100 Most Useful Garments or Apparel Merchandising Terminology

Introduction to merchandising terminology

Garments merchandisers use various types of terms and definition in their merchandising life. So, terminology is critical for a clothing merchandiser. Garments terminology not only use merchandisers but also frequently asked in job interview, comprehensive viva and admission tests. In this article I have given most useful and frequently used garments or apparel merchandising terms.

Most Useful Garments Merchandising Terminology:

The world of apparel merchandising is full of specific terms and acronyms. Mastering this lingo is crucial for effective communication and success in the industry. Here are 60 of the most useful terms to know:

Product Development & Design Of merchandising terminology

1. Tech Pack: A comprehensive document outlining garment specifications, materials, construction details, and trims.
2. BOM (Bill of Materials): Lists all components needed to produce a garment, including fabrics, trims, threads, etc.
3. Colorway: The specific color palette used in a garment design.
4. Silhouette: The overall shape of a garment.
5. Fit Model: A person used to assess the size and drape of a garment during the development process.
6. Sourcing: Finding and negotiating with suppliers for materials and production.
7. MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): The minimum number of units a supplier requires for production.
8.  Airway Bill: Airway Bill is an export document. It carries agreement between exporter and air carrier which is obtained from the airline used to ship the goods. It’s a receipt of goods received given by airlines. It covers transport of cargo from airport to airport.
    
9.  Allowance: Additional measurement which added with body measurement in case of garments making. For example, if the actual body measurement is 80cm, then it’s counted as 84cm during pattern making. Here allowance is 4cm.
   
   
10.  Applique: Additional fabric added in the face side of the garments for increasing the beauty of the dress which is called applique. This is a popular way of decorating fabrics. The appliqué “look” is very popular with sports and school designs. The process can be used to add “tackle twill” letters, numbers and designs to garments.
    
    
    
11.  AQL: AQL is related to the quality of products. In textile and apparel industry Acceptance Quality Level is shortly denoted by AQL. AQL is designed as the maximum average defective items in a lot. It is expressed in a percentage number of average defective items
12.  Back to back L/C: Back to Back L/C is issued on the strength of master L/C. If raw materials are imported from a foreign country and the commodities created utilizing those raw materials are again exported to that country, the L/C opened for that firm is called back to back L/C.
13.  Basic Block: The pattern which is made is accordance with the area of different parts of the human body and their flexes and folds without allowance and style.
    
    
14.  Bill of Lading: It is a document which provides the terms of the contract between the exporter and the logistic company to move fright between stated points at a specified charge. With the help of this document on receipt from the exporter that the importer takes possession of the goods from the carrying vessel at the port of destination.
    
    
15.  Buying Office: It is an independent or store-owned office located in a market center that purchases for a single chain or multiple businesses. Buying an office is sometimes known as buying a house. A residence is purchased to serve as a link between the buyer and the supplier.
    
    
16.  C&F: C&F means “Cost and Freight”. It is a pricing system. If the actual cost of goods and transportation costs are mentioned in the bill, then the system is called C & F price system.
    
    
17.  CIF: CIF means “Cost, Insurance and Freight”. It is also a pricing system. If the invoice includes the real price of the goods, transportation costs, and insurance costs, this is referred to as the CIF price system.
    
    
18.  CIFC Order: In this form of order, the seller covers the cost of insurance, freight, and the commission for the local purchasing house.
    
    
19.  CM: The entire definition of CM is Cost of Making. CM refers to the commercial aspects of garment merchandising. Trimmings, cutting, making, trimmings cost, making time cost, and so on may all be included in this cost.
    
    
20.  CMP Order: In such type of order the buyer fixes the rate of CMT with the factory. So the seller does not include the cost of fabric in his pricing, but at L/C, the customer pays the factory in full. The factory only accepts CMT money from the bank. Return the balance to the fabric provider.
21. CMT: It is an abbreviation the amplification of which stands as Cut make Trim. In this situation, the garment manufacturer proposes a price to the buyer that includes the cost of manufacturing, trimmings, and accessories for a garment. The buyer sends all additional essential materials to the manufacturer.
22. Color Bleeding: Color bleeding occurs when clothing manufacturers rely on ineffective dying techniques or cheap dyes. Color bleeding occurs when pigment dye spreads from one location to another and becomes stuck in a nearby area.
    
