Raw Silk Contracts: What to Lock and What to Keep Flexible

Why a softer unit price is the wrong thing to negotiate

One root cause explains the mistake. A buyer treats every line in a contract as negotiable, so a moving price invites a renegotiation of the whole document. Price is the one line that can move without changing the goods. The lines that define grade, denier, packing and quality evidence cannot move, because a buyer will use them to accept or reject the yarn at the loom.

Consider a first bulk order that grows into a standing program. The buyer secures a better unit price and a larger volume, then lets the quality wording stay loose to keep the deal moving. The grade line still says 5A, but no lot mark ties that grade to a specific production lot. Months later, when a weaving run shows uneven yarn, the buyer has a price win and no way to test the claim. The cheaper price did not cause the problem. The loose wording did.

The split is not a new idea. The raw silk spec page publishes a written quotation acceptance framework with five field groups and 21 fields. Each field is either stated in the written quotation or confirmed in writing before order approval (Beijing Qingshanyimu Trading Co., Ltd., 2026). That two-way split is the lock-versus-flexible decision in another form. A buyer who understands it has no reason to reopen the spec when the price changes.

The 20/22D white raw silk yarn page shows the product side of the same terms: denier, grade and finish. Those are the lines a price negotiation tends to touch. The quotation adds the rest, and the rest is what protects the buyer. Read the whole page before the order grows, not after the yarn arrives.

One origin, three cloths, and what a tonnage figure cannot say

A volume figure is not a cloth specification. The clearest reason to fix the spec in writing sits on the label's own site, in its published account of where the couture silk comes from. The mulberry silk woven in Yizhou is the base of the couture gowns Christopher Bu designs. The site names three gowns from that base. They are the dupioni cut for Fan Bingbing in 2013, the jacquard of the Forbidden City gown she wore to the 2015 Met Gala, and the Snow Plum Blossom dress Paz Vega wore to the 2018 Oscars. The label's own production records place the silk for these gowns in Yizhou, a line the site tags as original data. It also says both 2013 looks reappear on its own lookbook models, cut from the same dupioni the label supplies as greige today (the Yizhou silk account).

Three named gowns came off one origin but three different cloths. Dupioni is a plain weave; paired-cocoon filaments leave slubs in its yarn. The Forbidden City cloth is a mulberry silk jacquard, with the palace motif woven into the cloth on the loom. The Snow Plum Blossom dress is mulberry silk with the plum blossoms embroidered onto the surface after weaving. The site draws the buyer's conclusion itself: a buyer asking for one of these should not be quoted another. The scope stays narrow. The site names these three garments, and nothing on it says every gown, collection or season used this silk; this article makes no such claim either.

That difference is where a concrete spec fact meets a named garment. Evenness is one of the per-batch quality evidence fields a buyer fixes on the written quotation, alongside cleanness and neatness, and the spec sheet grades yarn 4A, 5A or 6A under GB/T 1797-2008 with 20/22D as the standard denier. The site's own couture note says the grade sets the ceiling for everything woven from it, so a higher grade gives a cleaner, more even yarn for a couture cloth. It also says a jacquard loom cannot make a clean motif from uneven yarn. Read together, the evenness value locked on the quotation is the same yarn property that let the Forbidden City jacquard carry its woven palace motif. A buyer who fixes only a tonnage figure and leaves grade tier by lot, denier, evenness, cleanness, neatness, fabric category, packing, HS subheading confirmation and certificate scope open has not said which of the three cloths is being bought. Lock those cloth terms in writing, and leave schedule windows and volume bands flexible.

One 2013 look is described on the site as a stamp-printed dupioni umbrella skirt. That phrase describes a finished archive garment, quoted here as archive fact and not a supply option. The finishes a buyer can order are greige (undyed) or dyed to order from a standard shade card or a custom colour, both available on all products. The site describes sourcing as raw silk, greige fabric and dupioni from local mills, with Yizhou as the stated geographic origin.

The one test: does a term describe the goods or the order?

Use one question to sort any contract term. Does this term say what the goods are, or does it say when, how much and under what conditions the goods arrive? A term that defines the goods belongs on the written quotation and should be fixed. A term that describes the order belongs in the written confirmation before order approval and should stay flexible.

A written quotation is the document that fixes the spec, the price and the acceptance evidence for one order. A conformance term is a contract term that says what the goods are, so it is fixed on the written quotation. An execution term is a contract term that says when, how much and under what conditions the goods arrive, so it is confirmed in writing before order approval. The two kinds of term sound similar on a contract, which is why buyers mix them up. They need different treatment.

