What Australian Buyers Ask Before Placing a First Order (And How We Answer)

These are the questions Australian brands actually ask in the first two or three emails. We have collected them here with straight answers, including the ones where the honest answer is a qualified yes or a no.

If you would rather ask in person, we are exhibiting at Global Sourcing Expo Melbourne in November - twenty minutes at the stand with the fabric in your hands covers more ground than a week of email.

Before the questions: the three numbers we will ask you for

Every useful first conversation runs on the same three inputs, and having them ready roughly halves the time to a real quote.

The product. A tech pack is ideal. A photograph with key measurements is enough to start. "Linen shirts" is not - the difference between a boxy overshirt and a fitted button-down is two fabric weights and a different price.
The quantity you can genuinely commit to, per style and per colour. Both numbers, not just the total.
Your on-sale date. This is the one people leave out, and it is the one that determines whether the project is possible at all.

Sizing and fit

Australian sizing is routine for us. The important thing is to send a graded size chart with body measurements rather than size labels - an AU 12 varies meaningfully between brands, and we would rather grade to your numbers than to an assumption. If you do not have a chart, post us a garment that fits the way you want and we will build the grade from it.

Expect at least one fit round. A first proto that needs no changes is a happy accident, not a plan. Budget two weeks per revision and keep your comments specific: "sleeve 2cm longer at the cuff" is actionable, "the sleeve feels off" is two more weeks.

Colour, print and fabric

Custom colour is normal. Send a Pantone TCX reference or a physical swatch, we match it, and you approve a lab dip before bulk runs. The cost is not in the matching, it is in the dye lot minimum - which is why a custom colour lifts a style's minimum, usually into the 400-500 piece range.

On print, both screen and digital are available and they have different economics. Screen printing has a setup cost per colour that rewards volume and limits the palette. Digital has no screen setup, handles photographic and multi-colour artwork, and suits shorter runs. For a first order with several small colourways, digital is usually the cheaper answer even though the per-metre rate looks higher.

Yarn-dyed stripes, ginghams and checks are woven rather than printed, which is why they hold colour on both faces and do not crack with wear. They carry a fabric minimum because the loom has to be warped for the pattern.

Weight, and how to choose it

Tell us the garment, not the number. "A relaxed summer shirt for an Australian January" gets you a better recommendation than "165 GSM", because we will also think about finish, shrinkage and how the fabric behaves after five washes. If you want to understand the bands yourself first, our linen GSM guide is the reference we send most often.

One Australia-specific note: ranges built for Australian summers generally sit lighter than their European equivalents, and colourfastness to light deserves to be specified rather than assumed. Put it in the tech pack.

Labelling, packaging and compliance

Labels and packaging are to your specification, applied at manufacture. That matters more than it sounds - relabelling on arrival in Australia is expensive and slow, and it is entirely avoidable by getting the artwork to us before bulk.

On compliance more broadly: we are a Sedex member and have completed a SMETA audit, we manufacture to OEKO-TEX standards, our linen is woven from flax grown in Western Europe, and we are recognised by the Government of India as a One Star Export House. Testing and compliance documentation is available to buyer requirements - if your buying team has a checklist, send it and we will work through it rather than sending a brochure back. Our accreditations page lists what we hold.

On duty, Australian importers benefit from the India-Australia trade agreement, but only if preference is actually claimed on the entry. We have written up what that requires, because it is the most common way Australian brands leave money on the table.

Money, and the questions people are too polite to ask

Payment terms. A first order usually runs on a deposit against the PO with the balance before despatch or against documents. That is standard for a new relationship in either direction. Terms loosen once there is a history.

What if the bulk does not match the sample? Ask this. The approved PP sample is the contractual reference, which is exactly why it is worth taking seriously rather than rushing. We inspect before despatch and share the report. If something is genuinely off-spec, we deal with it - and the honest framing is that this is rare but not impossible, and a supplier claiming it never happens is telling you something about their record-keeping rather than their quality.

Do you work with brands our size? Usually. Our minimums start in the 150-300 piece range for home and table items on an existing fabric, and rise for custom apparel. Below roughly 150 pieces per style we are honestly not the right answer, and we would rather say that in email one than in week six. The full picture is in how Australian brands source linen from India.

Who you are dealing with

Zed Aar Exports has been exporting since 2007 and has shipped to more than twenty-five countries, Australia among them. The weaving behind the company is older - the family has worked in textiles in Bhagalpur since 1970. We make to order rather than holding stock, which shapes both what we are good at and what we are not; we have set out that trade-off in full rather than leaving you to discover it.

If your question is not here, ask it. The answer is usually shorter than you expect.

Frequently asked questions

Do you manufacture to Australian sizing?

Yes. We grade to whatever size chart you supply, and Australian womenswear sizing (8-16 or 6-18) is routine. What matters is that you send the chart with body measurements rather than a size label, because AU 12 does not mean the same thing across two brands. If you do not have a graded chart yet we can work from a reference garment you post to us and build the grade around it.

Can we have custom colours, or only what is in your range?

Custom colours are standard, not an exception. Send a Pantone TCX reference or a physical swatch and we will match it and send a lab dip for approval before bulk. The constraint is not capability, it is quantity: a custom dye lot carries a minimum, so a custom colour typically lifts the per-style minimum to around 400-500 pieces depending on the product.

What linen weights do you actually hold?

Our range runs from roughly 110 GSM fine shirting up to 320 GSM and above for heavy table linen and upholstery weights. The middle bands do most of the work: 150-190 GSM for shirting and dresses, 190-250 GSM for tunics, tablecloths and napkins. We also weave cotton, silk and blends. If you tell us the garment rather than the number we will recommend the weight.

Do you apply our labels and packaging?

Yes. Main labels, care labels, size labels, swing tags, poly bags and cartons can all be to your specification. You can supply trims or we can source them to your artwork. Care labelling is a mandatory standard in Australia, so tell us early what wording and symbols you need and we will apply them at the point of manufacture rather than leaving you to relabel on arrival.

Is fibre content labelling compulsory in Australia?

Care labelling is compulsory and enforced by the ACCC. Fibre content labelling is not mandatory under Australian federal law in the way it is in the UK and the United States, which surprises most brands. If you sell into more than one of those markets, label to the strictest requirement rather than maintaining separate stock, because the cost of a second labelling run is almost always higher than the cost of a fuller label.

What does sampling cost?

Swatch cards are free and we ship them internationally. Made-up samples are charged, typically at a multiple of the eventual unit price because a sample is a one-off made by a pattern master rather than a production line. Where a programme goes to bulk we commonly credit sampling costs against the first order. Courier is usually at the buyer account.

What happens if we reject the sample?

We correct it and send another. A first proto is expected to need changes; that is what it is for. Corrections against a clear tech pack comment are remade at our cost. What is charged is a change of specification - a different fabric, a redesigned style, a new size set - because that is new development rather than a correction. We will always say which of the two we think it is before starting.

How quickly do you reply?

Within one business day for an enquiry, allowing for the time difference. India is four and a half to five and a half hours behind Australian eastern time depending on daylight saving, so a message sent from Melbourne in the morning usually gets a same-day reply. Costings take three to five working days because they involve real fabric and consumption calculations rather than a guess.