Home/Glossary

The vocabulary procurement teams actually use.

Hospitality-textile constructions, trade-finance instruments, export-compliance certifications, container math — defined plainly, without marketing fog.

Construction

5 construction terms.

GSMGrams per Square Metre — fabric weight specification: GSM (Grams per Square Metre) is the standard textile-weight unit. For hospitality bath towels, 400 GSM is entry-mid, 500 – 600 GSM is luxury. Bath robes typically run 350 – 500 GSM. Higher GSM correlates with absorbency, durability, and cost; it does not guarantee softer hand.
Thread Count (TC)Threads per square inch in woven bedding: Thread count is the sum of vertical and horizontal yarns in a square inch of woven fabric. Hospitality bedding standards: 200 TC entry, 300 TC mid, 400 TC luxury. Above 400 TC is often marketing inflation — multi-ply yarn can be counted twice. Pair TC with yarn quality (combed long-staple cotton beats high-TC short-staple).
TerryLoop-pile woven fabric used for bath towels and robes: Terry is a woven fabric with uncut loops on both sides, creating high surface area for absorbency. Variations include cotton terry (standard), looped terry, sheared terry (cut to velour), and waffle (textured weave with absorbent pockets). Hospitality bath programmes typically combine terry towels with waffle or velour robes.
PercaleTightly-woven plain-weave bedding fabric, crisp hand: Percale is a one-over-one plain-weave construction with at least 180 threads per square inch. Reads crisp and cool against the skin; often preferred for warmer climates or as a summer-weight bedding programme. Contrast with sateen, which has a softer hand and warmer feel.
SateenFour-over-one weave bedding fabric, soft and lustrous: Sateen is a four-over, one-under weave that exposes more yarn surface, creating a softer, more lustrous fabric than percale. Slightly heavier and warmer; usually preferred for cooler climates or premium bedding programmes.

Materials

2 materials terms.

Long-Staple CottonCotton fibre of staple length 28mm and above: Long-staple cotton has fibres at least 28mm long; extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton is 34mm+. Longer fibres produce smoother, stronger, more durable yarn — preferred for hospitality bath and bed textiles. ELS varieties include Pima (US), Egyptian Giza, and Indian Suvin.
Combed CottonCotton processed to remove short fibres before spinning: Combing is a yarn-preparation step that removes shorter, weaker fibres and aligns the remaining long fibres in parallel. Combed cotton produces softer, smoother yarn than carded cotton; standard for premium bath and bed textiles.

Trade

6 trade terms.

FOBFree On Board — risk transfers at origin port loading: Per Incoterms 2020, FOB means the seller delivers goods loaded onto the buyer's nominated vessel at the named loading port (e.g., FOB JNPT, FOB Mundra). Risk and cost transfer to the buyer at that point. Default for textile exports from India.
CIFCost, Insurance and Freight — seller pays sea freight + basic insurance: Per Incoterms 2020, CIF means the seller arranges and pays for sea freight to the named destination port and basic marine insurance (110% of invoice value). Risk transfers when goods cross the ship's rail at origin; cost transfers at destination. Common for buyers wanting a single landed-cost line item.
EXWEx Works — buyer takes over at the seller's premises: Per Incoterms 2020, EXW means the seller makes goods available at their named premises and the buyer arranges everything thereafter — loading, transport, export customs, freight. Used by buyers with their own established freight-forwarder presence in the origin country.
Letter of Credit (LC)Bank-guaranteed payment instrument for international trade: An LC is issued by the buyer's bank in favour of the seller, undertaking to pay against compliant document presentation. Standard for first-order commercial relationships and for Fortune 500 retail buyers. Sight LC pays on presentation; usance LC pays at maturity (30/60/90 days). Document discrepancies trigger fees and delays — getting the document set right is the seller's responsibility.
Telegraphic Transfer (TT)Wire transfer payment via SWIFT or equivalent: TT is a bank-to-bank wire transfer used for international payment. Hospitality and retail buyers often use a 30/70 split — 30% advance to start production, 70% balance against BoL copy. Faster and cheaper than LC but offers no bank-side payment guarantee.
MOQMinimum Order Quantity: MOQ is the smallest order size a supplier will accept for a given SKU. Driven primarily by container economics and production efficiency. Multi-SKU programmes typically have lower per-SKU MOQs than single-SKU orders, because the container is filled across the catalogue.

