Garment packaging requirements: polybags, barcodes, carton marks and Amazon FBA

Finished garments are only half the order. The other half is how they are packed, and a factory can only pack to what the brand writes down. Each sales channel has its own rules: a wholesale buyer wants mixed-size cartons, an Amazon warehouse wants each unit bagged and barcoded. If the packing section of your tech pack is empty, the factory uses its house standard, and the goods may be repacked at your cost on arrival. This guide covers what to specify, from the fold to the carton, and the rules behind it.

What a brand has to specify

A complete packing instruction answers five questions for every style:

• How is each garment folded and presented? Fold size, tissue or board inserts, and whether it ships flat or on a hanger.
• What is it bagged in? Polybag size, thickness, material, closure and any printed warning.
• What identifies it? The barcode, where it goes, and what the hang tag and any sticker carry.
• How are units grouped? Inner boxes or bundles, the number per carton, and whether sizes are mixed.
• How is the carton built and marked? Board grade, maximum size and weight, and the shipping marks on its faces.

Put the answers in writing with a photo or drawing of the folded, bagged unit. Our free tech pack template has room for this, and how to write a tech pack explains how that page fits with the rest of the document.

Folding and inner packing

The fold decides the polybag size, the carton size and how the garment looks when opened. Give the folded dimensions in centimetres (for example 25 × 30 cm for a t-shirt), say where the fold lines fall so a print or logo sits face up, and state whether tissue, a backing board or collar support is used. If anything ships on hangers, check your channel first: Amazon, for example, requires normal-size hangers to be removed for most clothing.

If you want a spare button, a care leaflet or a card in the bag, say so and say where it sits. For labels sewn into the garment, see our guides to care label symbols and to private label manufacturing, which covers brand and size labels; this guide deals with what goes around the garment.

Polybags: thickness, warnings and materials

Most garments leave the factory in an individual polybag against dust and moisture. Specify:

• Size. The bag should fit the folded garment without much spare film. Amazon's rule is that the bag must not stick out more than three inches (about 7.6 cm) beyond the product.
• Thickness. Thickness is given in mil (thousandths of an inch) or microns; 1 mil is 25.4 microns. Amazon requires bags of at least 1.5 mil, about 38 microns, for inventory sent to its warehouses.
• Closure. Self-adhesive strip, tape or heat seal. Amazon requires bags to be fully sealed.
• Transparency. A clear bag lets a scanner read the barcode through the film. Amazon accepts an opaque bag only if the barcode is on the outside.

Suffocation warnings

Amazon's bagging rules say that some US states and cities require a printed suffocation warning on plastic bags, and that any bag with an opening of 5 inches (about 12.7 cm) or more, measured flat, must carry one, either printed on the bag or on a sticker. Amazon also sets the wording and a minimum type size based on the bag's length plus width: 10 point up to 29 inches, 14 point from 30 to 39 inches, 18 point from 40 to 59 inches and 24 point from 60 inches up. For North America, printing the warning on every bag is the simplest approach. Outside North America the rules differ by country and by retailer, so confirm what your buyer or compliance adviser requires.

Recycled and compostable polybags

Recycled and compostable films exist, but the claim printed on the bag is what the law regulates. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides say a product should only be called compostable if there is reliable scientific evidence that all its materials break down into usable compost in about the same time as the material they are composted with, and the claim must be qualified if the item cannot be composted at home or if composting facilities are not available to most people where it is sold. A recycled content claim must be qualified with the percentage by weight if the bag is only partly recycled.

In the EU, Directive (EU) 2024/825 applies from 27 September 2026. It bans generic environmental claims that the trader cannot back with recognised excellent environmental performance, and sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme or set up by a public authority. So "eco-friendly bag" on its own is a risk; "bag made with 50% post-consumer recycled plastic", backed by your supplier's certificate, is specific and checkable. Get the supplier's documentation before printing, and have your adviser check the wording.

Barcodes and hang tags

A retail barcode carries a GTIN, a Global Trade Item Number issued through GS1, the standards body for barcodes. GS1 explains that the GTIN is the number and the barcode is the black and white pattern that encodes it. The two formats you will meet on clothing are:

• GTIN-12, also called a UPC, used mainly in North America.
• GTIN-13, also called an EAN, used mainly in Europe and the rest of the world.

GS1 says all GTIN formats are usually accepted by marketplaces and retailers worldwide. What matters more for clothing is that each variation needs its own number: GS1 counts each size, each colour and each combination of the two as a variation. A t-shirt in four colours and four sizes needs 16 GTINs. Buy them from your national GS1 office in the brand's name, and send the factory a list mapping every GTIN to style, colour and size.

On the garment, the barcode normally sits on the hang tag or on a sticker on the polybag, sometimes on both. Amazon asks that barcodes are not placed on a corner or curve where they cannot be scanned. Specify the hang tag's size, card weight, how it is attached (string, loop pin or safety pin) and where on the garment it hangs. If the tag or sticker carries a retail price, check the channel first: Amazon states that it does not accept pre-priced labels or price tags on inventory sent to its warehouses.

Export cartons: carton marks, size and weight

Specify the board (for example a double-wall, five-ply corrugated carton for sea freight), the maximum outer size and the maximum gross weight. Your buyer, warehouse or marketplace may already set limits, so ask before fixing the size.

