How to Write a Tech Pack for a Cosmetic Bag

A tech pack is the written and drawn instruction set a factory uses to make your product. For a cosmetic bag, it turns a mood board or a competitor sample into something measurable: exact dimensions, named materials, colour references and construction rules. Search interest in "tech pack templates" keeps rising, but a template only helps if you know what each page must control.

This guide walks through each section a pouch or cosmetic bag tech pack should include, and explains how the document governs sampling and bulk production.

Flat sketches and views

Start with clean, flat technical drawings rather than lifestyle renders. Show the front, back, side gussets, base and top, plus an open view of the interior with pockets, elastic loops or dividers. Add close-up callouts for the zipper end, handle attachment and any piping, so nothing is left to interpretation.

Draw sketches to scale where possible and label every component with the same name used in the bill of materials. Consistent naming lets the factory cross-check drawings against materials and quickly spot anything that has been left out or described twice.

Measurement spec: points of measure and tolerances

List every point of measure (POM) with a code, a plain description and how it is measured: for example width at base, height at centre, gusset depth, zipper opening length and handle drop. Give each POM a plus/minus tolerance. Without tolerances, a factory cannot tell whether a sample passes, and your inspector has nothing objective to check.

State whether measurements are taken flat or filled, with the zipper open or closed, and in which unit. Soft pouches can change shape noticeably depending on how they are laid out, so a clear method keeps factory, brand and inspector reading the same numbers.

Bill of materials

The bill of materials (BOM) names every component: shell fabric, lining, interlining or foam, zipper tape and teeth, puller, webbing, trims, thread and labels. For each, state the material, weight or thickness, finish, colour and where it is used. If you are still deciding on a shell fabric, our note on nylon versus RPET covers the trade-offs.

Be specific about hardware. "Metal zipper" is not enough; state the zipper type and size, the puller style and finish, and whether the zipper closes left-to-right or right-to-left.

Colour standards

Reference each colour to a physical standard, not a screen. For textiles, many brands use the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors system, whose TCX references are cotton swatches; Pantone also offers TPG paper standards that correspond to TCX colours. Specify which standard applies to which component, and note that the same reference can look different on nylon, PU and cotton.

Also state the light source for colour approval, and whether you will approve lab dips before sampling.

Artwork placement and logo method

Supply vector artwork and a placement drawing with the logo size and its distance from fixed reference points such as the top seam or the centre line. Name the decoration method (screen print, heat transfer, embroidery or debossing, woven or rubber patch) and the colours used in the artwork.

For each logo, note the thread or ink colours against your colour standards, the minimum line thickness the method can hold, and whether the decoration is applied before or after the panel is sewn. Placement often shifts once a panel is stitched, so state which stage the measurement refers to.

Construction and seam notes

Describe how the bag is built: seam type, stitches per inch or per centimetre, thread type, seam allowance, whether seams are bound, turned or piped, and where bartacks reinforce stress points. Note any water-resistant requirement for the lining and how the lining attaches to the zipper. Mark critical areas so they are checked first during the AQL inspection plan.

Where a detail is hard to describe, attach a photo of a reference product with arrows and notes. A clear image of the finish you want, such as a turned edge or a bound seam, often avoids a full extra sample round.

Packaging and labelling

Specify labels (brand, care, fibre content, country of origin), hangtags, polybag type and warnings, folding or stuffing, inner and outer carton marking, and barcode placement. If you sell in the EU, Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 governs textile fibre names and composition labelling; the EUR-Lex summary notes that fabric bags with non-textile parts of animal origin must say so. Our guide to compliance documents covers the wider picture.

If your product carries an environmental claim, such as recycled content, list the supporting documents you expect alongside the labelling artwork so the claim can be checked before anything is printed.

How the tech pack controls sampling and bulk

Treat the tech pack as a version-controlled contract. Every sample round should be measured against it, with comments recorded on a revision page and the file re-issued with a new version number. The approved pre-production sample and the final tech pack together become the reference for bulk production and inspection.

When a detail is missing, the factory has to guess, and guesses show up as rework, delays or disputes. A complete tech pack also makes quotes comparable, because every supplier is pricing the same product.

Working with ROOTSMEN

ROOTSMEN has made custom cosmetic bags, pouches and travel organizers since 1981, with its own factory in Guangdong since 1993. If you have a draft tech pack, a sketch or a reference cosmetic bag, send us your draft and we can review it with you before sampling begins.