When people search for “composition of fabrics,” they’re usually trying to decode lines like 95% CO / 5% EL or 100% PES. They want to know what the abbreviations mean and what the blend tells them about the fabric. If you’re working in production, those same compositions do more than satisfy curiosity.
They’re one of the first inputs a factory uses to estimate sourcing options, cost range, dye behavior, and performance risk. Used well, composition helps reduce the classic sampling surprise: “We used something similar.”
This article does two things:
- First, it gives you a fabric composition chart so you can quickly decode common abbreviations.
- Then it shows how those same compositions fit into factory-ready BOMs that support cleaner quoting and sourcing.
AI Tech Packs helps you with that second half of the job by automatically generating tech packs from a simple garment image and a few key details. It gives your team a structured way to capture fabric specs and BOM details in one place—so factories see the same information every time instead of piecing it together from scattered files. Generate your first tech pack free.
Fabric Composition Chart (Quick Reference)
There isn’t a single global standard for fiber abbreviations. Different mills and regions may use slightly different codes for the same thing, so it’s usually best to treat any chart as a helpful decoder, not a strict rule.
Still, there are patterns you’ll see again and again in catalogs, swatch cards, and tech packs.
Plant Fibers (Common Codes)
Abbreviation
Fiber Name
CO
Cotton
OCO
Organic Cotton
RCO
Recycled Cotton
LI
Linen / Flax
HL
Cotton–Linen Mix
JU
Jute
RA
Ramie
BA / BB
Bamboo
HA / HF
Hemp*
Note that some suppliers use CA for hemp, while others use CA for acetate instead. Because of that overlap, it’s usually safer to follow the codes on your supplier’s spec sheet rather than assuming one meaning.
Regenerated Cellulose Fibers
These fibers start from plant-based cellulose, then go through a chemical process to become a new, man-made fiber.
Abbreviation
Fiber Name
CV / VI
Viscose / Rayon
MD / CMD
Modal
LC / CLY
Lyocell
CU / CUP
Cupro
AC / CA
Cellulose Acetate
TA / CTA
Triacetate
You’ll sometimes see fabrics marketed as “bamboo” that are technically viscose or lyocell made from bamboo pulp, so suppliers may group them with regenerated cellulose rather than plant fibers.
Synthetic Fibers
Synthetic fibers are usually derived from petrochemicals. They’re often blended with natural or cellulose fibers to adjust durability, stretch, dry time, and cost.
Abbreviation
Fiber Name
PES / PL
Polyester
RPL
Recycled Polyester
PA
Polyamide / Nylon
RPA
Recycled Polyamide
EL / EA
Elastane / Spandex
PP
Polypropylene
PE
Polyethylene
PC / PAN
Acrylic / Polyacrylic
PU
Polyurethane
PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride
You may also see more specialized codes, like AR for aramid or CF for carbon fiber, but those tend to show up in performance or technical categories rather than everyday apparel.
Animal Fibers
Animal fibers are usually associated with warmth, insulation, and specific handfeels.
Abbreviation
Fiber Name
WO
Wool
WV
Virgin Wool
SE
Silk
WS
Cashmere
WM
Mohair
WP
Alpaca
Many suppliers also use broader labels like HA for “hair” in non-apparel contexts, but in most clothing-focused BOMs, you’ll see the more specific codes above.
Other And Functional Fibers
Some fibers are present for structure, function, or aesthetics rather than comfort.
Abbreviation
Fiber Name
AF
Other Fibers (unspecified mix)
GL
Glass
ME / MT
Metal / Metallised Fibers
TR
Textile Residues / Recycled Mix
Codes like AF or TR are sometimes used when a small portion of the composition doesn’t fall neatly into a single named fiber, or when a recycled input has mixed origins. The supplier’s spec sheet is usually your best reference for what’s actually inside those buckets.
Common Fabric Composition Examples
Once you start reading spec sheets and BOMs, you’ll see the composition of fabrics written in certain blend patterns again and again. These examples aren’t rules, just common patterns that help you recognize what you’re looking at.
- 100% CO
- 95% CO / 5% EL
- 60% CO / 40% PES
- 100% PES
- 90% PES / 10% EL
- 80% PA / 20% EL
- 100% CV/VI
- 55% LI / 45% CV/VI
A line like 95% CO / 5% EL tells you you’re likely looking at a cotton knit or woven with added stretch. 55% LI / 45% CV often points to a linen–viscose blend that keeps some of linen’s character while softening the handfeel and improving drape.