    

Production & Quality Control Of merchandising terminology

23. Sampling: Creating prototype garments to evaluate design, fit, and quality before bulk production.

24. Pattern Making: The process of creating a template for garment pieces.
25. Marker Making: Efficiently laying out garment patterns on fabric to minimize waste.
26. Production Planning: Scheduling and coordinating all stages of garment production.
27. Lead Time: The time it takes from placing an order to receiving finished goods.
28. Quality Control (QC): Ensuring garments meet agreed-upon quality standards.
29. AQL (Acceptable Quality Level): The maximum number of defects considered acceptable in a production batch.
30. Compliance: Compliance means conformity of certain standard. The primary goal of compliance is to ensure that all labor rights and facilities are in accordance with the Buyer Code of Conduct.
31. Counter sample: The manufacturers produce several numbers of samples following the approved sample which is known as counter samples. They may facilitate mass manufacturing or hang on the production floor.
32. CPM: CPM stands for Cost per Minute. CPM can help you calculate the cost of clothes per hour, shift, day, or week.
33. Customer: Importer is known as customer or end buyer. Sometimes they place order directly to the foreign company or by their satellite office or by the buying house. The customer or ultimate buyer may be a wholesaler or a store.
34. Dummy: It is an exact replicated mode of human body shape which is stays erected on a stand. It is often used in checking the fitting of an apparel.
35. Exporter: Exporters are those who sell or export the product to the buyer of foreign country are called exporter. 
36.  F.C.L: It is abbreviated with Full Container Load. This is a favorable sign for both customer and producer. Normally, this part handles the commercial department in a clothing..
37. FOA: The seller delivers the goods to the air carrier at the air port of departure. The buyer bears the risk from that moment and payees the air transport cost. In this case, seller bears the cost of materials and making, does not include air freight.
38. FOB: FOB abbreviated with “Free On Board”, which is a pricing system. If the actual price of products is stated on the invoice, excluding transportation and insurance costs, this is referred to as the FOB pricing-system or costing system.
39. Fully Fashioned Garments Industry: The industry which is manufactured knitted garments by using yarn as main materials instead of fabric is called it. Here, the main products are Sweater, Pullover and Cardigan etc. 
40. Grading: Grading means the stepwise increase or decrease of a master pattern piece to create large or small size. The process of increasing or decreasing a sample size pattern to cover the entire size range. Grading changes the total size of a design but not its general form or look.
41. Grain line: It is the line that is marked on garment patterns and identifies the warp yarn; hence, when the pattern is placed on the marking paper, the grain line follows the warp yarn of the fabric.
42. Gross Margin: Gross margin is related to calculation of manufacturing cost. Gross margin is a company’s total sales revenue minus its cost of goods sold (COGS), divided by total sales revenue, expressed as a percentage. The difference in dollars between net sales and the net costs of merchandise during a given period.
43. Importers: Importers are those who buy or import the product from foreign or overseas country in large quantities are called importers.
44. Interfacing: The extra layer of cloth which is used in between the part of an apparel and facing to increase shape durability and strength of the apparel.
45. Interlining: A layer of fabric which is used between two layer of fabric to give the particular area desired shape, durability and to enhance the strength of that particular position which is called interlining. e.g. collar, cuff.
    
    

Costing & Pricing Of merchandising terminology

46. Costing: Calculating the total cost of producing a garment.

47. FOB (Free on Board): The price includes the cost of goods up to the point of loading onto a ship.
48. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight): The price includes the cost of goods, insurance, and freight to the destination port.
49. Markup: The percentage added to the cost price to determine the selling price.
50. Retail Price: The final price a customer pays for a garment in a store.

Inventory & Sales Of merchandising terminology

51. SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): A unique identifier for each product variation (size, color, etc.).

52. Inventory Management: Tracking and controlling the flow of goods in and out of a warehouse.
53. Sell-Through Rate: The percentage of inventory sold during a specific period.
54. Markdown: Reducing the price of an item to stimulate sales.
55. Open to Buy (OTB): The amount of budget remaining to purchase new inventory for a specific season.

Fashion Industry & Business of merchandising terminology

56. Trend Forecasting: Predicting upcoming fashion trends based on research and analysis.

57. Target Market: The specific group of consumers a brand aims to reach.
58. Seasonality: Designing and producing garments for specific seasons (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter).
59. Fashion Week: Industry events showcasing upcoming trends and designer collections.
60. Retailer: A business that sells apparel directly to consumers.
61. Wholesaler: A company that sells garments in bulk to retailers.
62. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Software that integrates various business functions like production, inventory, and sales.

International Trade & Regulations of merchandising terminology

63. Export: Selling goods to a foreign country.

64. Import: Buying goods from a foreign country.
65. Customs: Government agencies that regulate the import and export of goods.
66. Letter of Credit (LC): A document guaranteeing payment to a seller upon fulfilling certain conditions.
67. Incoterms: International commercial terms used in international trade contracts.
68. Invoice: It is a very important document in readymade garment business which is sent with the goods to the buyer. The invoice includes products descriptions, prices, number of cartons, number of products in every cartoon etc. Every item is prohibited without commercial invoice. 
69. L.C.L: L.C.L stands for Less Container Load. When a small number of orders are executed, there will be less container load for export or import from the producer..
    
