Garment Quality Control and Inspection Services in Turkey

Quality control as a service is the inspection of a product by a service company that does not make it; this category covers companies that carry out fabric and cutting checks, in-line (mid-production) inspection, final and pre-shipment inspection, measurement and appearance checks, AQL sampling and, when needed, 100% sorting. Laboratory tests are under textile testing laboratories and certification support under consulting and certification; other production services are listed under contract workshops and services. A social compliance audit of working conditions, such as amfori BSCI or the SMETA audit of Sedex, is a separate job; to prepare, see BSCI and Sedex audits.

Which check at which stage?

According to the training modules of Turkey's Ministry of National Education (MEB), inspection is spread along the production flow rather than done at one point: fabric and trims receiving, after spreading, after cutting, after intermediate pressing and a final check. For sampling a finished lot, the international reference is ISO 2859-1. Its third edition, published in January 2026 (ISO 2859-1:2026), replaced the 1999 edition and its 2011 amendment, so state in the contract which edition you cite. In garments, buyers are reported to mostly use AQL 0 for critical, 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor defects (Wave PLM, May 2026; SPS Commerce, August 2026). For reading the tables and defect classes, see our AQL inspection guide.

Ask the inspection company about scope, criteria and report format

• Scope: At which stage and by which method does it inspect: AQL sampling or 100% inspection? Does it check measurements, stitching, appearance and function (zips, buttons)?
• Criteria: Who sets the defect classes and the acceptance criteria? Does the inspection run against your defect list and your approved PP (pre-production) sample?
• Report: Photos and figures, measurement results and counts by defect class, a clear accept or reject decision, and the delivery time?
• Independence: Is the inspector linked to the manufacturer? There must be no conflict of interest.
• Product knowledge: Does it know the measuring points and defect types of knit, woven or denim products?
• Re-inspection: If the lot is rejected, who plans and pays for the re-inspection?

Inspection price depends on method, lot size and inspector-days

Inspection type (sampling or 100%), lot size, measured points, inspector numbers and working time, location and travel cost, report detail and urgent requests set the price. Firms may quote per inspector-day, per piece or per lot; convert quotes to one unit before comparing.

Start inspection before production ends and write the criteria up front

Do not leave inspection until production has finished: ask for in-line inspection from the first output. Put the criteria in writing before the order. Because the inspector has to travel to the production site, tell the inspection company where the factory is from the start. Allow time in the production plan for inspection and corrections; our contract manufacturing guide explains how to write quality expectations into a contract with a workshop.