#small quantity garment manufacturer

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

hi! if you're comfortable with sharing, i'm curious to know what shops that send lbs of fabric for the cost of shipping you were referring to in your contribution to the sustainable lifestyle post. or were these shops local to you? i'm getting into sewing and textiles to make clothes for myself and to give away to others and i feel this could be a very useful and affordable resource if you believe it possible to share!

A lot are local to me! Many small fabric shops will sell you their remnants in small quantities, sure, but many are also willing to simply sell you that scrap as a random assortment by weight! If they don't say so online, it never hurts to ask in person while you're checking their one-off remannt bins.

That said, more and more companies that have their own internal manufacture "remnant resale" process! So online shops like Quilt N Things, FabCycle, FabScrap, and MuuMuu Outlet will often carry "scrap by weight" purchase options in their shops! Your best bet is going to be finding where the local quilting community shops. These are people who are QUITE accustomed to purchasing fabric in wholesaler quantities with home-maker budgets, and they'll be able to direct you towards the best deals on this stuff.

I will say that it pays to learn how to identify fabrics when you do this, because random means random. I've received freight with scraps of brocade silk, embroidered and beaded fabric, raw muslin, pleather, oilcloth, wool, and so much more. You never know what might find its way into your box, and different fabrics do different things when incorporated into a garment. You can get more or less specific, but generally my biggest questions are always "is this an all-natural fabric or does it include polyester and other synthetic blends?" Because these I'm more likely to use outside as upholstry, garden fabric, or decor. That synthetic ingredient allows it to endure weather and moisture with less degredation, and makes it a worse option (for me due to medical issues) to use close to the skin, although it can be useful as an outer layer on raincoats and pants. Meanwhile, natural fibers like flax or cotton are extremely useful to me as lining fabric for garments, and fibers like wool are great for thermal regulation. My next question is usually about identifying the drape of a fabric, a mixture of understanding fiber content and weave and how that will look in the garment itself. Depending on what you're trying to do, you may have more questions you need to be able to answer, but it's all about your project needs.

Honestly, though, if you're an experimental sewer of any kind (e.g. a beginner still practicing stitching and construction techniques, or a tailor looking to drape a garment), these random assortments are a great way of always having enough fabric on hand that you don't mind sacrificing to the cause. I've found that one of the best ways to really get good at fiber craft is to lower the stakes of perceived failure. If I'm afraid to try something new, I try it on old moth eaten bedsheets I got for a dollar at the thrift shop, or on a 1000yd bundle of the cheapest imagineable yarn. Makes it easier to laugh off the cost of materials if it all goes lopsided. I'm able to get a lot more practice and test out a lot more approaches when it doesn't feel like an expensive waste of resources every time practice turns out....well. like practice!

Another really good option for you might be looking for free clothes being given away on Craigslist. These are most likely going to be mostly clothes not in shape for wearing, or they'd be sold or given to a thrift shop (although gems are always a possibility!). But given a good washing at the laundromat, they're a treasure trove of fabric scrap, and if there are any you like you can deconstruct them for patterning first before deconstructing for fabric purposes after! Voila, now you have 5-15lbs of fabric scrap and new patterns to boot, all for the cost of a laundromat and stock paper for pattern cutting.

Best of luck getting into your sewing! It's great fun, and when you start to get the hang of it, often you open up a whole world of possibilities you may bot otherwise have noticed!

[mayakern]

Minority opinion obvs, but I was actually kind of bummed by the shorter mini lengths? I have some OG minis that don't quite cover as much of my booty as they used to, so I was hoping the longer back panel would help, but with the new sizes, it's more like the butt coverage is the same and the front is just shorter 😩 But the new sizes seem REALLY popular, so maybe this is a sign that I'm just not built for minis anymore!! I'll just have to keep an eye out for the next round of midis, and I'm SUPER excited to try out the wrap shirts, they look amazing!! Thank you to you and your team for being awesome!

they’re defs not for everyone!

but i wanted to make a true miniskirt this time around, since the minis before were really just skater skirts and not true miniskirts. especially bc in order to achieve the same length for the largest size as the smaller ones, with the skater skirt length the size D would have to be like 23-24” long and our midis are only like 25-27” long so the midi and skater skirts ended up being a little too similar in length/silhouette for my taste

there is potential for us to maybe eventually fill that middle length at some point but it would likely be a different type of skirt and it could be years in the future.

to draw back the curtain so what: we are a really small brand and it’s important for our different products to be significantly different from each other, since doing lots of small variations is more likely to split our consumer base and complicate our back end instead of expanding our consumer base. like imagine if i’m selling 2 shirts with the same design, but one is on red and the other is on black. there are some people who have absolutely no interest in black shirts and will ONLY buy a red shirt, but most people are gonna be happy with the black one and adding a red option mostly just serves to split the existing customer base instead of adding to it, and because i know have 2 very similar but separate products and because i have to hit a minimum order quantity per garment type/color (bc the fabric is made and dyed to order and there is a minimum quantity to make this worthwhile for the manufacturer), i’ve basically doubled my minimum required inventory, my cost and logistics without significantly increasing sales.

i hope this explanation makes sense haha! and sorry the new miniskirts don’t meet your needs 😅

[raheel05-blog]

How to Find the Best Denim Manufacturer for Small Clothing Brands: A Guide to Low-Quantity Production

Denim—it's the fabric that never goes out of style. From classic jeans to trendy jackets and skirts, denim has long been a staple in wardrobes worldwide. For emerging clothing brands looking to tap into the denim market, however, producing quality denim wear can be a challenge—especially when the goal is to start with low-quantity orders. Whether you’re based in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, or Europe, finding the right denim manufacturer who can accommodate small batches while maintaining the quality and sustainability standards your brand stands for can make all the difference.

If you're wondering how to get started, here's a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about denim manufacturing for small orders. Let’s break down what the process looks like, the benefits of low-quantity denim production, and how to partner with the right manufacturer for your brand’s success.

What Does Denim Manufacturing Involve?

Denim manufacturing isn't just about producing jeans. It's about creating high-quality, durable garments that are crafted with care. From sourcing the fabric to applying finishing techniques, each step of the process is crucial. Here's a look at the denim manufacturing stages:

1. Denim Fabric Sourcing

The first step in denim manufacturing is sourcing the fabric. Denim fabric typically comes in a woven twill pattern, often dyed with indigo to achieve that iconic blue look. For small batch production, you might choose to either source pre-made denim or work with your manufacturer to create a custom denim fabric that suits your specific needs.

Popular fabric choices for denim include:

Raw Denim: Unwashed and untreated denim that will fade naturally over time.

Stonewashed Denim: A pre-washed, faded denim for a more worn-in look.

Eco-Friendly Denim: Made from organic cotton or recycled fibers, this type of denim is growing in popularity as sustainability becomes a top priority for many brands.

2. Pattern Making and Cutting

Once the fabric is sourced, the next stage is creating the patterns that will be used to cut the fabric into pieces. Whether you’re making jeans, jackets, skirts, or accessories, pattern-making ensures each piece is cut precisely, reducing fabric waste and making the most out of your materials.

For low-quantity denim orders, you’ll often work with a manufacturer who can create custom patterns that match your designs, whether it's a classic cut or something more experimental.

3. Sewing and Assembly

After the fabric is cut, it’s time to sew the pieces together. This is where the craftsmanship comes into play. Each piece of denim is carefully sewn to create the final garment. During this phase, you may also add elements like zippers, buttons, rivets, and labels—all of which are considered trimmings.

For smaller runs, manufacturers often focus more on precision and quality to ensure every stitch is perfect. If your brand is known for attention to detail, this is the stage where your product really starts to take shape.

4. Washing and Finishing

Denim can be finished in several ways to achieve different looks and textures. This includes:

Stone washing to give denim a faded, worn look.

Distressing or whiskering to mimic natural wear patterns.

Rinsing to soften the fabric and remove excess dye.

The finishing process gives each pair of jeans or denim jacket its unique personality. For small orders, you can work with manufacturers who offer custom finishing techniques, which means you can experiment with various washes and distressing methods to create a truly one-of-a-kind product.