These ratios are useful to recognize, but on their own, they only tell part of the story.
How Fabric Composition Works In Production
From a production point of view, the composition of fabrics is less about marketing language and more about repeatability.
In a tech pack or BOM, fabric composition usually comes down to two things:
- Generic fiber names (cotton, polyester, viscose, wool, elastane, etc.).
- Percentages by weight, listed from highest to lowest.
So a line like 95% cotton / 5% elastane or 95% CO / 5% EL tells the factory what the fabric is made of in a way that’s easy to read and compare. It gives them an early sense of cost, sourcing difficulty, and performance risk without locking them into a specific supplier yet.
What it doesn’t do is uniquely identify a fabric on its own. Two fabrics can both be 60% CO / 40% PES and still behave very differently if:
- One is a lightweight woven shirting, and the other is a heavy fleece.
- One is brushed, and the other is smooth.
- One is compact, and the other is more open in structure.
That’s why brands sometimes get a sample back that technically matches the ratio but feels nothing like what they had in mind.
Composition As A Decision Filter
Factories don’t read composition the way shoppers do. A consumer might see “100% cotton” and think “natural and breathable.” A factory sees the same line and thinks in terms of:
- Likely price band
- Lead times and sourcing channels
- Dye behavior and shrink risk
- How it will combine with other materials in the garment
Composition becomes a kind of decision filter. It narrows the universe of options to a handful of realistic candidates and hints at where extra care might be needed during sampling and testing.
On its own, though, it’s only one part of the story. To get a BOM that’s truly factory-readable, composition usually needs to sit inside a bigger bundle of information.
Making BOM Composition Factory-Readable
A BOM line becomes much more useful when it describes what the fabric is and what it’s made of at the same time.
In practice, that often means pairing composition with three other fields: construction, weight, and finish.
Together, those four pieces give factories a clearer picture of what they’re quoting and trying to match.
Construction
Construction describes how the fabric is built. For example:
- Woven vs knit
- Specific type, like single jersey, twill, poplin, rib, fleece
“60% CO / 40% PES” doesn’t tell you whether you’re dealing with a twill or a brushed fleece. Adding construction helps close that gap and keeps substitutions closer to what you had in mind.
Weight
Weight is often given in GSM (grams per square meter) or sometimes in oz/yd². It’s another strong signal for what kind of fabric you’re dealing with.
GSM matters because it communicates fabric weight per square meter in a way that factories can act on quickly. A higher GSM often means a heavier, more substantial fabric (and sometimes more opacity and durability), while a lower GSM is typically lighter and more drapey.
Two jerseys with the same composition can feel and perform very differently if one is 150 GSM and the other is 260 GSM. Including weight in the BOM makes it easier for factories to land in the right category.
Finish
Finishes are any treatments that change behavior or handfeel. For example:
- Brushed
- Enzyme washed
- Peached
- Anti-pilling
- Coated or laminated
Finishes can affect softness, pilling, shrink behavior, and how a fabric takes color. When they’re part of what makes the fabric “the fabric,” it’s helpful to acknowledge them alongside composition.
Put together, construction, weight, finish, and composition reduce the chance of ending up with a “correct blend, wrong fabric” situation.
Scope Clarity: Which Materials Need Their Own Composition?
It’s easy to think of “the fabric” as a single thing, but most garments use several materials. Each one can influence cost, comfort, and how the style behaves over time. When the BOM treats composition as if there’s only one fabric in play, factories often fill in the blanks with whatever’s typical in their supply chain.
That’s where scope clarity helps. Instead of one generic composition line, each material that matters to the garment can have its own entry.
Common examples include the following.
- Shell: the main body fabric.
- Lining: full linings or partial linings in bodies, sleeves, or hoods.
- Pocketing: the fabric used inside pockets, which may differ from the shell.
- Rib: collars, cuffs, and waistbands on knit styles.
- Fusibles and interlinings: materials that support structure in areas like plackets, waistbands, and collars.
- Contrast panels, bindings, facings: any secondary visible or structural fabrics.
When these materials are vague or missing, factories usually make reasonable assumptions. Sometimes those assumptions work in your favor. Other times, they change the stretch, opacity, durability, or the way the garment sits on the body.
Clarity doesn’t have to mean a complicated BOM. It can simply mean that whenever a different material is doing real work in the garment, it gets its own line with a clear composition and basic identifiers.