    
70. L/C: L/C means letter for credit. L/C is an important document on export, import business. It is also one of the most used words in garment merchandising sector. L/C is a document issued by a financial institution, or a similar party, assuring payment to a seller of goods and/or services provided certain documents have been presented to the bank.
71. Lab-dip: A lab dip is a swatch of fabric test dyed to hit a color standard. It is a process by which buyer’s supplied swatch is matched with the varying dyes percentage in the laboratory with or without help of spectrophotometer. The lab dip is a crucial step before bulk manufacturing since it helps to match the shades.
72.  Lay: fabric is layered on in more than one layer in line with the length and spread of the marker before cutting fabric and cloth.
73.  Line Balancing: Line balancing is the process of balancing the production schedule based on the time and action calendar. It distributes the workload among all activities in a cell or value stream, eliminating bottlenecks and surplus capacity. Line balancing is also used on the garment sewing floor to ensure that orders are executed smoothly
74.  Marker: A marker is a tiny sheet of paper that contains all of the pattern components for a specific kind of garment in all sizes. It is prepared just before cutting, and its primary function is to reduce waste. The marker width is equal to the cloth width, and it should not be more than that width.
75.  Needle Gause: In some sewing machines more than one needle is used. The gap side long between the two middle. 
76.  Pantone: Pantone is an universal shade color shade card. It is utilized in all industries for dye-to-match (DTM). Each hue has its own 6-digit number. Pantone relies on TP (take-pad) and TC (take-card).
77.  Partial Shipment: If the production is only half done and buyer gave permission to ship the first half goods then ship the first half goods and then remaining this shipment is known as partial shipment.
    
    
78. Pattern: A pattern is the actual copy of different parts of a garment that is made by cutting board paper after sketching on it. The pattern is often used as a guide for marker paper.
79. PPM: PPM abbreviated is pre-production meeting. This meeting is held soon before going into volume production. During this meeting, the buyer or his agent, merchandiser, and sample manager are all present. They decide how and when to start manufacturing. If the decision is approved, the sample is ready for final manufacturing.
80. Pressing: Pressing is a finishing process done by a cloth to heat and pressure with or without steam to remove creases and to impart a flat appearance to the cloth or garments. There are several forms of pressing that are used in clothes.
81. Seam Allowance: The margin kept for stitching the garment is known as seam allowance. Seam allowances can range from 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) wide to as much as several inches. 
82. SMV: SMVstands for “Standard Minute Value.” It takes a worker to do a given procedure or make a specific clothing. SMV is an important topic on the sewing floor. Standard Minute Value is related to garment time studies.
83. Subcontract Order: It is indirect order, the order is received by another factory and when it is not possible for that factory to complete the production within the period of time, in that case they share the order with other factory by giving subcontract. The subcontract factory just receives the CM charge in local currency from the order taker.
84. TNA: TNA is the correct combination of time and action. In the textile sector, to execute an export order, production activities must be evaluated on a regular basis using time. This periodical examination is known as the Critical Path Method or Time and Action Plan. It is sometimes called an issuing plan, a manufacturing timetable, or a time and action plan.
85. Trimmings: Whatever except for the base cloth are used in an apparel are called trimmings such as button, lining, interlining and thread etc. 
86.  Vendor: Vendor is very common word in Readymade Garments. A vendor is commonly defined as a seller, resource, manufacturer, or provider.

Textiles & Materials Of merchandising terminology

87. Woven Fabric: Fabric made by interlacing threads at right angles.

88. Knit Fabric: Fabric made by looping yarn together to create a flexible structure.
89. GSM (Grams per Square Meter): A unit of measurement for fabric weight.
90. Natural Fibers: Fibers derived from plants or animals (cotton, wool, silk).
91. Synthetic Fibers: Man-made fibers (polyester, nylon, acrylic).

Fit & Construction Of merchandising terminology

92. Dart: A triangular fold sewn into a garment to enhance fit.

93. Seam: The line where two pieces of fabric are joined.
94. Fit Model: A person with specific body measurements used to evaluate garment fit during development.
95. Ease: The amount of looseness built into a garment for comfort and movement.
96. Fit Sample: A prototype garment used to assess the fit and make adjustments before bulk production.
97. Grading Rules: Guidelines for proportionally increasing garment sizes while maintaining proper fit.
98. Construction Details: Specific techniques used in garment assembly (darts, pleats, pockets, etc.).
99. Closure: The opening on a garment that allows it to be put on and taken off (zipper, buttons, etc.).
100. Seam Type: Different types of seams used for joining fabric pieces (French seam, flat seam, etc.).

Understanding these fit and construction phrases will allow you to communicate effectively with designers, patternmakers, and production teams, ensuring that clothes fulfill the appropriate fit and quality standards. Hopefully it helps to learn merchandising terminology.