The Benefits of Low-Quantity Denim Production

While mass production often offers lower unit costs, low-quantity denim manufacturing has several key advantages for small clothing brands looking to build their niche and identity in the denim market:

1. Customization

Low-quantity production allows you to have greater control over the design. You can select the denim weight, finishes, and even the stitching methods to create products that align perfectly with your brand’s aesthetic. This flexibility is especially valuable if you're building a unique collection or experimenting with new styles.

2. Lower Risk

When producing small batches, you're not committing to large quantities of inventory, which means there’s less risk involved. You can test the market with smaller orders to see which styles or fits resonate best with your target audience. This is an ideal approach for startups and emerging brands.

3. Sustainability

Small-batch production can be much more sustainable than mass manufacturing. You can work with manufacturers who prioritize eco-friendly practices, such as using organic cotton or recycled denim. Additionally, smaller runs tend to have fewer waste materials, reducing the overall environmental impact of your production process.

4. Faster Turnaround Times

With low-quantity orders, production times tend to be shorter. You can work with manufacturers who are agile enough to deliver products faster, enabling you to respond to trends or adjust your collections more quickly.

How to Choose the Right Denim Manufacturer for Small Orders

When looking for a denim manufacturer who specializes in small orders, there are a few key factors to consider:

1. Expertise and Experience

Look for manufacturers with extensive experience in denim production. Denim is a unique fabric that requires specialized knowledge to work with, especially if you’re looking for high-quality finishes or customized designs.

2. Sustainability Practices

If sustainability is important to your brand, make sure the manufacturer offers eco-friendly options like organic denim, waterless dyeing, and low-impact finishing techniques. These practices can help reduce your brand's carbon footprint.

3. Flexibility with Low Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs)

Not all manufacturers are open to small-batch production, so look for companies that offer flexible minimum order quantities. This allows you to test different designs or styles without committing to large quantities.

4. Quality Control

With smaller orders, you want to make sure your denim products meet your quality standards. Choose a manufacturer that offers detailed quality control checks throughout the production process to ensure that every garment is up to par.

Sustainable Denim: An Essential Element for Future Fashion

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to denim consumers. More and more brands are turning to eco-friendly denim production to reduce their environmental impact. This includes using recycled denim, organic cotton, and adopting more energy-efficient production processes.

By working with a sustainable denim manufacturer, you can not only create beautiful products but also build a brand that aligns with the growing demand for environmentally responsible fashion.

Conclusion: Start Your Denim Journey with the Right Manufacturing Partner

Launching a successful denim collection with low-quantity production is entirely possible with the right denim manufacturing partner. By working with experts who understand the complexities of denim fabric, design, and sustainable production methods, you can bring your denim vision to life while staying true to your brand’s values.

At Ro & RItzy, we specialize in small-batch denim production and offer a wide range of eco-friendly denim options. Whether you’re based in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, or Europe, we provide custom solutions for clothing brands looking to make an impact with quality, sustainable denim. Reach out today to get started on creating your perfect denim collection!

[weelectronicstudentreviewstuff]

Mriganka’s Guide to Ethical Fashion

In today’s fast-paced world, fashion trends often change quickly, leaving a trail of overproduction, waste, and environmental damage. The rise of fast fashion has contributed significantly to the depletion of natural resources, pollution, and exploitation of workers in developing countries. However, there is a growing movement toward ethical fashion—a movement that focuses on sustainability, fairness, and responsibility. One such advocate for ethical fashion is Mriganka, a brand dedicated to creating clothing that not only looks good but also feels good, both for the wearer and the planet.

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at what ethical fashion is, why it’s important, and how Mriganka is leading the charge toward a more sustainable and responsible future for the fashion industry.

What is Ethical Fashion?

Ethical fashion, at its core, is a way of producing and consuming clothing that minimizes harm to the environment and society. It is about making thoughtful choices that support the well-being of the planet, workers, and communities. Ethical fashion includes aspects such as:

Sustainable Materials: Using organic or recycled fabrics and materials that have a lower environmental footprint.

Fair Labor Practices: Ensuring workers are paid fairly, work in safe conditions, and are treated with respect.

Eco-friendly Production: Reducing waste and energy consumption during the manufacturing process.

Animal Welfare: Avoiding the use of animal products like leather or fur unless sourced responsibly.

The movement towards ethical fashion is part of a broader shift in the fashion industry, where more consumers are demanding transparency from brands and choosing sustainable options over mass-produced garments.

Mriganka: A Brand with a Vision

Mriganka is one of the leading names in the ethical fashion world. The brand’s mission is to provide consumers with stylish, high-quality clothing that reflects their values of sustainability and social responsibility. Whether it’s through the use of eco-friendly fabrics, transparent supply chains, or supporting local artisans, Mriganka is committed to reshaping the fashion landscape.

The company’s commitment to sustainability is evident in its collection, which incorporates eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo. By prioritizing these materials, Mriganka ensures that its clothing is not only kind to the earth but also safe for the skin.

Furthermore, Mriganka emphasizes the importance of fair wages and safe working conditions for its employees. The brand collaborates with artisans from various regions, providing them with opportunities for fair compensation and professional growth. This practice supports both the workers and their communities, making it a truly ethical fashion brand.

The Importance of Ethical Fashion

The importance of ethical fashion cannot be overstated. In a world where overconsumption and environmental degradation are major concerns, ethical fashion offers a way to take control of our impact on the planet. Here are some key reasons why ethical fashion is crucial:

Environmental Impact: The fashion industry is responsible for a significant amount of pollution. By opting for ethical fashion, consumers can reduce their carbon footprint, water usage, and waste.

Fair Treatment of Workers: Many workers in the fashion industry, especially in low-wage countries, suffer from poor working conditions and unfair pay. Ethical fashion ensures that workers are treated fairly and paid a living wage.

Support for Local Communities: Ethical fashion often involves supporting small-scale artisans and local businesses, which strengthens communities and preserves traditional craftsmanship.

Quality Over Quantity: Ethical fashion promotes quality over quantity, encouraging consumers to invest in timeless pieces that last longer, rather than buying cheap, disposable items.

How Mriganka is Paving the Way for Ethical Fashion

Mriganka’s dedication to ethical fashion goes beyond just offering sustainable products—it’s about creating a movement that encourages others to adopt more sustainable practices. Here’s how Mriganka is making a difference:

Sustainable Sourcing: Mriganka ensures that its raw materials are sourced from sustainable farms or recycled products. By reducing the demand for virgin materials, they help minimize environmental harm.

Eco-friendly Production: Mriganka’s manufacturing process focuses on minimizing waste and energy consumption. The brand uses water-saving dyeing techniques and reduces chemical use in production.

Transparency and Accountability: One of the standout features of Mriganka’s approach is its transparency. The brand openly shares information about where its materials come from and how the clothing is made. This level of transparency builds trust with consumers and sets a new standard for the industry.

Innovative Designs: Mriganka’s collection is a perfect blend of contemporary fashion and timeless style. The clothing pieces are not only sustainable but also fashionable, proving that ethical fashion does not have to compromise on style.

How to Embrace Ethical Fashion in Your Wardrobe

Adopting ethical fashion principles in your own life is easier than you might think. Here are some tips to help you make more sustainable choices when it comes to your wardrobe:

Choose Quality Over Quantity: Invest in pieces that are versatile, durable, and timeless. Look for well-made items that will last for years.

Look for Ethical Brands: Choose brands like Mriganka, which prioritize ethical practices and transparency. Check labels to ensure the brand’s commitment to sustainability and fair labor.

Buy Less, Choose Wisely: Instead of buying impulsively, take the time to choose clothes you truly love and need. This will help you reduce unnecessary waste.

Take Care of Your Clothes: Properly maintain and repair your clothes to extend their lifespan. Washing in cold water, air drying, and repairing minor damages can make a big difference.

Consider Secondhand Clothing: Thrift stores and secondhand shops are great alternatives to buying new clothing. Vintage pieces are often of higher quality and have a lower environmental impact.

