United Fabrics International, Inc.
Return and Claims Policy
Applicable to all trade customers purchasing through unitedfabric.com and through United Fabrics International, Inc. and its divisions (United Fabric, UFI, and @TRENDS).
Effective Date: 05/19/2026
Last Updated: 05/21/2026
United Fabrics International, Inc. (“UFI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) sells textile goods on a wholesale basis to trade customers, including designers, manufacturers, and brands (each, a “Customer,” “you,” or “your”). This Return and Claims Policy (this “Policy”) governs claims, returns, and remedies relating to goods purchased from UFI. It applies to all orders placed through the UFI trade portal at unitedfabric.com and to all orders otherwise placed with UFI. The terms set forth here reflect UFI’s long-standing trade practices, in place since UFI began operating in 1991.
This Policy is part of, and is to be read together with, the UFI Master Purchase Agreement, the terms printed on each UFI Order Confirmation, Invoice, and Packing Slip, the UFI Cloth Grading Procedures, and the SGS inspection terms (collectively, the “Governing Terms”). In the event of any conflict between this Policy and a signed Master Purchase Agreement, the Master Purchase Agreement controls. This Policy does not enlarge any warranty and is subject to the limitations of liability set forth in the Governing Terms.
Because UFI sells exclusively to businesses for resale or commercial use, this Policy is a business-to-business trade policy and is not a consumer return policy.
1. No Returns Without Prior Written Authorization
No goods may be returned to UFI for any reason without UFI’s prior written authorization. Any return requires a Return Goods Authorization (“RGA”) issued by UFI in advance. Goods received by UFI without a valid RGA may be refused, returned to the Customer at the Customer’s expense, or held without credit, in UFI’s discretion.
Requesting authorization does not guarantee that a return will be accepted. Authorization, if granted, will specify the goods covered, the applicable claim or return window, the return destination, and any conditions.
2. Claim Windows and Inspection
All goods must be inspected promptly upon receipt. Claims must be submitted in writing within the periods set forth below, which track the terms printed on the UFI Invoice and the Master Purchase Agreement. Time is of the essence. Claims submitted after the applicable period are barred and waived, and the goods will be deemed accepted.
2.1 General Claims
All claims of any kind, including claims relating to quality, grading, quantity, shortage, mislabeling, or nonconformity, other than claims for latent defects, must be made in writing within ten (10) days from the date of tender of the goods.
2.2 Visible Damage in Transit
Visible loss or damage must be noted on the carrier’s freight bill or delivery receipt at the time of delivery and signed by the carrier’s agent. The Customer is responsible for reporting visible transit damage to the carrier and noting it at delivery; failure to do so may impair the Customer’s and UFI’s ability to recover from the carrier.
2.3 Concealed Damage in Transit
Concealed damage means physical damage to the shipment that is not apparent at the time of delivery. Concealed transit damage must be reported to UFI by a written inspection request submitted within fifteen (15) days from delivery. The Customer must retain the goods, the original packaging, and all shipping materials in their as-received condition pending inspection.
2.4 Latent Defects
A latent defect is a defect in the goods themselves that is hidden and that reasonable inspection and testing before processing would not reveal. A latent defect is distinct from concealed transit damage. A claim relating to a latent defect must be made in writing within sixty (60) days from the date of tender, consistent with the Master Purchase Agreement.
2.5 What a Claim Must Include
To allow UFI to evaluate a claim, the written claim should include, at minimum:
- The UFI Invoice number and/or Order Confirmation number;
- The quality (style) number(s) and pattern number(s) and quantity affected;
- A description of the issue and, where applicable, photographs;
- The date the goods were received; and
- Whether the goods remain in their original, unprocessed, as-received condition.
3. Inspection, Grading, and SGS Terms
Claims relating to quality or grading are evaluated under the UFI Cloth Grading Procedures and, where applicable, the SGS inspection terms. Goods are sold subject to the tolerances, grading standards, and inspection procedures set forth in those documents. Variations within those stated tolerances—including customary and industry-standard variations in color, shade, color fastness, hand, width, weight, shrinkage, and yield—are not defects and are not a basis for a claim or return.
Where SGS or other third-party inspection has been agreed for an order, the results of that inspection govern the disposition of quality claims to the extent provided in the applicable Governing Terms.
Inherent characteristics such as color fastness, shrinkage, and washability of textile goods are not latent defects. The Customer must test the goods before cutting for the Customer’s own intended end use. UFI is not responsible for goods that have been cut.
4. Fabrics Sold With Disclaimers
Certain fabrics have inherent characteristics that vary by their nature—for example, crinkle effects that vary from piece to piece, lot to lot, and roll to roll; nap, shading, and crush or pressure marks; surface streaks; hand or finish that changes after washing; and similar inherent properties. For such goods, UFI provides a written disclaimer that identifies the relevant characteristics. The disclaimer accompanies the Sales/Order Confirmation and is available on the website.
Goods sold with a disclaimer are sold in accordance with that disclaimer. The characteristics described in the applicable disclaimer are not defects, and they do not constitute a basis for a claim, a defect, or a return. As stated in UFI’s disclaimers, the Customer must test the goods for the Customer’s own intended end use prior to cutting, and UFI is not responsible for any goods that have been cut. This Section applies in addition to, and does not limit, Sections 3 and 7 of this Policy.
5. Goods That Have Been Cut, Processed, or Altered
No claim or return will be accepted for goods that have been dyed, cut, or processed in any manner, except that, consistent with the Master Purchase Agreement, a claim is not barred where the claimed defect was not and could not have been discovered through the testing the Customer is required to conduct before processing, and the Customer makes a written claim to UFI promptly upon discovery and within the latent-defect period in Section 2.4. The Customer must inspect and test goods before cutting or processing. Cutting or processing goods constitutes acceptance of those goods as to all defects that reasonable inspection and testing before cutting would have revealed.
