Resources
Technical guidance from the development side of the table. Each guide answers a question buyers actually ask before an order, and none of them require you to be a customer.
Buyer tools
Interactive tools for figures a buyer can check on their own calculator — and for decisions that stall a specification.
GSM calculator
Convert oz/yd² and gsm, weigh a swatch, size a roll.
Shrinkage calculator
Length and width percentages from before/after measurements.
Hand-feel factors
Same weight, different cloth — read every construction through one factor.
Fabric compare
Drag two constructions against each other on the published fields.
Incoterms chain
Who pays, and where risk passes — drawn as two different things.
Buyer scenarios
Teaching stories for shade, shrinkage, quotes and knit choices.
Buyer guides
Tech Pack Checklist for Apparel Buyers
What a complete apparel tech pack contains, which gaps cause the most expensive problems, and what to do if you do not have one at all.
6 min read
The Apparel Sampling Process Explained
Development, fit, pre-production and sealed samples answer different questions. Confusing them is the most common reason a program arrives late.
7 min read
Embroidery vs Screen Printing
How the two decoration routes actually differ on cost, durability, fabric compatibility and minimum quantity — and which one a uniform program usually wants.
6 min read
Heat Transfer vs Screen Print for Uniforms
When heat transfer and screen print belong on a uniform program, what each needs in the tech pack, and why polyester changes the conversation.
6 min read
Bib Apron Construction Guide
The construction decisions that decide whether a bib apron survives a customer-facing uniform program — and how they showed up on AHM’s documented U.S. apron lane.
6 min read
Commercial guides
How Garment FOB Costing Works
What sits inside a garment FOB quotation, which components actually move the number, and how to have a productive conversation when a quote comes back above target.
7 min read
How to Compare Apparel Factory Quotations
Two FOB prices for the same garment are rarely comparable. What to normalise before you compare, and which differences are real savings rather than removed scope.
7 min read
Carton Marking for Apparel Orders
What goes on an export carton, why the packing list has to agree with it exactly, and the marking errors that cause delays at the destination.
5 min read
Fabric Consumption Basics for Apparel Buyers
What drives metres per garment, why a GSM number cannot answer it, and which inputs belong in a quotation request if you want a comparable fabric line.
6 min read
Understanding Apparel MOQ
What drives minimum order quantity on an apparel program, why fabric is usually the constraint, and how to ask for a useful MOQ answer without inventing a number.
5 min read
Fabric guides
65/35 Poly-Cotton for Workwear
The blend ratio that dominates uniform and workwear, what each fibre contributes, and when a different ratio is the better answer.
6 min read
Pique vs Jersey for Polo Shirts
Two knit structures, two very different program outcomes. How they differ, how each behaves after fifty washes, and which one your program should specify.
5 min read
Fabric GSM Guide for Apparel Buyers
GSM is the most quoted and least understood number in an apparel specification. What it measures, what it does not, and typical ranges by product category.
5 min read
Fabric Shrinkage Guide for Apparel Buyers
What fabric shrinkage is, why length and width are measured separately, and how to put a usable tolerance in a specification before the first sample is cut.
6 min read
Why Polyester Is Hard to Dye — Buyer Guide
Why polyester does not take dye like cotton, what that means for lab dips and reorders, and what to write in a uniform specification so shade stays honest across lots.
6 min read
Knit Constructions Explained for Uniform Buyers
The knit structures that show up most often in uniform and workwear programs — what each is good for, and which specification fields matter before you lock a polo or tee.
6 min read
Buyer scenarios
Composite teaching scenarios — not customer programs. Shade, shrinkage, quotations and knit construction, written so a buyer can spot the mistake before it ships.
Colour & dyeing
When the reorder navy is not the same navy
A perfect first shipment and a second lot that looks wrong under store lighting.
Shrinkage
The sealed sample that failed the first laundry
Fit approved on the hanger, rejected after industrial wash day one.
Costing
The cheaper FOB that was answering a different question
Two prices for ‘the same polo’ — until fabric weight and pack were named.
Knit construction
Soft in the hand, collapsed after fifty washes
Jersey felt better in the showroom. Pique held the program on the floor.
All scenarios · Teaching only — see documented case studies for verified programs.
Reviewed by AHM International product development team. Last reviewed August 2026.
In progress
We publish a guide when there is something specific to say, not to fill a content calendar. These are in the queue.
Want one of them sooner, or a topic that isn't listed? Tell us.
- Apparel Sourcing from Pakistan: Complete Buyer Guide
- Polyester-Cotton Blends for Uniforms
- Uniform Polo Fabric Selection Guide
- Best Fabrics for Work Shirts
- Apron Fabric Selection Guide
- Hoodie and Fleece Weight Guide
- Workwear Fabric Guide
- Twill Fabric for Uniforms Explained
- How Apparel Size Sets Work
- What Is a Pre-Production Sample?
- How Garment Inline Inspection Works
- Apparel Packing Requirements for Export
- Pakistan Apparel Manufacturing: Buyer Checklist
- Denim Wash Types for Buyers
- Sewing Construction for Tech Packs
- Apparel Merchandising Checklist
- Knitwear Development Stages
- Sportswear Fabric Selection
- Fabric Basics for New Buyers
Reading is useful. Sending one style and seeing how a supplier responds is more useful.