The methodology is plain. Take each term in turn and ask two questions: which document would satisfy it, and when must that document exist. A term with a fixed answer and a document that exists at quotation is a conformance term, so lock it. A term whose value is set later, in the signed order documents, is an execution term, so leave it open and require it in writing before approval. Write the answer down, one line per term.

An example makes the split concrete. Grade is a conformance term. A buyer fixes 4A, 5A or 6A by lot on the written quotation, because the grade describes the yarn itself. Lead time is an execution term. A buyer leaves it as a window, because the date depends on sample approval, deposit and material availability, all of which come later. Locking a fixed date too early produces a number nobody can yet honour.

The downloadable raw silk spec sheet is the reference for the conformance values. Keep it beside the quotation while you work down the terms, and mark each row as locked or still open. A term that needs a phone call to explain is a term that should be stated on paper.

The lock versus keep flexible table

The table below is the core of the decision. It lists the terms a raw silk buyer meets in a written quotation and a signed order, and sorts each one into lock or flexible. Read it as a working sheet. The left column names the term, the middle column holds the terms a buyer fixes in writing, and the right column holds the terms a buyer confirms in writing before order approval.

Two rows deserve a second look, because they are easy to read backwards. HS classification and certificate scope are locked as rules, not as values. A buyer fixes heading 5002 and the requirement that the exact subheading and the certificate numbers are confirmed in writing. The specific subheading and the specific numbers arrive later, with the quotation and shipping documents. Locking a made-up value early is worse than leaving it open. The trade terms page states the subheading rule, and the certificate check page lists the verification entry points.

What to lock, term by term

The lock column is not a wish list. Each item maps to a field the written quotation states, and each value traces to the published spec sheet. A buyer can check the whole column before signing.

Grade and quality tier by lot

Fix the grade and the quality tier by lot, and tie both to a lot mark. Grades span 4A, 5A and 6A, and grade availability is confirmed by variety in the quotation. Grading follows GB/T 1797-2008, with moisture held below the limit the standard sets (Standardization Administration of China, 2008). A lot mark is the identifier that ties a grade claim to one production lot. A grading certificate is the per-lot document that records the test result for that lot. A grade with no lot mark is a word with nothing attached to it, so the lot mark and the per-lot certificate are what make the claim checkable.

Denier and the three quality measures

Fix the denier. 20/22D is standard, with 13/19D also in regular supply and 27/29D available on request. Fix evenness, cleanness and neatness as per-batch quality evidence, because each one constrains a different step of the weaving run. These values describe the yarn, so they belong on the written quotation and should not move when the price moves. The full field list on the spec page publishes the denier row and the per-batch quality evidence group.

Packing, incoterms, payment and certificate scope

Fix packing as export cartons or bales, 60 kg per bale typical, with luxury silk yarn in 5 kg bundles. Fix the incoterm for bulk: FOB Nansha, FOB Yantian, FOB Qinzhou or FCA Yizhou. Fix payment as T/T, with a deposit before production and the balance against the Bill of Lading. Fix the rule that certificate numbers and their listed scope come with the written quotation and shipping documents. All of these are stated fields on the quotation (Beijing Qingshanyimu Trading Co., Ltd., 2026). The product range lists the four varieties these terms apply to.

What stays flexible until the order is confirmed

The flexible column is where a rising volume and a falling unit price should actually land. These terms describe the order, not the goods, so a buyer confirms them in writing before order approval rather than fixing them too early.

Keep the schedule as a window. The lead time for eligible regular bulk orders is 15-25 working days after sample, specification, deposit and material availability are confirmed, and the binding schedule sits in the signed order documents (trade terms, 2026). A buyer who locks a fixed date before those four things exist has a date nobody can honour. Keep volume bands open too. Raw silk is sold by weight, not by the metre, and there is no universal fixed minimum. Reference figures run around 10 kg for natural dupion silk yarn and 5 kg for luxury silk yarn, but the final MOQ is set in the written quotation.

Keep material availability open, since it is one of the triggers that starts the lead-time clock. A larger volume does not make material appear sooner, so the confirmation has to come in writing before approval. Keep the exact HS subheading open as well. Raw silk (not thrown) falls under heading 5002, and the written quotation and shipping documents confirm the exact subheading, never one fixed code for every order (World Customs Organization, Harmonized System heading 5002). The heading is locked; the subheading value is flexible.