Mriganka is more than just a clothing brand; it’s a movement toward a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry. By prioritizing ethical practices and promoting transparency, Mriganka is leading by example in creating a better future for fashion. As consumers, we have the power to make a difference with the choices we make. By supporting brands like Mriganka, we can contribute to a more ethical, sustainable, and fashionable world.

For more information on how Mriganka is changing the world of fashion, visit their official website Mriganka and explore their latest collections and sustainable fashion initiatives.

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Looking for clothing manufacturers for small orders to help take your fashion brand from idea to made? New brands are often intimidated by the high MOQs - lowest minimum order quantities - that many of the well-known factories demand. So they feel like they are left with only two options – invest heavily in large quantities of inventory or give up.  It might take a little extra work, but I want you to know there are small batch clothing manufacturers out there that are perfect for your small business.  This blog post is going to teach you how to find and work with clothing manufacturers for small businesses in two parts. First, I will teach you best practices for working with small quantity clothing manufacturers; then I will share a few of my favorites. Here is why the first part is soooo important.  Just because you have the email address, or direct phone number to an amazing factory, that doesn’t mean they will want to work with you. Competition to get into good factories is steep, and making a good first impression is critical. Think of it this way. It’s like getting a resi to an amazing restaurant, you wait 2 weeks to get to go, then you show up and can’t get in because you didn’t know about the dress code. So, close yet so far. I want factories excited to work with you (not ignoring you), so please don’t skip this first part.  I am here to help you on your clothing business journey, and sometimes that means not just giving you the info you are looking for, but even more!   BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can. In this post, you will learn: Why finding a clothing manufacturer with low minimum orders is hard  3 things you need to do, to turn a no from a factory into a yes The best sourcing trip you can take for your small business Online sourcing resources I love to find clothing manufacturers for small orders Nontraditional supply chain options perfect for small brands 3 things a manufacturer must do before you work with them (I know, it can feel like such a relief when someone finally says yet to you - but you still need to do your due diligence) Additional resources to help you even more NO TIME TO READ? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK   WHY ARE FASHION MANUFACTURING MOQs SO HIGH? First things first . . .  Quick reminder – MOQ means minimum order quantity, or the minimum amount you need to order for a factory to agree to work with you. The reality is it takes a factory the same amount of effort to source and develop styles for an order of 10 shirts as it does for an order of 10,000. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Let me explain. There are nine steps leading up to a style moving to production, and these steps are exactly the same no matter what size the production order is. If you want to learn more about each step, you can check out this article. But to quickly recap it – here are all the things that need to happen. Pattern making Fit samples  Fit sample revisions Pattern revisions Fabric, trim, and component sourcing (sometimes working with up to 10 different supply chain partners to get everything needed to make a garment - from fabric to thread to labels and tags) Fabric, trim, and component sampling Proto samples/production quality sample (includes ordering sample fabric, trim, etc.) Pattern grading Ordering all components and organizing shipping and logistics to the factory A LOT of time, energy, and resources (read money) go into all of this. And again, it’s the same whether a factory is making 10 garments or a million.  So, from just a staying-in-business perspective, some factories need to have high MOQs just to cover the cost of all the development and pre-production work that goes into sampling. IF IT COSTS SO MUCH TO DEVELOP, HOW ARE FACTORIES ABLE TO TAKE ON SMALL MOQs? Traditionally, a factory will charge a client about 2x the bulk production rate for sampling, including pattern making, sourcing, and the whole shebang. So if a shirt costs $10 in production, the sample will cost $20. The factory ends up losing a lot of money. But there is this unspoken deal in the industry that if you sample with someone, you will work with them in production. And in production, the factory will make back the sampling costs, plus a lot in profits. This is also why factories don’t really like working with startups – there is no guarantee the brand will ever launch, give them a bulk order, and help the factory recoup the money spent on product development.  Now, if a factory is making tiny MOQs, there is no way they can sustain this, so manufacturing partners that help startups with small orders charge a fair rate for the costs of the sampling. So instead of $20, factories might charge $200 or more for the same sample with a low MOQ. And, this way, you can make as little as 10 pieces if you want to – because they aren’t relying on that bulk order to make their money back. Now, please don’t get any cute ideas and try to lie and say you are going to make big MOQs to get cheap sampling. It’s a great way to burn bridges and get a terrible reputation in the fashion manufacturing world. We all talk, we all know each other, and you don’t want factories to start deleting your emails without even opening them because they know you lied to their friend about big orders that never came last season. DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH A SMALL BATCH CLOTHING MANUFACTURER Now that you understand why finding a low MOQ factory can be difficult, I want to help prepare you to make the best first impression possible. So, before you press send on that email, I need you to do these three things. Remember low MOQ factories are scarce, and there are more and more people starting brands every day. Some factories even have 3-month waits, before they will even schedule the first meeting with you. So, this means you need to stand out as a professional. TASK 1 - CREATE A BUDGET  This is the most important thing you can do for the success of your brand. And it is often the most overlooked.  If you don’t have a budget, you can’t get started. One more time for the people in the back – even if you plan to crowdfund, you still need a budget. Because crowdfunding is unpredictable, you could raise $100 or thousands. Your budget is what is going to allow you to estimate the number of styles you can afford to make and your MOQ. The point of your budget at this time isn’t to figure everything out to the penny. It’s just to get a general idea. By the end of your first budgeting exercise, you should be able to say, “With the money I have, I can afford to make about x styles in y colors and place a production order of z pieces per style. Now, a lot of new founders think they need to talk to a factory to figure this out.  You don’t.  In this post about working with fabric suppliers, I break down exactly how to estimate your costs without ever having to contact a supplier. The bottom line? When you set a budget, you set yourself up for success. I have helped over 200 people start their fashion businesses, and I can tell you this – the ones that have a solid budget are much more likely to succeed than the brands that don’t. Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is, or how much the world needs it if you run out of money.  And knowing your budget looks good to manufacturing partners. Because when you can show them your have taken the time to make a budget, they trust you will make it past sampling and into production (again, production is where clothing manufacturers for small orders will be making most of their profits). TASK 2: NAIL DOWN YOUR DESIGNS You need to know what you want to make. And not just a vague idea. Your designs should be nailed down and about 90% finalized before you start talking to custom clothing manufacturers. That is because the factory you work with will be determined by the designs. There are some clothing manufacturers for small orders that make everything, but most factories are very specialized. They only make one type of product, whether it's woven women's wear, t-shirts, or swimsuits. Some factories will not work with luxury fabrics like silk and satin, while others only do that.  A lot of times, I see new founders thinking they found the perfect supplier.But once they finalize their designs and send them to the factory, the factory says, “Sorry, we don’t do those types of styles.” (It actually happens way more than you think). I know, I get it. You’re probably very anxious about finding a factory and checking that off your to-do list. But finalizing your designs will save you time in the long run. TASK 3: DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CLOTHES TO BE MADE Where in the world do you want to make your product?  Some parts of the world specialize in different types of products. An example of this is with swimwear – there are actually five major hubs of swimwear production, they are – the USA, China, Brazil, Bali, and Italy. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of deciding where to make your clothing line, you can check out this article. The reason you want to decide where you want your clothes to be made first is because, domestic and overseas clothing manufacturers opperate very differently. And, you you try to research both at the same time you will probably end up feeling overwhelmed. THE BIG QUESTION - Domestic Clothing Manufacturers vs. Overseas Here is my opinion on this great debate.  