How to Source Cotton Slippers from China: A Buyer's Checklist

By the time a container is on the water, everything that could have gone wrong is already locked in. The checklist below is the one we would want a buyer to run through before placing the order.

Start from the shelf, not from the factory

Decide the retail price and the placement first. A slipper destined for a discount aisle and one destined for a gift-box display are different products with different materials, and quoting the wrong one wastes everyone's time.

Confirm what "cotton" actually means

Ask for the material composition in writing, and for a physical sample. Cotton, cotton-blend and brushed polyester all get described as cotton in correspondence, and they feel different in a customer's hand.

Agree the sample before the bulk order

• Approve a physical pre-production sample, not a photo.
• Keep a sealed reference sample from the approved round.
• Note the colour reference, not just the colour name.

Check the paperwork early

Carton marks, barcode data, packaging artwork and any labelling requirements should reach the factory weeks before production, not days.