How to find a manufacturer for your clothing line? Here is a post about tips and ways on how to get a clothing manufacturer.
Fashion is now, according to McKinsey, $2.4 trillion industry. There is an appeal to it that has people still gravitating toward even though there looks like there are near endless brands to choose from. The reason where there appears that there is still a need for those wanting to venture in is the fact that we never find the perfect ensemble under one brand. It takes years of shopping to piece together the perfect outfit from several different brands that make your walk more crisp or elegant.
There are increasingly smaller niches of clothing artists that want to share their fashion pieces with their fans that are absolutely in love with their style and look. Our different and unique DNAs only speak of the vast sea of possibilities of fashion items that one can create if we were all called into the fashion industry. For the one who is, it is no secret that the journey is daunting.
People are not quite generous when it comes to sharing their manufacturer for their clothing line. It means having to do most of the legwork yourself. We will, however, do our best to steer you into the direction to where you can finally get the answer of how to find a manufacturer for your clothing line.
First things first
There are businesses taking flight globally every day, and more than 90 percent of them will fail, with half of them in the initial three years. You don’t want to fall under this category. The top reason for failure is because not all brilliant ideas have a market for them. It is not uncommon for influencers especially those on Instagram to want to launch their line.
Before continuing how to find a manufacturer for your clothing line, you need to check out what everyone in your niche industry is doing. There ought to be a need. Do you find that there are no pants that fit your specific body type perfectly? That then becomes a good start. When making the bold choice to start your clothing line, you have to be prepared for the bumps ahead, and sure that should you choose to take the pre-order route, you can deliver your customer’s expectations.
Creating your product
You first want to create a unique product before you can start sourcing for a manufacturer. Who are you making the items for? What need are they solving for your target market? Once you have decided what you want, you can then begin the process of sourcing for companies you can partner with to bring your line to life.
How to find a manufacturer for your clothing line
Do you want to promote local businesses or do you prefer getting a clothing manufacturer from overseas? These are some questions you have to ask yourself. You might be inclined to sway one way due to biases based on the information you have before this. However, you want to hold that thought because there are many moving parts in establishing how to find a manufacturer for your clothing line.
Manufactures can come from UK, USA, Canada, China, India, Turkey, or even Taiwan. How do you start finding out who works best for you? Funding, the quality and what your company’s vision is will largely influence what country and company itself you’ll settle for. Let’s shed some light on what some of your decisions making processes will look like.
Domestic clothing manufactures
Domestic clothing manufactures (depending on your country of origin) sound like a fantastic choice, and they are. You are playing a part in expanding the area’s or country’s economy. For this article, we will refer to domestic clothing manufactures based in US, Canada, and Europe. The reason is that they are far more regulated. Concerns about the labor force, their pay, their working standards, the quality of materials and the like are heavily regulated. While that is fantastic, they come with a price tag to match this sort of standard of artistry.
Should you take this route, you have to emphasize domestic clothing manufacturers in your marketing materials so you can encourage people to ‘buy local.’ There is a pride that comes with knowing you are purchasing goods made within your country or even locality. Another plus is that shipping is much cheaper.
Overseas clothing manufactures
If you want bulk inventory and for a fraction of the price then you will have to look overseas. You also get more variety in your designs. Your selection immediately expands when you cross borders and seas to have your clothing line manufactured. What you might have to diligent on is finding a manufacturer that prices quality just as much as you do. See who other equally impressive brands have partnered with to act as a baseline for your standards.
The drawback is that some of the countries you might have your eye on are on the ITUC Global Rights Index and named as the world’s worst counties for working people. You equally have to ask for referrals and do your research for whatever company you settle for. Large clothing chains have come under fire sporadically over the years for making their clothes in companies with deplorable pay and working conditions.
How to go about it
Dropshipping
The recommended way to avoid having so much stock left that you package some as Christmas presents is drop shipping. That is where you the retailer do not keep anything in stock. In this supply chain management method, all orders are directed to the wholesale distributor, or as in your case, the manufacturer who then ends up shipping the product to your client. In this case, you quickly get to know what products in your clothing line are a hit and what you can cut back on for the next phase.
Drop shipping does sound simple, but it is vital to know the pros and cons. One of the reasons it attracts people is that it reduces the requirements for starting stone and mortar or e-commerce store. It eliminates the costs of purchasing and storing inventory, as well as the delivery costs associated with orders. That makes it particularly easy for online stores to start up because they don’t need ample office space and storage units to function. Location is also another advantage; you need not to worry about what their main office needs to be.
The drawbacks however of dropshipping is that there are unfortunately a lot of companies online masquerading as being the go-to partners. Ensure that you do indeed do your due diligence, especially with foreign companies, a good number based in China. You don’t want to have a case where your client gets their order late, or they get something they did not ask for or a knock-off from a fraudulent dropshipping enterprise. You also want to ensure that you have sufficient inventory available and come up with a system where you can monitor the same in real time to avoid delays.
Scaling up to order bulk inventory
The next stage, once you’ve established what pieces are a hit, is to scale up and make bulk orders for the same. That means you have to scale up. Managing the inventory and storing the goods falls on you. That requires a fluid system where your customers do not feel time and money constraints. As you receive large orders, you need to keep track of when you need to demand more to avoid that dreaded “sold out” sticker that customers keen to purchase your merchandise get.
You have to be indeed prepared to take a few hits when it comes to some of the requests you have made because not every item will sell as intended. It would require a sale or offer to move these products. Do not despair as those are the aches and pains of doing business.
Which directions to look
Fairs or industry events are a practical way to start your search. See what local listings there are or what internationally recognized Fairs you can afford to attend to meet with the best in the manufacturing industry. That is one of the routes of finding out how to find a manufacturer for your clothing line. You want to opt for this approach because they allow you to sample and have one on one discussion with representatives, making your decision making less complicated.
Online sources including Maker’s Row, Kompass, and Sqetch, are an excellent place to start. You can follow through with other reputable directories and reach out to the ones you deem to be best fits to let them know what you need. Their response time and overall customer service should matter incredibly to you because they are a telling sign of how fast they will dropship or deliver inventory to your warehouses.
Wrap up
Before settling on your clothing line manufacturer, ensure you have asked every question possible and have checked the quality of other brands they service. Stick to well-known fairs, sites, and directories to