For startup brands, I recommend getting started close to home for not just one, but three different reasons. 1. Work in person without time zone or communication issues. I like to call this face time. No, not the video calling thing, but actually spending time with your factory in person.  What over a decade in this industry has taught me is that anything is possible and everything is negotiable. That is, if your supply chain partner likes you. And the best way to get them to like you and build a strong working relationship with you is to spend time with them in person. Sorry, Zoom, the digital stuff will never replace IRL, IMO. When I worked in fast fashion, I can’t tell you how many times my boss would beg a factory to do something for him, and the factory would refuse. Then I would ask, and they would be like, “sure” (because they liked me).  The other benefit of working with a factory close to home is that you won’t have language barriers. Different countries communicate in different ways and have their own fashion industry lingo. For example, what most of us know as a clothing seam is often called a joint in India. Speaking the same language makes learning a new fashion language a lot easier. 2. Save on shipping and logistics prices. Shipping these days is expensive. And if you are shipping fabric swatches, lab dips, strike-offs, samples, and all the product development things halfway across the world, those costs are going to add up quickly.  Even though the production cost in developing countries tends to be much lower than in the West, by the time brands factor in all the development costs and shipping, they aren’t actually saving very much money. 3. No cultural learning curve, holidays, etc. When you work in a different country for the first year or two, you are going to be constantly surprised.  Random holidays you had no idea existed and even the weather are going to delay your timelines. One thing most people don’t realize when working in India is how slow things become in the monsoon. Yeah, during the fall, they might be able to crank out your order in a month, but during the rainy season, good luck – another month to two could be added to your calendar.  Once a brand is a few seasons in, their orders are growing, and they’re learning the ins and outs of the garment manufacturing world, then they can start exploring overseas options. Now, if you want to skip straight to overseas, I suggest hiring someone to help manage your project who knows the lay of the land. I offer private consulting, which you can check out here. To sum it all up - the reason small businesses often have more luck finding a manufacturer close to home for the small orders is because it is just easier.  Overseas partners often feel like not only are they spending time teaching new brands the ins and outs of getting their garments made, but also have to offer them a crash course in the local culture. It’s just too much free work for them.  For example every time I have a new client working in India for the first time, that first bank transfer is painful. Something as simiple as paying a deposit becomes a days long tutorial (sorry we don’t have Zelle, Venmo, or even Paypal here). THE ONLY GARMENT SOURCING TRIP YOU SHOULD PLAN Trade shows! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love trade shows. Here is a list of my favorite textile trade shows. And, this is why trade shows are so great. They are a one-stop shop for global suppliers who actually want to work with you. So much so, that these suppliers are paying tens of thousands of dollars to travel and participate in the shows. Back in the day, tradeshow suppliers were mostly focused on big orders. But, times have changed, and that is no longer the case. Some shows even have special fashion startup areas that feature clothing manufacturers for small orders. And when you attend a trade show, there are also tons of free seminars and talks. So they are a great place to get educated at no cost to you. If your budget for your brand is going to restrict your ability to travel, going to a trade show is what I would spend those limited dollars on. Can’t make it to a show live? Most trade shows now have digital components as well. So, you can check out digital showrooms and chat with suppliers on their websites from your home. ONLINE SOURCING RESOURCES THAT EVERY STARTUP FASHION BRAND SHOULD KNOW ABOUT  Speaking of digital sourcing . . .  Here are a few of the most buzzworthy online sourcing resources that every fashion startup founder should know about. Not only do they have deep connections to suppliers, but they also help you stay organized and on top of your communication and orders. Their promoted partners range from mega suppliers with huge MOQs to clothing manufacturers for small orders that are perfect for startup brands. But, they do have their downfalls. Fabric sourcing and garment manufacturing are very physical businesses - it’s important to see, feel, and touch the quality. So, be careful and understand the limitations when working online. SEWPORT “Built to support emerging brands and aspiring fashion designers who struggled to connect with the right clothing manufacturers to launch their businesses.” SEAMLESS SOURCE “We developed an automated omnichannel sourcing platform and integrated order management tool to help your brand build a digitalized, faster, leaner and more responsible supply chain, all in one place with industry-leading, reliable, responsible and sustainable suppliers across the globe.” FOURSOURCE “A global network that brings people, organizations, and innovative ideas together. We make textile sourcing smarter, transparent, and more sustainable.” (FYI - I DO NOT RECOMMEND MAKERS ROW AFTER 2 BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPANY AND THEIR CLOTHING MANUFACTURING SERVICES) THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN HACK TO FIND CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS FOR SMALL ORDERS Sample rooms and home sewers.  Sample rooms are like mini-factories, with one or two sewing machines. And an alternative to that would be a home sewer, just like it sounds, someone who sews from their home.  Now, the pro is that these apparel manufacturers are more than happy to take on really tiny production orders. The downside is that they might not be able to scale with you, so they are not always a long-term solution. When I tell founders to try out one of these options, I usually get pushback because they are convinced that if their product is not made in a traditional factory, it will not be professional or high quality.  But this is very false. Independent sewers are some of the best clothing manufacturers for small orders around! A lot of people (especially women) go out on their own after working in factories for years. They are highly trained and are starting their own mini businesses for the same reason you are starting your own clothing business. The freedom, control of their own paycheck, and all the other perks that come along with being a small business owner. I would even go as far as to argue that if you are into true women’s empowerment, this is the ONLY option to choose.  3 THINGS A MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH THEM You know - what you need to do and, how to find a manufacturer for your small business. Now, let’s discuss some things THEY should do before you decide to work with them. Remember, you are always in control of your supply chain. Yes, finding a supplier that is a good fit is hard. But I hate it when new brands start working with the first person that answers their emails.  You don’t just have to accept the first person that responds to you. Be picky! Just because your order is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have options. Or, that you shouldn't be able to vet your supplier properly. Be choosey. Before you start working with anyone, make sure to do these three things.  1. TALK TO REFERENCES If a factory tells you they sign NDAs so they can’t share clients with you, that is a blazing red flag.  Whenever a new supplier gives me this excuse, I respond, “I am sure you must have one client that you have become friends with over the years that would be happy to vouch for you.” If they don’t, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t work with them. 2. LOOK AT SAMPLES Most factories have showrooms with samples from past projects that they can show you. This can give you an idea about the type of garments they can make and prove that they can make good quality clothing for your brand.   While clothing manufacturers for small orders might have fewer examples to show than a big factory showroom, they should still have something. Quick tip. When you look at samples, you are not just looking at the quality, but also the type of garment. If you want to make swimsuits and every sample in the showroom is a t-shirt... Well, this factory might not be the best fit. 3. GIVE PRICING  It is impossible for clothing manufacturers for small orders to give you accurate pricing until they make your sample. They need to see how much fabric the garment consumes (the more fabric, the higher the price) and how long the garment takes to make (the longer it takes to sew, the higher the price).  But what they can do is tell you approximately how much it will cost. Because if your target price is $30 per garment in production and they are quoting $50, you know they won’t be a good fit. So, why waste your time sampling with them? ADDITIONAL SOURCING RESOURCES Here are a few more articles to check out for even more help. Where to source sustainable fabrics (list includes suppliers) Affordable mentorship options My favorite hack to launch your brand faster Tips for working with fabric suppliers Everything you need to know about tech packs WHAT DID YOU THINK? What step are you on in finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner? Let me know in the comments. Source link

