Quality
Inside an AQL 2.5 inspection
What actually happens during in-line and final audits, what counts as a major defect, and how to read an inspection report.
28 June 2026 · 7 min read
The sampling maths
AQL 2.5 does not mean 2.5% of your order will be faulty. It defines a statistical sample size and an accept/reject threshold. On a 3,000-piece order, inspectors pull 125 units; up to seven minor defects are acceptable, and the lot is rejected at eight.
Major versus minor
A major defect affects saleability — broken stitching on a seam, a missing bar-tack, a shade mismatch between panels, an incorrect label. A minor defect is cosmetic and unlikely to be noticed at retail, such as a loose thread end or slight puckering on an unstressed seam.
In-line beats final
Final inspection catches problems too late to fix cheaply. We audit at 20% and 60% of sewing output, so a recurring construction error is corrected within a day rather than discovered on 3,000 finished units.
Reading the report
Look past the pass/fail stamp to the defect breakdown. A lot that passes with all defects clustered in one category signals a process issue that will resurface on your repeat order.