The same logic applies to certificate numbers. A buyer should fact check each number and its listed scope against the issuing body's public entry before approval, rather than accept a number fixed on the quotation at face value. Certification for qualified buyer review, within each document's listed scope, covers GOTS, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 Class II, China Organic and quality-system files. The certificate check page lists two entry points. The OEKO-TEX label check confirms a label and its scope (OEKO-TEX Association, retrieved 2026-11-06). The GOTS public licence database does the same for organic status (Global Organic Textile Standard, retrieved 2026-11-06).

Where the figures on a contract come from

Every figure a buyer writes into a contract traces to one of two published documents. The spec sheet holds planning values. The written quotation and the shipping documents hold the final values for one order. Confusing the two causes a mismatch at the document stage, which is where a price renegotiation often comes back to cause trouble.

The downloadable raw silk spec sheet is the source for planning values. Denier is 20/22D as standard, with 13/19D also in regular supply and 27/29D on request. Grades are 4A, 5A and 6A. Packing is export cartons or bales, 60 kg per bale typical, and luxury silk yarn comes in 5 kg bundles. Bulk ships FOB Nansha, FOB Yantian, FOB Qinzhou or FCA Yizhou, and samples travel by DHL worldwide or a designated courier. Payment for bulk is T/T with a deposit and the balance against the Bill of Lading (trade terms, 2026). Grading follows GB/T 1797-2008, named on the certificate check page (Standardization Administration of China, 2008).

Finish is greige (undyed) or dyed to order from a standard shade card or a custom colour, and both are available on all products. Greige is silk yarn that has not been dyed. The product range lists four varieties: 20/22D white raw silk, natural dupion silk yarn, 1-ply luxury silk yarn and GOTS-certified organic silk. A useful check is to ask which figures are planning values and which are final. The written quotation carries the final spec, MOQ, schedule, applicable HS subheading and organic status, so a buyer comparing a planning value with a final value will find a discrepancy that is not really there.

How to write the split into the documents

The split only works if it is on paper. The written quotation acceptance framework gives a buyer the exact mechanism: each field is either stated in the written quotation or confirmed in writing before order approval. Map the locked terms to the stated fields and the flexible terms to the fields confirmed before approval.

Concretely, before you approve a larger order, ask for the written quotation and read all five groups against the published field list on the raw silk spec page. Mark each locked term as stated and each flexible term as confirmed in writing. The sample request page covers the swatch that should arrive with the quotation, and the contact page is where a buyer requests the written quotation. If a flexible term has no written confirmation before approval, it is still open, and an open term should not be signed as final.

Destination-market compliance works the same way. Buyers review California Prop 65 and EU textile safety requirements against product-specific test reports, and both sides confirm them in writing before order approval. One claim, one report, one written confirmation. If any of the three is missing, the term stays open. A larger order does not remove that check, so a buyer should keep the written quotation, the spec sheet and the signed order documents together and tick each row once, in order.

A short checklist before you sign

Work through these lines before you approve any raw silk order at a new volume or a new unit price. The list is short enough to use at a desk and specific enough to catch the terms a price negotiation tends to loosen.

• Sort each term with one question: does it describe the goods or the order?
• Lock grade by lot, denier, evenness, cleanness, neatness, packing, incoterms and payment terms on the written quotation.
• Lock heading 5002 and the rule that the exact subheading and certificate numbers are confirmed in writing.
• Leave the schedule, volume bands, material availability, final MOQ and the exact subheading value open until written confirmation before approval.
• Fact check each certificate number and scope against the public databases before approval.
• Keep the written quotation, the spec sheet and the signed order documents together.

Should a buyer lock the unit price when volume rises?

A buyer can agree a price for one order, but the price is not the term that protects the buyer. The terms that define the goods should be fixed in writing regardless of the price. A lower unit price does not change grade, denier, packing or the quality evidence, so those stay locked. The price line moves; the conformance lines do not.

Is the HS subheading fixed for every raw silk order?

No. Raw silk (not thrown) falls under HS heading 5002. The written quotation and shipping documents confirm the exact subheading, since it depends on the goods and the destination. A single fixed code for every order is not how the documents work. Lock the heading and the confirmation rule, and keep the subheading value open.

When is the final MOQ fixed?

In the written quotation. Raw silk is sold by weight, and there is no universal fixed minimum. Reference figures such as roughly 10 kg for natural dupion silk yarn and 5 kg for luxury silk yarn are planning values. The final MOQ is set in the written quotation for one order.

Can a buyer leave the certificate number open?

The certificate number and its listed scope come with the written quotation and shipping documents, so a buyer can fact check them against the public databases before approval. Fix the requirement that the numbers and scope are provided in writing, and leave the specific number to the documents rather than fixing a made-up value in advance.