[norajworld]

Looking for clothing manufacturers for small orders to help take your fashion brand from idea to made? New brands are often intimidated by the high MOQs - lowest minimum order quantities - that many of the well-known factories demand. So they feel like they are left with only two options – invest heavily in large quantities of inventory or give up.  It might take a little extra work, but I want you to know there are small batch clothing manufacturers out there that are perfect for your small business.  This blog post is going to teach you how to find and work with clothing manufacturers for small businesses in two parts. First, I will teach you best practices for working with small quantity clothing manufacturers; then I will share a few of my favorites. Here is why the first part is soooo important.  Just because you have the email address, or direct phone number to an amazing factory, that doesn’t mean they will want to work with you. Competition to get into good factories is steep, and making a good first impression is critical. Think of it this way. It’s like getting a resi to an amazing restaurant, you wait 2 weeks to get to go, then you show up and can’t get in because you didn’t know about the dress code. So, close yet so far. I want factories excited to work with you (not ignoring you), so please don’t skip this first part.  I am here to help you on your clothing business journey, and sometimes that means not just giving you the info you are looking for, but even more!   BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can. In this post, you will learn: Why finding a clothing manufacturer with low minimum orders is hard  3 things you need to do, to turn a no from a factory into a yes The best sourcing trip you can take for your small business Online sourcing resources I love to find clothing manufacturers for small orders Nontraditional supply chain options perfect for small brands 3 things a manufacturer must do before you work with them (I know, it can feel like such a relief when someone finally says yet to you - but you still need to do your due diligence) Additional resources to help you even more NO TIME TO READ? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK   WHY ARE FASHION MANUFACTURING MOQs SO HIGH? First things first . . .  Quick reminder – MOQ means minimum order quantity, or the minimum amount you need to order for a factory to agree to work with you. The reality is it takes a factory the same amount of effort to source and develop styles for an order of 10 shirts as it does for an order of 10,000. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Let me explain. There are nine steps leading up to a style moving to production, and these steps are exactly the same no matter what size the production order is. If you want to learn more about each step, you can check out this article. But to quickly recap it – here are all the things that need to happen. Pattern making Fit samples  Fit sample revisions Pattern revisions Fabric, trim, and component sourcing (sometimes working with up to 10 different supply chain partners to get everything needed to make a garment - from fabric to thread to labels and tags) Fabric, trim, and component sampling Proto samples/production quality sample (includes ordering sample fabric, trim, etc.) Pattern grading Ordering all components and organizing shipping and logistics to the factory A LOT of time, energy, and resources (read money) go into all of this. And again, it’s the same whether a factory is making 10 garments or a million.  So, from just a staying-in-business perspective, some factories need to have high MOQs just to cover the cost of all the development and pre-production work that goes into sampling. IF IT COSTS SO MUCH TO DEVELOP, HOW ARE FACTORIES ABLE TO TAKE ON SMALL MOQs? Traditionally, a factory will charge a client about 2x the bulk production rate for sampling, including pattern making, sourcing, and the whole shebang. So if a shirt costs $10 in production, the sample will cost $20. The factory ends up losing a lot of money. But there is this unspoken deal in the industry that if you sample with someone, you will work with them in production. And in production, the factory will make back the sampling costs, plus a lot in profits. This is also why factories don’t really like working with startups – there is no guarantee the brand will ever launch, give them a bulk order, and help the factory recoup the money spent on product development.  Now, if a factory is making tiny MOQs, there is no way they can sustain this, so manufacturing partners that help startups with small orders charge a fair rate for the costs of the sampling. So instead of $20, factories might charge $200 or more for the same sample with a low MOQ. And, this way, you can make as little as 10 pieces if you want to – because they aren’t relying on that bulk order to make their money back. Now, please don’t get any cute ideas and try to lie and say you are going to make big MOQs to get cheap sampling. It’s a great way to burn bridges and get a terrible reputation in the fashion manufacturing world. We all talk, we all know each other, and you don’t want factories to start deleting your emails without even opening them because they know you lied to their friend about big orders that never came last season. DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH A SMALL BATCH CLOTHING MANUFACTURER Now that you understand why finding a low MOQ factory can be difficult, I want to help prepare you to make the best first impression possible. So, before you press send on that email, I need you to do these three things. Remember low MOQ factories are scarce, and there are more and more people starting brands every day. Some factories even have 3-month waits, before they will even schedule the first meeting with you. So, this means you need to stand out as a professional. TASK 1 - CREATE A BUDGET  This is the most important thing you can do for the success of your brand. And it is often the most overlooked.  If you don’t have a budget, you can’t get started. One more time for the people in the back – even if you plan to crowdfund, you still need a budget. Because crowdfunding is unpredictable, you could raise $100 or thousands. Your budget is what is going to allow you to estimate the number of styles you can afford to make and your MOQ. The point of your budget at this time isn’t to figure everything out to the penny. It’s just to get a general idea. By the end of your first budgeting exercise, you should be able to say, “With the money I have, I can afford to make about x styles in y colors and place a production order of z pieces per style. Now, a lot of new founders think they need to talk to a factory to figure this out.  You don’t.  In this post about working with fabric suppliers, I break down exactly how to estimate your costs without ever having to contact a supplier. The bottom line? When you set a budget, you set yourself up for success. I have helped over 200 people start their fashion businesses, and I can tell you this – the ones that have a solid budget are much more likely to succeed than the brands that don’t. Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is, or how much the world needs it if you run out of money.  And knowing your budget looks good to manufacturing partners. Because when you can show them your have taken the time to make a budget, they trust you will make it past sampling and into production (again, production is where clothing manufacturers for small orders will be making most of their profits). TASK 2: NAIL DOWN YOUR DESIGNS You need to know what you want to make. And not just a vague idea. Your designs should be nailed down and about 90% finalized before you start talking to custom clothing manufacturers. That is because the factory you work with will be determined by the designs. There are some clothing manufacturers for small orders that make everything, but most factories are very specialized. They only make one type of product, whether it's woven women's wear, t-shirts, or swimsuits. Some factories will not work with luxury fabrics like silk and satin, while others only do that.  A lot of times, I see new founders thinking they found the perfect supplier.But once they finalize their designs and send them to the factory, the factory says, “Sorry, we don’t do those types of styles.” (It actually happens way more than you think). I know, I get it. You’re probably very anxious about finding a factory and checking that off your to-do list. But finalizing your designs will save you time in the long run. TASK 3: DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CLOTHES TO BE MADE Where in the world do you want to make your product?  Some parts of the world specialize in different types of products. An example of this is with swimwear – there are actually five major hubs of swimwear production, they are – the USA, China, Brazil, Bali, and Italy. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of deciding where to make your clothing line, you can check out this article. The reason you want to decide where you want your clothes to be made first is because, domestic and overseas clothing manufacturers opperate very differently. And, you you try to research both at the same time you will probably end up feeling overwhelmed. THE BIG QUESTION - Domestic Clothing Manufacturers vs. Overseas Here is my opinion on this great debate.  For startup brands, I recommend getting started close to home for not just one, but three different reasons. 1. Work in person without time zone or communication issues. I like to call this face time. No, not the video calling thing, but actually spending time with your factory in person.  What over a decade in this industry has taught me is that anything is possible and everything is negotiable. That is, if your supply chain partner likes you. And the best way to get them to like you and build a strong working relationship with you is to spend time with them in person. Sorry, Zoom, the digital stuff will never replace IRL, IMO. When I worked in fast fashion, I can’t tell you how many times my boss would beg a factory to do something for him, and the factory would refuse. Then I would ask, and they would be like, “sure” (because they liked me).  The other benefit of working with a factory close to home is that you won’t have language barriers. Different countries communicate in different ways and have their own fashion industry lingo. For example, what most of us know as a clothing seam is often called a joint in India. Speaking the same language makes learning a new fashion language a lot easier. 2. Save on shipping and logistics prices. Shipping these days is expensive. And if you are shipping fabric swatches, lab dips, strike-offs, samples, and all the product development things halfway across the world, those costs are going to add up quickly.  Even though the production cost in developing countries tends to be much lower than in the West, by the time brands factor in all the development costs and shipping, they aren’t actually saving very much money. 3. No cultural learning curve, holidays, etc. When you work in a different country for the first year or two, you are going to be constantly surprised.  Random holidays you had no idea existed and even the weather are going to delay your timelines. One thing most people don’t realize when working in India is how slow things become in the monsoon. Yeah, during the fall, they might be able to crank out your order in a month, but during the rainy season, good luck – another month to two could be added to your calendar.  Once a brand is a few seasons in, their orders are growing, and they’re learning the ins and outs of the garment manufacturing world, then they can start exploring overseas options. Now, if you want to skip straight to overseas, I suggest hiring someone to help manage your project who knows the lay of the land. I offer private consulting, which you can check out here. To sum it all up - the reason small businesses often have more luck finding a manufacturer close to home for the small orders is because it is just easier.  Overseas partners often feel like not only are they spending time teaching new brands the ins and outs of getting their garments made, but also have to offer them a crash course in the local culture. It’s just too much free work for them.  For example every time I have a new client working in India for the first time, that first bank transfer is painful. Something as simiple as paying a deposit becomes a days long tutorial (sorry we don’t have Zelle, Venmo, or even Paypal here). THE ONLY GARMENT SOURCING TRIP YOU SHOULD PLAN Trade shows! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love trade shows. Here is a list of my favorite textile trade shows. And, this is why trade shows are so great. They are a one-stop shop for global suppliers who actually want to work with you. So much so, that these suppliers are paying tens of thousands of dollars to travel and participate in the shows. Back in the day, tradeshow suppliers were mostly focused on big orders. But, times have changed, and that is no longer the case. Some shows even have special fashion startup areas that feature clothing manufacturers for small orders. And when you attend a trade show, there are also tons of free seminars and talks. So they are a great place to get educated at no cost to you. If your budget for your brand is going to restrict your ability to travel, going to a trade show is what I would spend those limited dollars on. Can’t make it to a show live? Most trade shows now have digital components as well. So, you can check out digital showrooms and chat with suppliers on their websites from your home. ONLINE SOURCING RESOURCES THAT EVERY STARTUP FASHION BRAND SHOULD KNOW ABOUT  Speaking of digital sourcing . . .  Here are a few of the most buzzworthy online sourcing resources that every fashion startup founder should know about. Not only do they have deep connections to suppliers, but they also help you stay organized and on top of your communication and orders. Their promoted partners range from mega suppliers with huge MOQs to clothing manufacturers for small orders that are perfect for startup brands. But, they do have their downfalls. Fabric sourcing and garment manufacturing are very physical businesses - it’s important to see, feel, and touch the quality. So, be careful and understand the limitations when working online. SEWPORT “Built to support emerging brands and aspiring fashion designers who struggled to connect with the right clothing manufacturers to launch their businesses.” SEAMLESS SOURCE “We developed an automated omnichannel sourcing platform and integrated order management tool to help your brand build a digitalized, faster, leaner and more responsible supply chain, all in one place with industry-leading, reliable, responsible and sustainable suppliers across the globe.” FOURSOURCE “A global network that brings people, organizations, and innovative ideas together. We make textile sourcing smarter, transparent, and more sustainable.” (FYI - I DO NOT RECOMMEND MAKERS ROW AFTER 2 BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPANY AND THEIR CLOTHING MANUFACTURING SERVICES) THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN HACK TO FIND CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS FOR SMALL ORDERS Sample rooms and home sewers.  Sample rooms are like mini-factories, with one or two sewing machines. And an alternative to that would be a home sewer, just like it sounds, someone who sews from their home.  Now, the pro is that these apparel manufacturers are more than happy to take on really tiny production orders. The downside is that they might not be able to scale with you, so they are not always a long-term solution. When I tell founders to try out one of these options, I usually get pushback because they are convinced that if their product is not made in a traditional factory, it will not be professional or high quality.  But this is very false. Independent sewers are some of the best clothing manufacturers for small orders around! A lot of people (especially women) go out on their own after working in factories for years. They are highly trained and are starting their own mini businesses for the same reason you are starting your own clothing business. The freedom, control of their own paycheck, and all the other perks that come along with being a small business owner. I would even go as far as to argue that if you are into true women’s empowerment, this is the ONLY option to choose.  3 THINGS A MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH THEM You know - what you need to do and, how to find a manufacturer for your small business. Now, let’s discuss some things THEY should do before you decide to work with them. Remember, you are always in control of your supply chain. Yes, finding a supplier that is a good fit is hard. But I hate it when new brands start working with the first person that answers their emails.  You don’t just have to accept the first person that responds to you. Be picky! Just because your order is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have options. Or, that you shouldn't be able to vet your supplier properly. Be choosey. Before you start working with anyone, make sure to do these three things.  1. TALK TO REFERENCES If a factory tells you they sign NDAs so they can’t share clients with you, that is a blazing red flag.  Whenever a new supplier gives me this excuse, I respond, “I am sure you must have one client that you have become friends with over the years that would be happy to vouch for you.” If they don’t, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t work with them. 2. LOOK AT SAMPLES Most factories have showrooms with samples from past projects that they can show you. This can give you an idea about the type of garments they can make and prove that they can make good quality clothing for your brand.   While clothing manufacturers for small orders might have fewer examples to show than a big factory showroom, they should still have something. Quick tip. When you look at samples, you are not just looking at the quality, but also the type of garment. If you want to make swimsuits and every sample in the showroom is a t-shirt... Well, this factory might not be the best fit. 3. GIVE PRICING  It is impossible for clothing manufacturers for small orders to give you accurate pricing until they make your sample. They need to see how much fabric the garment consumes (the more fabric, the higher the price) and how long the garment takes to make (the longer it takes to sew, the higher the price).  But what they can do is tell you approximately how much it will cost. Because if your target price is $30 per garment in production and they are quoting $50, you know they won’t be a good fit. So, why waste your time sampling with them? ADDITIONAL SOURCING RESOURCES Here are a few more articles to check out for even more help. Where to source sustainable fabrics (list includes suppliers) Affordable mentorship options My favorite hack to launch your brand faster Tips for working with fabric suppliers Everything you need to know about tech packs WHAT DID YOU THINK? What step are you on in finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner? Let me know in the comments. Source link

