How to Choose a Clothes Supplier for Your Fashion Brand

Identifying an appropriate clothes supplier is potentially more crucial to a company‘s success than many first-time buyers are aware. A supplier is not just a company that supplies the garments. Depending on the nature of their operation it may also have a significant bearing on: product development; fabric selection; sampling procedures; customization options; quality standards; and the process of getting into bulk production.

The good supplier for a brand who is creating his own collection must correspond his idea of how he will develop and sell his products.

Start by Understanding What You Need

Establish what it is you want to produce before approaching the suppliers.

Would like to find simply T shirts, sweat shirts, hooded sweat shirts, Denims, Denim jackets, sportswear or a wider range. Interested in custom fits, fabrics, washes, printing, embroidery, labelling or packing.

Pre-build checklist create a simple list of your needs prior to beginning sourcing.

For example:

• Product categories
• Fabric preferences
• Intended fit
• Estimated quantities
• Custom branding
• Artwork
• Labels
• Packaging

You need not complete all the details. A clear direction, on the other hand, will help you know from the outset which suppliers will be relevant to your work.

Is the Supplier Actually a Manufacturer?

The term “supplier” may refer to a number of different forms of business:

A few companies produce garments for themselves. Do not. Instead buy the finished product from factories and sell it. Others may use several factories to control production.

If you are searching for custom clothing, it may be useful to figure out who the actual person making your clothes is.

Inquire about the location of production, quality assurance procedures, direct supplier communication about technical product specifications.

This is even more critical if your designs are incorporating special fabrics, fabric dying or washing, detailed garment construction, or original printed or embroidered designs.

Check Experience With Your Product

A supplier does not need to produce all types of garments to be helpful:

What counts is if they know the kind of products you want them to create.

Please note if you are producing denim– seek samples of prior denim fabric developments, in addition to washing if that has been a feature of your denim wash processes. If you are producing heavyweight sweatshirts– see if they normally work on heavier weight fabrics and relaxed fits; oversize fits.

The more relevant the experience obtained is, the less the development problems arising are undesired, as the manufacturer is already aware of the engineering materials and processes involved.

Ask About Fabric Options

Your choice of fabric can drastically alter the the look and the feel of a garment.

Find out the supplier‘s range of materials what can they provide, or source? for your products.

Depending on the garment, you may need to consider:

• Fiber composition
• Fabric weight
• Texture
• Stretch
• Shrinkage
• Durability
• Color
• Finishing

Do not accept ambiguous descriptions such as ‘best quality cotton’ or ‘good cloth.’ However, demand particulars of materials used and, as far as possible, samples of the cloth.

A sample garment can be sent to the supplier in order to get the feel and construction of the fabric up front this also allows you to meet the specifications of what the supplier needs for pattern measurements.

Do Not Skip Sampling

Provided is one of the easiest methods for testing out a new supplier.

You could also examine a real garment, rather than just photographs, to help you give a decision.

Consider the fit, measurements, fabric, stitching, construction, coloring, branding and finishing.

What if the sample is not perfect? list, in order of importance, the information that needs to be altered.

Revision There will be a process of revision, especially as most custom apparel needs to be tweaked before a final product is accepted.

Having a supplier that can interpret complex comments and make modifications accordingly is more valuable than receiving a sample to be repeated exactly as the first.

Look at Customization Capabilities

If you are starting up your own clothing company, the standard custom t shirt, polo or hoodie might not fit the bill.

You may need:

• Custom patterns
• Custom fabrics
• Printed graphics
• Embroidery
• Woven labels
• Hangtags
• Garment washing
• Custom packaging

Inquire from your supplier about what services they can offer and the way they process these services.

For a more complicated product, several manufacturing processes will be better managed by one production team. Thus communication will be better.

Pay Attention to Communication

Communication is perhaps the most stark difference of all suppliers:

Does the supplier ask you helpful questions about your products in your initial discussions?

A good professional manufacturing team will be able to communicate about measurements, fabrics, construction, artwork, sampling and production specifications.

You should be able to receive clear responses when anything is not understood.

But if communication becomes complicated even before theordering procedure, it would be even more challenging to solve theproduction problems at a later stage.

How Do They Handle Quality Control?

Question to the supplier how the garments are examined during the manufacturing process.

Quality control of fabric , measurements, stitching, colors, printing, embroidery and finished garments.

The approved sample and specification should be used for bulk production, including the time that is required to put the product into mass production.

This is even more so if you intend to change the order within the same style. You want to keep the future production the same as the already approved product.

Compare Suppliers as Businesses, Not Just Quotes

After obtaining quotations from more than one supplier do not select by quoting the lowest price.

Compare general manufacturing experience.

Consider:

Product experience, sample quality, communication, customization, quality control, production capability

Ensure that the quotations are for a comparable specification. Using wider or heavier fabrics, the same quantities, different construction methods or branding requirements can make seemingly similar offers quite different.

The ideal vendor is the one that associated with your product and production.

Confirm Everything Before Production

If you want to sit back, relax, and just watch the LDR (final product) flow in, au contraire. The final LDR document should be checked for accuracy before approving batch production.

These may include:

• Final measurements
• Approved fabric
• Colors
• Artwork
• Labels
• Packaging
• Quantity
• Approved sample
• Production requirements

Clear specifications lower the possibility of misunderstandings and provide both sides with a common point of reference.

The above specifications may also be useful for further orders of the successful product – easy reproduction of the product is potentially possible.

Think About Your Future Orders

The right supplier should be able to support your brand well beyond that first order.

(Colors, new sizes, re-powder and variations for next collections) Successful products will require additional colors, new sizes, repeat production and variations for subsequent collections.

Once the supplier has learned the type of materials, patterns, branding and quality you want, anywhere you go from then on can be much easier.

For this reason a fairly significant venue must be selected from the outset. To explain:

When a Supplier Becomes a Manufacturing Partner

The ideal supplier is more than just a manufacturer of finished garments.

As the relationship progresses, it will evolve into a somewhat more collaborative process. You might share and discuss new garment designs, fabric choices, samples, production enhancements, and future collections.

For a developing brand, this sort of relationship will reduce the time spent in finding a new supplier again each time there is a new product.

Finding a Clothes Supplier That Fits Your Brand

Identifying a clothes supplier requires a knowledge of your product and a company that has the appropriate skills to produce it.

Consider the location of the Manufacturer, check the product experience, ask for samples, check the ability of customization and pay attention to the communication before proceeding with production.

JiuvelWear For brands seeking to create private label apparel services with a manufacturing partner in China JiuvelWear is broughtto you by Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd. in Dongguan, Guangdong. Their production team works exclusively with brands to customize clothing development, sampling, private label projects and full production of apparel.

Don‘t select a supplier just by how large their catalog is or how attractive their presentation. Instead choose someone who knows your products and can manufacture everything you require from your specifications on a regular basis. That is the importance of the supplier to your brand.