixed loads |
| Color fastness to rubbing | Dye transfer under friction, wet and dry | Light outerwear shows staining from dark elastics |
| pH value | Acidity or alkalinity remaining from finishing | Next-to-skin comfort; a routine screen for the category |
| Shrinkage | Dimensional change after washing | Band and waist measurements must survive the care label |
| Pilling resistance | Fiber balling on the surface after abrasion | Microfiber and modal blends are graded on it |
| Elastic recovery | Return after repeated stretch on bands and straps | The garment's support life is the elastic's life |
Where a children's line or a specific market adds requirements, the list grows accordingly; the market routes are on the compliance page. Formaldehyde content is screened within the OEKO-TEX substance set where the article covers it, and any value a brand prints on a listing comes from the report, never from this page.
Who runs the tests
Tests run at independent third-party laboratories appointed per program, on samples pulled from the dye lots actually booked - not from retained yardage that predates the order. The desk requests the split samples, tracks the reports and files them with the program record; partner plants hold the underlying OEKO-TEX articles. A report that arrives without lot traceability goes back, because an untraceable certificate is paper, not evidence. For what the baseline certificate covers in depth, see OEKO-TEX Standard 100 explained and the broader fabric certifications article.
Pre-shipment inspection
Pre-shipment inspection is the release gate: a sample drawn from the finished, packed lot, checked to the AQL plan agreed in the program sheet. It repeats the measured items - band circumference, cup depth, elastic recovery, seam strength, gusset lining - against the sealed sample, adds a workmanship review, and verifies carton marks and pack contents. The lot ships on the record, not before it. Re-inspection after a failed gate follows the same plan, so a corrected lot is judged by the numbers that sank the first attempt, not by a looser reading. Timing matters: the inspection is booked against the batch window so it does not become the reason a container misses; the windows are on the MOQ and lead time page. The full final-gate routine is described in pre-shipment inspection for intimates.
Book tests with the program, not after it
Tests booked after production are calendar poison: the dye lot is gone, the cartons are sealed and a failure has nowhere to land. Name the lines, fabrics and market in the quote form and the desk returns a test plan alongside the sampling proposal, with each item priced into the program schedule rather than bolted on.