[ellajme0]

Looking for clothing manufacturers for small orders to help take your fashion brand from idea to made? New brands are often intimidated by the high MOQs - lowest minimum order quantities - that many of the well-known factories demand. So they feel like they are left with only two options – invest heavily in large quantities of inventory or give up.  It might take a little extra work, but I want you to know there are small batch clothing manufacturers out there that are perfect for your small business.  This blog post is going to teach you how to find and work with clothing manufacturers for small businesses in two parts. First, I will teach you best practices for working with small quantity clothing manufacturers; then I will share a few of my favorites. Here is why the first part is soooo important.  Just because you have the email address, or direct phone number to an amazing factory, that doesn’t mean they will want to work with you. Competition to get into good factories is steep, and making a good first impression is critical. Think of it this way. It’s like getting a resi to an amazing restaurant, you wait 2 weeks to get to go, then you show up and can’t get in because you didn’t know about the dress code. So, close yet so far. I want factories excited to work with you (not ignoring you), so please don’t skip this first part.  I am here to help you on your clothing business journey, and sometimes that means not just giving you the info you are looking for, but even more!   BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can. In this post, you will learn: Why finding a clothing manufacturer with low minimum orders is hard  3 things you need to do, to turn a no from a factory into a yes The best sourcing trip you can take for your small business Online sourcing resources I love to find clothing manufacturers for small orders Nontraditional supply chain options perfect for small brands 3 things a manufacturer must do before you work with them (I know, it can feel like such a relief when someone finally says yet to you - but you still need to do your due diligence) Additional resources to help you even more NO TIME TO READ? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK   WHY ARE FASHION MANUFACTURING MOQs SO HIGH? First things first . . .  Quick reminder – MOQ means minimum order quantity, or the minimum amount you need to order for a factory to agree to work with you. The reality is it takes a factory the same amount of effort to source and develop styles for an order of 10 shirts as it does for an order of 10,000. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Let me explain. There are nine steps leading up to a style moving to production, and these steps are exactly the same no matter what size the production order is. If you want to learn more about each step, you can check out this article. But to quickly recap it – here are all the things that need to happen. Pattern making Fit samples  Fit sample revisions Pattern revisions Fabric, trim, and component sourcing (sometimes working with up to 10 different supply chain partners to get everything needed to make a garment - from fabric to thread to labels and tags) Fabric, trim, and component sampling Proto samples/production quality sample (includes ordering sample fabric, trim, etc.) Pattern grading Ordering all components and organizing shipping and logistics to the factory A LOT of time, energy, and resources (read money) go into all of this. And again, it’s the same whether a factory is making 10 garments or a million.  So, from just a staying-in-business perspective, some factories need to have high MOQs just to cover the cost of all the development and pre-production work that goes into sampling. IF IT COSTS SO MUCH TO DEVELOP, HOW ARE FACTORIES ABLE TO TAKE ON SMALL MOQs? Traditionally, a factory will charge a client about 2x the bulk production rate for sampling, including pattern making, sourcing, and the whole shebang. So if a shirt costs $10 in production, the sample will cost $20. The factory ends up losing a lot of money. But there is this unspoken deal in the industry that if you sample with someone, you will work with them in production. And in production, the factory will make back the sampling costs, plus a lot in profits. This is also why factories don’t really like working with startups – there is no guarantee the brand will ever launch, give them a bulk order, and help the factory recoup the money spent on product development.  Now, if a factory is making tiny MOQs, there is no way they can sustain this, so manufacturing partners that help startups with small orders charge a fair rate for the costs of the sampling. So instead of $20, factories might charge $200 or more for the same sample with a low MOQ. And, this way, you can make as little as 10 pieces if you want to – because they aren’t relying on that bulk order to make their money back. Now, please don’t get any cute ideas and try to lie and say you are going to make big MOQs to get cheap sampling. It’s a great way to burn bridges and get a terrible reputation in the fashion manufacturing world. We all talk, we all know each other, and you don’t want factories to start deleting your emails without even opening them because they know you lied to their friend about big orders that never came last season. DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH A SMALL BATCH CLOTHING MANUFACTURER Now that you understand why finding a low MOQ factory can be difficult, I want to help prepare you to make the best first impression possible. So, before you press send on that email, I need you to do these three things. Remember low MOQ factories are scarce, and there are more and more people starting brands every day. Some factories even have 3-month waits, before they will even schedule the first meeting with you. So, this means you need to stand out as a professional. TASK 1 - CREATE A BUDGET  This is the most important thing you can do for the success of your brand. And it is often the most overlooked.  If you don’t have a budget, you can’t get started. One more time for the people in the back – even if you plan to crowdfund, you still need a budget. Because crowdfunding is unpredictable, you could raise $100 or thousands. Your budget is what is going to allow you to estimate the number of styles you can afford to make and your MOQ. The point of your budget at this time isn’t to figure everything out to the penny. It’s just to get a general idea. By the end of your first budgeting exercise, you should be able to say, “With the money I have, I can afford to make about x styles in y colors and place a production order of z pieces per style. Now, a lot of new founders think they need to talk to a factory to figure this out.  You don’t.  In this post about working with fabric suppliers, I break down exactly how to estimate your costs without ever having to contact a supplier. The bottom line? When you set a budget, you set yourself up for success. I have helped over 200 people start their fashion businesses, and I can tell you this – the ones that have a solid budget are much more likely to succeed than the brands that don’t. Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is, or how much the world needs it if you run out of money.  And knowing your budget looks good to manufacturing partners. Because when you can show them your have taken the time to make a budget, they trust you will make it past sampling and into production (again, production is where clothing manufacturers for small orders will be making most of their profits). TASK 2: NAIL DOWN YOUR DESIGNS You need to know what you want to make. And not just a vague idea. Your designs should be nailed down and about 90% finalized before you start talking to custom clothing manufacturers. That is because the factory you work with will be determined by the designs. There are some clothing manufacturers for small orders that make everything, but most factories are very specialized. They only make one type of product, whether it's woven women's wear, t-shirts, or swimsuits. Some factories will not work with luxury fabrics like silk and satin, while others only do that.  A lot of times, I see new founders thinking they found the perfect supplier.But once they finalize their designs and send them to the factory, the factory says, “Sorry, we don’t do those types of styles.” (It actually happens way more than you think). I know, I get it. You’re probably very anxious about finding a factory and checking that off your to-do list. But finalizing your designs will save you time in the long run. TASK 3: DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CLOTHES TO BE MADE Where in the world do you want to make your product?  Some parts of the world specialize in different types of products. An example of this is with swimwear – there are actually five major hubs of swimwear production, they are – the USA, China, Brazil, Bali, and Italy. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of deciding where to make your clothing line, you can check out this article. The reason you want to decide where you want your clothes to be made first is because, domestic and overseas clothing manufacturers opperate very differently. And, you you try to research both at the same time you will probably end up feeling overwhelmed. THE BIG QUESTION - Domestic Clothing Manufacturers vs. Overseas Here is my opinion on this great debate.  For startup brands, I recommend getting started close to home for not just one, but three different reasons. 1. Work in person without time zone or communication issues. I like to call this face time. No, not the video calling thing, but actually spending time with your factory in person.  