The US government's export guidance lists the marks a carton usually carries, and notes that the overseas buyer usually specifies which marks it wants. Adapted to garments, a typical carton mark includes:

• Buyer or consignee name and the purchase order number
• Style number, colour and the size breakdown or quantity
• Carton number in the form "carton 12 of 140"
• Gross and net weight in kilograms (and pounds, if the buyer wants both)
• Outer dimensions in centimetres (and inches, if wanted)
• Country of origin, for example "Made in Bangladesh"
• Destination port and any handling marks, such as "Keep dry" or "This side up"

Send the factory a drawing of each carton face with the text and its size. The packing list that travels with the shipment must match the marks. Carton size also drives freight cost; our guide to sea vs air freight for clothing shows how volume and weight are charged.

Ratio packing or solid packing

There are two ways to fill a carton with a style that comes in several sizes:

• Solid packing, also called solid size, solid colour: every unit in the carton is the same style, colour and size. It suits warehouses that pick single units, including marketplace fulfilment centres.
• Ratio packing, also called assorted or pre-pack: each carton holds a fixed size ratio, for example 1 S, 2 M, 2 L and 1 XL. It suits wholesale and store deliveries, where a store receives one balanced carton.

Many orders use both. Write the ratio, the units per carton and the rule for the final part-filled carton into the order. Carton contents are worth checking at final inspection; see our garment inspection checklist.

Amazon FBA packaging rules for clothing

Amazon's Seller Central help pages for the US store set these rules. They change and differ between stores, so check the current pages before each order.

Amazon tracks inventory either by the manufacturer barcode (a UPC or EAN) or by its own FNSKU label, which starts with an X. Since 31 March 2026, Amazon says brand owners can keep using manufacturer barcodes without stickers, while resellers must use Amazon barcodes. If you use FNSKU labels, send the label file to the factory and specify where each label goes, covering any other barcode on the bag. Each carton also needs its own FBA box ID label, which is printed from your shipment in Seller Central, so plan who prints and applies it.

Two points catch clothing brands out. First, a ratio carton is not an Amazon case pack, because every unit in a case pack must be the same SKU. Second, the 50 lb limit applies to the carton as it arrives at the warehouse, so a carton built for sea freight to your own warehouse may need repacking before it goes to Amazon. If you sell online, see our page for e-commerce brands.

Packaging law in the EU, France and the UK

EU: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on 11 February 2025 and has applied since 12 August 2026. It replaces the old packaging directive and applies directly in every member state. Its requirements arrive in stages:

• Now: the combined level of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in packaging must not exceed 100 mg/kg. Importers must check the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up technical documentation, and must put their name and postal address on the packaging, or in a digital data carrier or accompanying document where that is not possible.
• From 12 August 2028 at the earliest: a harmonised sorting label showing material composition, from the date set by the regulation or 24 months after the Commission's implementing acts, whichever is later. Transport packaging is exempt, but e-commerce packaging is not.
• From 1 January 2030 at the earliest: a maximum empty space ratio of 50% for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, and at least 35% post-consumer recycled content for plastic packaging outside the contact-sensitive and drinks bottle categories. The regulation does not name garment polybags, so confirm with your adviser whether yours fall in this group. Both depend on rules the Commission has still to adopt.

How the empty space ratio is calculated is still being written. Ask your EU importer or compliance adviser which obligations fall on you.

France: Triman and Info-tri

France requires the Triman logo together with Info-tri sorting information on products covered by its producer responsibility schemes and on their packaging. For clothing, shoes and household linen, and their packaging, the obligation has applied since 1 February 2023, according to the French ministry's FAQ. For household packaging, the ministry says the marking goes on the packaging itself or on a sticker applied to it. The sorting information is proposed by the sector's producer responsibility organisations and validated by the government, so ask your French adviser for the current artwork.

UK: packaging extended producer responsibility

Under UK packaging EPR, a business with a turnover of £1 million or more that supplies or imports more than 25 tonnes of packaging a year has obligations. That can include brand owners and importers of packed goods. Large producers, with more than 50 tonnes and more than £2 million turnover, report every six months and pay fees for household packaging to PackUK; small producers register and report once a year. Keep the weight of polybags, tags and cartons per order on file, in case you need it for reporting.

What goes on the polybag, hang tag, inner box and carton

A packing checklist for your tech pack

1. Folded size and fold method, with a photo or drawing, plus tissue, board and hanger instructions.
2. Polybag size, thickness in mil or microns, material, closure, and the exact warning text and type size.
3. Any recycled content or compostable claim, with the supplier's certificate.
4. GTIN list by style, colour and size, and the barcode position on the tag or bag.
5. Hang tag artwork, size, attachment method and position; whether a price is printed.
6. FNSKU or other channel labels, who prints them, and where they are applied.
7. Inner packing: units per inner box or bundle.
8. Carton board, maximum outer dimensions and maximum gross weight for each channel.
9. Solid or ratio packing, the ratio, units per carton and the rule for the last carton.
10. Carton mark artwork for each face, and the packing list format.
11. Market markings: importer name and address for the EU, Triman and Info-tri for France.
12. Packaging weights per unit, for UK EPR or other producer responsibility reporting.

What to do next

Send your packing requirements with the tech pack. CMB Sourcing is a buying house in Narayanganj, Dhaka. We do not own sewing lines: orders are made in audited partner factories, and we name the factory making your order in writing before production, with its address, certificates and audit reports. We check quality on the line and run an AQL final inspection. Our shipping and logistics service covers FOB, CIF or DDP from Chattogram sea port or Dhaka airport. If you are launching under your own brand, see our private label service. Request a quote and we will reply within one working day.