6. Copyrighted Goods, Limited License, and Design Protection
Many UFI goods bear UFI’s proprietary artwork, prints, and designs, which are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. As stated on UFI’s packing slips for goods bearing such artwork and in the Master Purchase Agreement, the Customer is granted a limited license to use the proprietary artwork embellishing the goods it receives, in exchange for the Customer’s full payment for those goods on the agreed terms. Full payment is a condition of the license, and the license is limited to the units and/or yardage set forth in UFI’s invoice.
No rights in any pattern or design of the goods pass to the Customer except as an integral part of the goods themselves. The Customer agrees not to reproduce, or cause to be reproduced, directly or indirectly, any such pattern or design, and the Customer has no right to use UFI’s trademarks, trade names, or copyrights unless expressly licensed to do so in writing. The sale or distribution by any party of any fabric or other product bearing UFI’s proprietary artwork without full payment as required constitutes copyright infringement.
Nothing in this Policy—including the issuance of any credit or replacement—transfers, expands, or grants any right in UFI’s artwork, patterns, designs, or other intellectual property beyond the limited, payment-conditioned license described above. Goods returned to UFI must not be copied, reproduced, or distributed. This Section restates and is subject to the limited-license and design-protection provisions of the Master Purchase Agreement, which control in the event of any conflict.
7. Remedy and Inspection Procedure for Valid Claims
After a written claim is made within the applicable period in Section 2, the Customer must, within thirty (30) days after receipt of UFI’s written notice of the claim, make the affected goods available for inspection at UFI’s offices, without cost to UFI, and provide representative samples on request. Failure to make the goods available as required constitutes acceptance of the goods and a waiver of all claims as to those goods.
If UFI determines a claim to be valid, UFI may, at UFI’s option, replace the affected goods with conforming goods within a reasonable time, or otherwise resolve the claim as provided in the Master Purchase Agreement. Replacement of the goods is in full satisfaction of all of the Customer’s claims as to the original goods and bars any further claim with respect to them.
The remedies available for any claim, and the limits of UFI’s liability, are governed by the Master Purchase Agreement and are not enlarged by this Policy. For goods returned in connection with a valid defect or transit-damage claim, UFI bears the cost of return shipping.
8. Final-Sale Goods
The following categories of goods are sold final sale. Final-sale goods are not eligible for return and are not eligible for change-of-mind or no-longer-needed credit:
- Custom and made-to-order patterned goods — that is, any goods bearing a print or design that were produced specifically for the Customer’s order;
- Custom colors and any goods produced in a color that is not on UFI’s standard color card;
- Samples and cut yardage; and
- Clearance and closeout goods.
Final sale means no returns and no change-of-mind claims. It does not waive UFI’s responsibility for goods that arrive defective or are damaged in transit. Valid defect and shipping-damage claims on final-sale goods remain subject to, and must be made within, the same claim windows and procedures set forth in Section 2 of this Policy.
9. How to Submit a Claim or Request an Authorization
All claims, RGA requests, and return inquiries must be submitted in writing to the applicable address below. Submitting to the correct address helps UFI respond promptly.
9.1 Domestic Orders (United States)
Email: cs@unitedfabric.com (alternates: cs1@unitedfabric.com, cs2@unitedfabric.com, cs3@unitedfabric.com)
9.2 International Orders
Email: Production1@unitedfabric.com, Production2@unitedfabric.com, and Production3@unitedfabric.com
Mailing address: United Fabrics International, Inc., 1723 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90021, USA. Telephone: (213) 749-8200.
10. International Shipments
For international shipments, the Customer is responsible for compliance with all import, customs, and documentation requirements in the destination country, and for any duties, taxes, or fees. Where goods are tendered to a freight forwarder, customs broker, or carrier designated by or for the Customer, risk of loss and responsibility for filing transit-damage claims with the carrier pass in accordance with the applicable Governing Terms and shipping terms. Authorized international returns, if any, are subject to arranging pickup by UFI’s designated freight forwarder and to the Customer providing all documentation necessary for export to the designated destination. The Customer must claim any duty refunds directly from its own customs or taxing authority; UFI does not process or remit duty refunds.
11. General
11.1 No Waiver
UFI’s acceptance of a late or nonconforming claim on any occasion, or any failure by UFI to enforce a provision of this Policy, is not a waiver of UFI’s rights as to any other claim or occasion.
11.2 Account Status
Credits issued under this Policy are applied to the Customer’s account and may be applied against amounts the Customer owes to UFI. This Policy does not relieve the Customer of its obligation to pay all invoiced amounts when due, including amounts not in dispute.
11.3 Changes to this Policy
UFI may update this Policy from time to time. The version in effect on the date of the applicable Order Confirmation or Invoice governs that order.
11.4 Relationship to the Master Purchase Agreement
This Policy is supplemental to, and is governed by, the UFI Master Purchase Agreement and the other Governing Terms, including the terms on the Order Confirmation, Invoice, and Packing Slip, the Cloth Grading Procedures, and the SGS inspection terms. This Policy is intended to describe UFI’s return and claims practices consistent with those documents and does not create rights or remedies beyond them.
In particular, the Master Purchase Agreement governs and controls as to the claim periods, the inspection and replacement procedure, the exclusive remedy and the limits of UFI’s liability, the exclusion and limitation of warranties, the limited license and design-protection provisions, and the binding arbitration, governing-law, and attorney’s-fees provisions. Nothing in this Policy waives, modifies, or supersedes the Master Purchase Agreement, including its arbitration provision. To the extent this Policy conflicts with the Master Purchase Agreement, the Master Purchase Agreement controls.