What over a decade in this industry has taught me is that anything is possible and everything is negotiable. That is, if your supply chain partner likes you. And the best way to get them to like you and build a strong working relationship with you is to spend time with them in person. Sorry, Zoom, the digital stuff will never replace IRL, IMO. When I worked in fast fashion, I can’t tell you how many times my boss would beg a factory to do something for him, and the factory would refuse. Then I would ask, and they would be like, “sure” (because they liked me).  The other benefit of working with a factory close to home is that you won’t have language barriers. Different countries communicate in different ways and have their own fashion industry lingo. For example, what most of us know as a clothing seam is often called a joint in India. Speaking the same language makes learning a new fashion language a lot easier. 2. Save on shipping and logistics prices. Shipping these days is expensive. And if you are shipping fabric swatches, lab dips, strike-offs, samples, and all the product development things halfway across the world, those costs are going to add up quickly.  Even though the production cost in developing countries tends to be much lower than in the West, by the time brands factor in all the development costs and shipping, they aren’t actually saving very much money. 3. No cultural learning curve, holidays, etc. When you work in a different country for the first year or two, you are going to be constantly surprised.  Random holidays you had no idea existed and even the weather are going to delay your timelines. One thing most people don’t realize when working in India is how slow things become in the monsoon. Yeah, during the fall, they might be able to crank out your order in a month, but during the rainy season, good luck – another month to two could be added to your calendar.  Once a brand is a few seasons in, their orders are growing, and they’re learning the ins and outs of the garment manufacturing world, then they can start exploring overseas options. Now, if you want to skip straight to overseas, I suggest hiring someone to help manage your project who knows the lay of the land. I offer private consulting, which you can check out here. To sum it all up - the reason small businesses often have more luck finding a manufacturer close to home for the small orders is because it is just easier.  Overseas partners often feel like not only are they spending time teaching new brands the ins and outs of getting their garments made, but also have to offer them a crash course in the local culture. It’s just too much free work for them.  For example every time I have a new client working in India for the first time, that first bank transfer is painful. Something as simiple as paying a deposit becomes a days long tutorial (sorry we don’t have Zelle, Venmo, or even Paypal here). THE ONLY GARMENT SOURCING TRIP YOU SHOULD PLAN Trade shows! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love trade shows. Here is a list of my favorite textile trade shows. And, this is why trade shows are so great. They are a one-stop shop for global suppliers who actually want to work with you. So much so, that these suppliers are paying tens of thousands of dollars to travel and participate in the shows. Back in the day, tradeshow suppliers were mostly focused on big orders. But, times have changed, and that is no longer the case. Some shows even have special fashion startup areas that feature clothing manufacturers for small orders. And when you attend a trade show, there are also tons of free seminars and talks. So they are a great place to get educated at no cost to you. If your budget for your brand is going to restrict your ability to travel, going to a trade show is what I would spend those limited dollars on. Can’t make it to a show live? Most trade shows now have digital components as well. So, you can check out digital showrooms and chat with suppliers on their websites from your home. ONLINE SOURCING RESOURCES THAT EVERY STARTUP FASHION BRAND SHOULD KNOW ABOUT  Speaking of digital sourcing . . .  Here are a few of the most buzzworthy online sourcing resources that every fashion startup founder should know about. Not only do they have deep connections to suppliers, but they also help you stay organized and on top of your communication and orders. Their promoted partners range from mega suppliers with huge MOQs to clothing manufacturers for small orders that are perfect for startup brands. But, they do have their downfalls. Fabric sourcing and garment manufacturing are very physical businesses - it’s important to see, feel, and touch the quality. So, be careful and understand the limitations when working online. SEWPORT “Built to support emerging brands and aspiring fashion designers who struggled to connect with the right clothing manufacturers to launch their businesses.” SEAMLESS SOURCE “We developed an automated omnichannel sourcing platform and integrated order management tool to help your brand build a digitalized, faster, leaner and more responsible supply chain, all in one place with industry-leading, reliable, responsible and sustainable suppliers across the globe.” FOURSOURCE “A global network that brings people, organizations, and innovative ideas together. We make textile sourcing smarter, transparent, and more sustainable.” (FYI - I DO NOT RECOMMEND MAKERS ROW AFTER 2 BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPANY AND THEIR CLOTHING MANUFACTURING SERVICES) THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN HACK TO FIND CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS FOR SMALL ORDERS Sample rooms and home sewers.  Sample rooms are like mini-factories, with one or two sewing machines. And an alternative to that would be a home sewer, just like it sounds, someone who sews from their home.  Now, the pro is that these apparel manufacturers are more than happy to take on really tiny production orders. The downside is that they might not be able to scale with you, so they are not always a long-term solution. When I tell founders to try out one of these options, I usually get pushback because they are convinced that if their product is not made in a traditional factory, it will not be professional or high quality.  But this is very false. Independent sewers are some of the best clothing manufacturers for small orders around! A lot of people (especially women) go out on their own after working in factories for years. They are highly trained and are starting their own mini businesses for the same reason you are starting your own clothing business. The freedom, control of their own paycheck, and all the other perks that come along with being a small business owner. I would even go as far as to argue that if you are into true women’s empowerment, this is the ONLY option to choose.  3 THINGS A MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH THEM You know - what you need to do and, how to find a manufacturer for your small business. Now, let’s discuss some things THEY should do before you decide to work with them. Remember, you are always in control of your supply chain. Yes, finding a supplier that is a good fit is hard. But I hate it when new brands start working with the first person that answers their emails.  You don’t just have to accept the first person that responds to you. Be picky! Just because your order is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have options. Or, that you shouldn't be able to vet your supplier properly. Be choosey. Before you start working with anyone, make sure to do these three things.  1. TALK TO REFERENCES If a factory tells you they sign NDAs so they can’t share clients with you, that is a blazing red flag.  Whenever a new supplier gives me this excuse, I respond, “I am sure you must have one client that you have become friends with over the years that would be happy to vouch for you.” If they don’t, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t work with them. 2. LOOK AT SAMPLES Most factories have showrooms with samples from past projects that they can show you. This can give you an idea about the type of garments they can make and prove that they can make good quality clothing for your brand.   While clothing manufacturers for small orders might have fewer examples to show than a big factory showroom, they should still have something. Quick tip. When you look at samples, you are not just looking at the quality, but also the type of garment. If you want to make swimsuits and every sample in the showroom is a t-shirt... Well, this factory might not be the best fit. 3. GIVE PRICING  It is impossible for clothing manufacturers for small orders to give you accurate pricing until they make your sample. They need to see how much fabric the garment consumes (the more fabric, the higher the price) and how long the garment takes to make (the longer it takes to sew, the higher the price).  But what they can do is tell you approximately how much it will cost. Because if your target price is $30 per garment in production and they are quoting $50, you know they won’t be a good fit. So, why waste your time sampling with them? ADDITIONAL SOURCING RESOURCES Here are a few more articles to check out for even more help. Where to source sustainable fabrics (list includes suppliers) Affordable mentorship options My favorite hack to launch your brand faster Tips for working with fabric suppliers Everything you need to know about tech packs WHAT DID YOU THINK? What step are you on in finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner? Let me know in the comments. Source link

