How to Find a Clothing Manufacturer for Your Brand

If you need to find a clothing manufacturer for your brand, the first thing to do is not call hundreds of factories, but to find out what you need to produce, find manufacturers with experience in that area and then check if they are able to do it.

If you are starting a new clothing brand, the manufacturer you select for your product can affect the product itself, the lead time, communication and therefore the whole production. It is worth spending time finding the right manufacture in the beginning, it will make the rest of the process much more straightforward.

Know What You Want to Make

Before searching for a manufacturer, the first step is to determine what products you want to produce.

Consider the styles you are seeking: type of garments; fabric choices; fit; quantities; branding; finishing details. Are you searching for more basic garments such as T-shirts and Hoodys or more specific garment types- Denim, Jackets, Cargo pants to streetwear?

Although you are not required to have all details completed before beginning your search, you should have adequate information for manufacturers to know what the project requires.

Useful materials can include:

• Overviews of the product reference images.
• Tech packs
• Measurement charts
• Fabric requirements
• Logo or artwork- The artist‘s creation.
• Kind of order size estimation of order quantity
• Packaging requirements

The more explicit your requirements are, the more intense the answers from suppliers will be.

Decide What Type of Manufacturer You Need

Various clothing manufacturers offer, for example, varying services.

Some factories are simply production centers to customer drawings / specifications. Others might assist with fabric sourcing, patterns, sampling,branding,packaging and other development aspects.

Depending on your needs, you may be looking for:

• OEM manufacturing
• ODM development
• Private label The term used here for private label production is also being produced in the brand; it is a service for the retailer to sell under its own name (also called “all brands, no brands” for retail). Production of private labels for all the entrances: the service of private label production for the retailer to sell under the retailer‘s brand (sometimes called “all brands, no brands” for any retailer).
• Complete custom apparel production

Knowing this in advance of contacting suppliers will help you steer clear of manufacturers who are unable to cater to your project.

Where Can You Find a Clothing Manufacturer?

Identify a potential manufacturer in the following ways:

Search Google to find manufacturers serving your product category, visit industry trade shows, request recommendtions from your suppliers, or contact factories on their own websites.

It is true that B2B marketplace can be a search for potential suppliers, but a marketplace profile should not mean confirmation of manufacturing ability.

A manufacturer‘s own website, product experience, communication and an ability to talk about production can provide more information.

Build a Shortlist

There‘s no reason to send out dozens of inquiries to dozens of factories at the same time.

Create a short list of manufacturers who seem to fit your product requirements.

Look at:

• Product categories
• Manufacturing experience
• Customization capabilities
• Sampling services
• Production capacity
• Quality control
• Location
• Communication

A more manageable list of relevant manufacturers which we shall assume for the following types of business is likely to be much easier to assess than a comprehensive list of unrelated suppliers.

Pay Attention to the First Conversation

The first talk you have with a manufacturer can say a really large amount about how they operate.

A good supplier will be able to simply ask sensible questions of your product, rather than just send you out a generic pricelist.

For instance, they might require information on fabric components, size of the garments, the number of items, printing, embroidery, washing, labels or the packaging.

Watch out for the specific requirements. Does the manufacturer pick up on what is needed and clarify the limits?

Stated clearly at the beginning, would eventually eliminate confusion.

Ask for Samples

The sampling is another of the most step to evaluate a new manufacturer.

Product photographs only allow you to see what a factory has produced, they cannot give an indication of how your garment will actually look and feel.

A sample allows you to evaluate:

• Fabric quality
• Weight and hand feel
• Measurements
• Fit
• Stitching
• Construction
• Personalization:text; font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>Personalisation: if you decide you want printing or embroidery then it‘s an additional area to add on the site, this doesn‘t sound to be much as it‘s an extra service but that could possibly limit you to a design that you have in mind as if it is a very complex design you will get charged extra.
• Labels
• Finishing

In case the first sample will require modifications, give detailed remarks and dimensions. The provider‘s reaction to these modifications can also aid you of decide if the company is a suitable long term partner.

Check Whether the Manufacturer Can Handle Your Full Requirements

A clothing manufacturer could have the ability to manufacture the main garment but lack knowledge or find it difficult to fulfill particular customization specifications

Custom labels for your project, embroidery, silk screening, washing the garments, using special fabrics, custom packaging, etc. Your project may require these and more.

Make sure the services the makers can do directly and the ones that have to go out to outside suppliers before production.

This is especially essential for brands that are creating actually intricate products.

Do Not Choose Based Only on the Quotation

When you have the replies from a few manufacturers, do not only compare the production cost which they have quoted.

A better comparison includes:

Product experience, sample quality, communication, customization, quality management, and manufacturing capability.

A supplier, who fully understands your product and is willing to communicate may be a preferable option to a price-driven supplier offering the lowest quotation.

Should also be certain that the quotation is drawing from similar material. Variations in fabric types, tax and duty structures, quantities to be made up, garment construction methods and degree of customization will all make two quotations challenging to compare.

Start With a Manageable Order

If your first order with a manufacturer is not one they are used to providing (i.e. if it is a new product to them), then it may be wise to be able to develop the product and do sampling with them, before you go into huge production.

After getting the product approved, confirm the critical specifications before prototyping.

These may include:

• Final measurements
• Fabric
• Colors
• Artwork
• Labels
• Packaging
• Quantity
• Production requirements

Clear specifications provide a single point of reference for both parties in the ordering process.

Look for a Manufacturer You Can Work With Long Term

Searching for a clothing manufacturer should not a one-off exercise to be undertaken as a source.

There can be advantages if a manufacturer reliably meets your demands, always knows your products and communicate. A longer term relationship could facilate the development of future collections.

They will learn your favourite fabric, fit, construction details, branding and quality, so future orders and development will be handled more quickly.

A Better Way to Find a Clothing Manufacturer

So your first stepin finding a clothing manufacturer is to understand what you really require. Identify the product range, look for suitable producers, short list, clearly explains what you want, and finally, you can test the product through samples before beginning bulk production.

It‘s not just about sourcing a factory to make your clothes from. it‘s about finding a manufacturing partner who will be able to turn out exactly the kind of garments your brand wants to sell time and time again.

JiuvelWear handle by Dongguan jiuzuo clothing Co., Ltd. in Dongguan, Guangdong, China, that offer the OEM/OEM/private label/coutom clothing manufacturing company. Work with clients/brand and staff for product development/sampling/coustomize/bulk apparel.