Find Manufacturer for Clothing Line and Start Your First Collection

It‘s great to start a clothing line until you get to production. When you need to find manufacturer for clothing line the most frustrating thing is not to find factories. The most difficult is to find one that can manufacture your products the way you want them.

Many companies are doing this in the internet. You may find a manufacturer by internet, but the appearance of the factory on a website is not the same as for your collection. What you have to think about are the factories’ experience, facility and develop process that will coordinate with your clothes you want to sell.

Start With the Products, Not the Factory

In the same way, consider the first products you want to introduce into your collection before engaging suppliers.

If you are planning to create a streetwear collection centered around big, baggy T-Shirts and hoodies, the manufacturer must have access and experience in that area. If denim is the key fabric used in the collection, the experience of treating denim, in the form of herringbone, twill, selvage, washing and finishing is going to be a lot more significant.

You don‘t have to have twenty styles ready.

Usually two or three products that best represent your company will be enough to get the discussion started. Choose the pieces that best highlight what sets your apparel apart.

If it‘s your hoodie that is gonna be oversized, then use that hoodie. If its your denim that needs the right wash, then use that pair of denim.

Much better way to evaluate a manufacturer than taking a wide-ranging factory catalogue.

Shortlist Factories That Make Something Similar

Once you‘ve decided on what do you want to produce, then you need to searching for manufacturers who will potentially carry out this project.

Do not simply type in “clothing manufacturer” and start calling all the companies that come up.

Check the overactualized products of a factory. Search on the web site of the factory, its socia media network, product page or even samples of previous work.

The manufacturer producing high volume, basic garments may be the perfect manufacturing base to produce the garment but it doesn‘t mean that this would be best solution to the fashion brand that requires customised fit and complex finishing.

You are searching for evidence that the factory has handled similar producing to yours.

A short list of a few relevant manufactures would be far more beneficial than a long list of some other suppliers.

Give Them Something Real to Review

The first story of your message doesn‘t have to be a lengthy one to your brand.

Inform the producer about your product.

You could tell them that you want to start a small collection of street wear utilizing loose fitting T-shirts, heavy weight hoodies and faded denim then email your reference photos, sketches, measurements or tech packs.

Add if you know the fabric you want already.

If you are undecided on the material, state the outcome you are expecting.

The idea is to provide the manufacturer with extensive enough information about the project so that they can develop an understanding of it without implying that everything has been somehow been finalised.

The Questions They Ask Matter

Come back to the discussion once you hit send with the product details.

A true product developer supplier should be asked about fabric weight, size, construction, washing, artwork, labels, shape desired fit.

Those questions are useful because they prove that the factory think in terms of the garment.

You may also receive some feedback that is more practical in nature.

Maybe the fabric you chose won‘t give the hoodie the stability you require, the wash test (for fabric stability and shrinkage and construction and washed) may change the measurement, the pocket construction may have to be changed for the fabric.

Such discussions are much more rewarding than just getting a message saying, “Yes, we can do it”.

Test the Manufacturer With a Sample

When you finalize your selection, don‘t transfer the full portfolio to production.

Pick one or two of the most important stylistic lines and develop samples first.

This is where you begin to notice the distinctions between the makers.

Put the garment on and compare it to your specifications. Observe the fabric, the seams and the stitches, the cut, the pockets, fastenings, printing, embroidered, labels, finishing.

Then ask yourself a simple question:

Does this appear and feel the way I initiallysetout to design?

One manufacturer‘s own sample collection can itself look impressive. Your own sample is all that really counts.

Don’t Judge a Factory Only by Its First Sample

The first sample is to be expected to require revisions. This is quite normal especially when developing a product from drawings, images of reference, or a new tech pack.

Could be the body is long bodied. Maybe the shoulders are too narrow. Perhaps the hood is a little too flat. Maybe the denim wash needs slightly more cream.

Send proper revision notes and see the results.

The second sample also gives a good impression of the manufacturer.

Can it read your comments? Are the measurements requested altered accurately? Has solving one issue caused another? Does the supplier give helpful advice when something is not feasible?

The process of developing often tells you more than the first sample itself.

Don’t Give the Whole Collection to One Factory Too Soon

Certainly, there is no reason why your first manufacturer cannot make all your products.

The strengths within each factory can be quite variable. One factory may be very skilled at making T-shirts and hoodies. Another may have far more experience with denim or outerwear.

If it is for a larger collection then for every one you are planning on gathering, get the specific necessity of it.

Simultaneously, it will be easier to progress if there is only one competent manufacturer for many categories. By this, I mean fewer contacts in production to handle, in the factory for them to learn your standards and then better communication.

The decision is right if that is the best thing your collection actually needs.

Get the Details Settled Before Bulk Production

Finally, once you are happy with the sample, don‘t just rely on memory or an SMS.

The final product should have clear specifications about the aspects that are important to you: dimensions, fabric, colours, making, artwork, labels, trims, washing and packaging.

Furthermore, the dropped sample should still be a crucial point of reference.

This handy when reordering a variant of your tried and tested style at a later date, as you want your new run to conform to the product your customers already love!

Think About the Manufacturer You Will Need Six Months From Now

You initially order small but as the collection begins to sell your manufacturing needs can rapidly escalate.

You may require new shades, more sizes, repeat production, new stylesor expedited development of seasonal styles.

Remember, selecting a manufacturer is more than just one sample.

Is the factory capable of communicating with you in a satisfactory manner? Can it produce the new garments you may want? Can it mass produce an approved style? Can it work with the fabrics and finishes your brand might use?

Questions like these will become more and more important as your clothing line grows.

Where JiuvelWear Fits In

For brands developing their own apparel, JiuvelWear, operated by Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd., works with custom clothing projects from product development and material selection through sampling and bulk production.

It is also capable of processing several different categories of apparel products. This enables a brand to create T-shirts, hoodies, denim, jackets, or other textiles matching their own requirements.

When shopping for the manufacturer to sew your line, begin with a few samples instead of trying to work out your entire collection simultaneously. Provide a few manufacturers with the same information, define representative samples, and watch very closely how they respond to updates.

That process is likely to tell you a whole lot more about a factory than its website ever will.