Compliance

9 compliance terms.

IECImporter-Exporter Code (DGFT): IEC is a 10-digit code issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Government of India, mandatory for any export or import declaration. Since 2016, IEC equals the entity's PAN. Adalwin Commerce™ LLP IEC: ABZFA4553G.
LUTLetter of Undertaking — enables zero-rated GST exports: LUT is filed annually under GST and authorises an exporter to ship goods without paying IGST upfront (zero-rated). Without an LUT, exporters must pay IGST and claim a refund — material working-capital impact. We file LUT every fiscal year.
AD CodeAuthorised Dealer Code — bank registration for export remittance: An AD Code is a 14-digit numeric code linked to the exporter's shipping bank, registered at the customs port of export. Required for every shipping bill so the export remittance can be tagged to the bank account when funds arrive. Without AD Code registration at the named port, the shipping bill cannot be filed.
Oeko-Tex Standard 100Independent textile chemical-safety certification: Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certifies that the textile is free from harmful levels of regulated substances (azo dyes, heavy metals, formaldehyde, etc.). Class I covers products for babies and skin contact; Class II covers products in direct skin contact; Class III is occasional skin contact; Class IV is decorative materials. Hospitality bath and bed textiles must meet at least Class II.
GOTSGlobal Organic Textile Standard — organic-cotton certification: GOTS certifies that a textile is made from organic fibres and processed under environmental and social criteria (no harmful chemicals, fair labour). Required for any product marketed as 'organic'. Premium positioning; relevant for sustainability-forward retail and hospitality buyers.
Sedex SMETAEthical-trade audit (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit): SMETA is a 4-pillar ethical audit covering labour standards, health and safety, environment, and business ethics. Required by Primark, Tesco, M&S, and most large EU retail buyers as a supplier qualification gate.
BSCIBusiness Social Compliance Initiative — supplier audit programme: BSCI (now operated under amfori) is a supplier-monitoring system focused on labour conditions in producing countries. Required by some EU retail buyers; audit produces a graded score (A through E).
WRAPWorldwide Responsible Accredited Production: WRAP is a US-led independent certification for socially responsible apparel and textile manufacturing. Common requirement for US-market apparel programmes. Audit covers labour standards, factory safety, customs compliance, and security.
AQL-2.5Acceptable Quality Limit (statistical pre-shipment inspection): AQL is a statistical sampling standard (MIL-STD-105E / ISO 2859) for batch-quality acceptance. AQL-2.5 (Major) / 4.0 (Minor) is the hospitality and Fortune-500 retail standard — the maximum percentage of defective items considered acceptable in a sample lot. We run AQL-2.5 pre-shipment inspections as standard.

Logistics

2 logistics terms.

CBMCubic Metres — volumetric shipping unit: CBM (Cubic Metres) measures the volume a shipment occupies. A 20-foot HC container holds ~67 CBM; a 40-foot HC holds ~76 CBM. Quoting per-SKU CBM lets buyers compute container utilisation: a folded bath towel is ~0.0015 CBM packed; a duvet cover ~0.003 CBM packed.
HS CodeHarmonized System code — customs classification of goods: HS codes are 6 to 10-digit numeric codes that classify traded goods for customs and tariff purposes. The first 6 digits are internationally harmonised; subsequent digits are country-specific. Hospitality textiles cluster around HS chapters 6208 (bath robes), 6302 (bed and bath linen), 6301 (blankets and throws), 5702 (woven mats).