Are you going to start a clothing company as a fashion brand and are you willing to know how to choose the right clothing manufacturer? Then you have come to the right place. While starting a clothing business it’s very significant yet confusing to choose the best clothing manufacturer for you. But there is nothing to worry because after reading this article you’ll get to know how to choose the right clothing manufacturer for your business.
To grow your fashion brand you must find the right clothing manufacturer that can actually produce the accurate product by your choice and design, maintaining the quality and making the production cost efficient at the same time.
What Exactly Is a Garment Manufacturer
A factory that produces clothing is basically a garment manufacturer. The clients of the garment manufacturer company must give some particular designs and some necessary specifications like materials, measurements and finishing.
By the given requirements, the garment manufacturer will produce the products and serve to their clients so that their clients may sell the specific products to their customers.
Types of Garment Manufacturers
Usually different garment manufacturing companies adopt different production systems. The method of manufacturing affects the quality of the final output but there is also an impact on the quantity, speed and costing of the production.
Firstly, some manufacturers use the method which is called the “make through” system where a single tailor makes each pieces. From cutting to giving the final finishing everything is done by the single tailor. As it is done by the single tailor so the final output actually depends on his or her skills. The final output may be very good or even average based on the tailor’s skills and efforts. In this method, a smaller quantity can be produced with a comparatively higher price.
Secondly, there are also manufacturers who work with a progressive production system with variations. This method is basically with a bunch of tailors who work together on a single type of design. They work like being in a section. One completes his or her part and then passes to the next tailor to do the rest. They only do their portion repeatedly. In this method, higher volume of production can be done and the production cost remains lower as well. This is the faster method with lower costing.
It depends on you how to choose the right clothing manufacturer based on your production volume and the amount that you want to pay. Scalability of your business is also very important. You must be conscious about your business’ scalability to avoid any unexpected situation. For example, you can not be stuck in a situation where your garment manufacturer produces and delivers you the products within the right time and right price but when your business grows bigger they fail to deliver as your demand.
Where to Find the Right Garment Manufacturer
After knowing the types of manufacturers, you have to make your own research. After making your research regarding the clothing manufacturers, you have to decide whether you want a local or overseas factory for you.
Domestic vs Local
Nowadays both domestic and local manufacturing factories ensure the product quality but each of them has pros and cons. So, you have to compare them properly and fix the right one for your business that will lead your business to more profit.
Again the cost of the production is a significant indicator that will lead your decision. If you choose the overseas manufacturing companies specially in Asian countries, the production cost will go lower significantly. But you must have calculated the shipping cost and custom fees because these will impact the price.
The drawbacks of choosing an overseas manufacturer to work with is few. The most challenging part is to deliver your requirements properly to the manufacturers. The manufacturers belong to a different culture and language, so it will be much more time consuming to make them understood about your requirements. Again, you can’t go to see the quality for double check before the delivery unless you want to add on some additional costing.
On the other hand, dealing with a local manufacturer may cut off some hassle. But local manufacturers are more expensive. Moreover, there are only a few options to choose.
Industry Meetups and Trade Shows
You will get in touch with many manufacturers within a short time by attending trade shows. You will get to know about their quality and manufacturing methods by meeting them.
Online Research
Online research is a great way to discover many options. Mostly, you will get the websites that are organized in a nice way that you will be able to find the one that best suits your business.
Directories
Directories become a bit old school but yet the easiest way to find manufacturers. Wholesale Central is the best example for this.
Online Marketplaces
This is the most easiest and viable option for overseas production. Especially for China Alibaba and AliExpress are the marketplaces that have huge options. You will get reviews which will make it easier to take your decision. For the USA we’ll recommend Stylepick from Los Angeles, California.
Referrals
You can ask around for manufacturers even if some may not fulfill your demand but you can ask them for their suggestions and you will be amazed to know so many new contacts.
Key Points Before You Place Your First Order
There are some points that you must check before you place your first order.
- Try to know which brand they have worked with.
- Check the quality certifications to confirm the quality like-
- BCI (Better Cotton Initiative)
- Bluesign
- Cradle to Cradle
- Fair trade
- GOTS(Global Organic Textile Standard)
- Global Recycle Standard
- Good weave
- Made by
- OE-100
- Oeko Tex
- SAAS(Social accountability accreditation services)
- SCS certification
- USDA certification
- USDA certificate organic
- Zwue
- WFTO(World fair trade organization)
- Fair wear foundation
- Two organic standard certifications
- Sourcemap
- Textile Exchange
Minimum Order and Shipping Fees
There is a minimum order quantity in every manufacturer company from 200 to 2000. But Beautiful connection group is a women’s clothing manufacturing company who offers a minimum order quantity of 50. It’s a good deal for beginners.
Samples
It’s better if the manufacturer can provide some samples. It is important to avoid a full shipment of incorrect products.
Production Capacity
You have to be concerned about choosing your manufacturer whether it will be able to serve you larger quantity products or not. It’s important for small business owners when their business grows bigger. If not, then you will have to search for manufacturers again.
We hope you have got the proper idea on how to choose the right clothing manufacturer for your business to maximize your profit. So let’s wait for our next article…