Blends And Minor Fibers: When Small Percentages Matter
A small percentage in the composition field doesn’t always mean a small effect.
Stretch fibers like elastane are the most obvious example. A 2–8% elastane content can make the difference between a fabric that feels rigid and one that moves comfortably with the body. That small slice of the blend changes recovery, fit tolerance, and how forgiving a style feels across sizes.
Minor fibers can also influence:
- Durability and abrasion resistance
- Pilling and surface appearance
- Dry time and moisture behavior
- How the fabric handles heat and washing
From a BOM perspective, it can help to treat functional minor fibers as part of the fabric’s identity, not a footnote, even if your final care label eventually rolls some of them into an “other fibers” bucket to fit local rules.
The goal isn’t to make compositions longer for their own sake. It’s to make sure that when a small percentage is doing important work, it’s visible enough that future substitutions don’t quietly remove the property that made the fabric feel right in the first place.
Examples: Vague vs. Factory-Readable BOM Lines
It can help to see how the same idea looks when it’s written loosely versus in a way a factory can actually act on.
Example 1: Knit Tee Or Fitted Top
Vague BOM lines
- “Cotton fabric, black”
- “Rib trim, stretchy”
A factory can guess from this, but it still has to decide: which knit, which weight, how much stretch, and what “stretchy” even means in practice.
Factory-readable BOM lines
- Shell: Single jersey knit, 95% CO / 5% EL, 180 GSM, reactive dyed, black (supplier color code or Pantone if used)
- Rib: 1x1 rib knit, 92% CO / 8% EL, 260 GSM, black, match shell shade
Here, composition sits inside a small bundle of details. The factory knows it’s quoting jerseys and ribs with defined stretch and weight, instead of guessing at “a cotton knit.”
Example 2: Fleece Hoodie Or Sweatshirt
Vague BOM line
- “Poly blend fleece, heather grey”
There’s no indication of how heavy, how warm, how brushed, or what “poly blend” really means.
Factory-readable BOM line
- Shell: Brushed fleece knit, 60% CO / 40% PES, 320 GSM, heather grey (melange yarn), anti-pilling finish
Now the factory has a direction for composition, construction, and finish, and a decent sense of where this sits in their range.
Common Pitfalls In Composition Fields
Most BOM problems don’t come from one dramatic error. They come from small ambiguities that add up over time.
Some patterns to watch for:
- Composition without context: A line like “95% CO / 5% EL” with no construction, weight, or finish can describe dozens of different fabrics. It’s readable, but still leaves the sourcing team to fill in blanks.
- Fuzzy language that invites substitution: “Cotton blend,” “poly blend,” or “stretch fabric” may be fine in early sketches. In a BOM, they leave too much room for interpretation. A factory might choose something that performs differently from what you tested.
- Inconsistent naming across the tech pack: If one page says “spandex,” another says “elastane,” and the BOM uses “EL,” it’s easy for details to drift during revisions. Consistent generic names and abbreviations make it easier to track changes.
- Missing secondary materials: When rib, pocketing, fusibles, linings, and tapes aren’t specified, factories default to what’s typical for them. That can shift stretch, breathability, comfort, or even the way a garment hangs.
- Unclear placement: If the same composition appears in multiple places on the garment, or several different fabrics share one vague description, it’s harder to trace issues back to the right material later.
The more a composition entry supports real decisions (quoting, sourcing, testing), the less likely it is to slow down sampling or introduce quiet changes between proto and bulk.
Composition As Part Of Your Source Of Truth
Composition details can come from several places: a mill’s spec sheet, a fabric library entry, a previous style, internal notes, or lab test results. Over the life of a style, those sources don’t always match perfectly.
You might see a lab report that tightens up the reported percentages, or a supplier that updates a blend slightly between sample and bulk. If those changes don’t have a clear “home,” it’s easy for the numbers in the BOM to drift away from what’s actually being cut and sewn.
It can help to treat the BOM as the current “source of truth” for composition. When new information arrives that you decide to rely on, that’s what gets reflected in the BOM line. Older references can still live in your files, but the version in the tech pack is the one everyone works from.
This doesn’t have to be formal or complex. The underlying idea is simple: whatever the factory is working to reproduce should match the composition you’re using to quote, approve, and communicate about the style.
AI Techpacks can help by acting as that shared source of truth. Your team can keep compositions, BOM lines, and fabric details in one workspace, then update them as new info comes in from mills or lab tests. That way, factories and pattern makers are always looking at the same, current version of the tech pack.