[chilimili212]

Looking for clothing manufacturers for small orders to help take your fashion brand from idea to made? New brands are often intimidated by the high MOQs - lowest minimum order quantities - that many of the well-known factories demand. So they feel like they are left with only two options – invest heavily in large quantities of inventory or give up.  It might take a little extra work, but I want you to know there are small batch clothing manufacturers out there that are perfect for your small business.  This blog post is going to teach you how to find and work with clothing manufacturers for small businesses in two parts. First, I will teach you best practices for working with small quantity clothing manufacturers; then I will share a few of my favorites. Here is why the first part is soooo important.  Just because you have the email address, or direct phone number to an amazing factory, that doesn’t mean they will want to work with you. Competition to get into good factories is steep, and making a good first impression is critical. Think of it this way. It’s like getting a resi to an amazing restaurant, you wait 2 weeks to get to go, then you show up and can’t get in because you didn’t know about the dress code. So, close yet so far. I want factories excited to work with you (not ignoring you), so please don’t skip this first part.  I am here to help you on your clothing business journey, and sometimes that means not just giving you the info you are looking for, but even more!   BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can. In this post, you will learn: Why finding a clothing manufacturer with low minimum orders is hard  3 things you need to do, to turn a no from a factory into a yes The best sourcing trip you can take for your small business Online sourcing resources I love to find clothing manufacturers for small orders Nontraditional supply chain options perfect for small brands 3 things a manufacturer must do before you work with them (I know, it can feel like such a relief when someone finally says yet to you - but you still need to do your due diligence) Additional resources to help you even more NO TIME TO READ? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK   WHY ARE FASHION MANUFACTURING MOQs SO HIGH? First things first . . .  Quick reminder – MOQ means minimum order quantity, or the minimum amount you need to order for a factory to agree to work with you. The reality is it takes a factory the same amount of effort to source and develop styles for an order of 10 shirts as it does for an order of 10,000. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Let me explain. There are nine steps leading up to a style moving to production, and these steps are exactly the same no matter what size the production order is. If you want to learn more about each step, you can check out this article. But to quickly recap it – here are all the things that need to happen. Pattern making Fit samples  Fit sample revisions Pattern revisions Fabric, trim, and component sourcing (sometimes working with up to 10 different supply chain partners to get everything needed to make a garment - from fabric to thread to labels and tags) Fabric, trim, and component sampling Proto samples/production quality sample (includes ordering sample fabric, trim, etc.) Pattern grading Ordering all components and organizing shipping and logistics to the factory A LOT of time, energy, and resources (read money) go into all of this. And again, it’s the same whether a factory is making 10 garments or a million.  So, from just a staying-in-business perspective, some factories need to have high MOQs just to cover the cost of all the development and pre-production work that goes into sampling. IF IT COSTS SO MUCH TO DEVELOP, HOW ARE FACTORIES ABLE TO TAKE ON SMALL MOQs? Traditionally, a factory will charge a client about 2x the bulk production rate for sampling, including pattern making, sourcing, and the whole shebang. So if a shirt costs $10 in production, the sample will cost $20. The factory ends up losing a lot of money. But there is this unspoken deal in the industry that if you sample with someone, you will work with them in production. And in production, the factory will make back the sampling costs, plus a lot in profits. This is also why factories don’t really like working with startups – there is no guarantee the brand will ever launch, give them a bulk order, and help the factory recoup the money spent on product development.  Now, if a factory is making tiny MOQs, there is no way they can sustain this, so manufacturing partners that help startups with small orders charge a fair rate for the costs of the sampling. So instead of $20, factories might charge $200 or more for the same sample with a low MOQ. And, this way, you can make as little as 10 pieces if you want to – because they aren’t relying on that bulk order to make their money back. Now, please don’t get any cute ideas and try to lie and say you are going to make big MOQs to get cheap sampling. It’s a great way to burn bridges and get a terrible reputation in the fashion manufacturing world. We all talk, we all know each other, and you don’t want factories to start deleting your emails without even opening them because they know you lied to their friend about big orders that never came last season. DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH A SMALL BATCH CLOTHING MANUFACTURER Now that you understand why finding a low MOQ factory can be difficult, I want to help prepare you to make the best first impression possible. So, before you press send on that email, I need you to do these three things. Remember low MOQ factories are scarce, and there are more and more people starting brands every day. Some factories even have 3-month waits, before they will even schedule the first meeting with you. So, this means you need to stand out as a professional. TASK 1 - CREATE A BUDGET  This is the most important thing you can do for the success of your brand. And it is often the most overlooked.  If you don’t have a budget, you can’t get started. One more time for the people in the back – even if you plan to crowdfund, you still need a budget. Because crowdfunding is unpredictable, you could raise $100 or thousands. Your budget is what is going to allow you to estimate the number of styles you can afford to make and your MOQ. The point of your budget at this time isn’t to figure everything out to the penny. It’s just to get a general idea. By the end of your first budgeting exercise, you should be able to say, “With the money I have, I can afford to make about x styles in y colors and place a production order of z pieces per style. Now, a lot of new founders think they need to talk to a factory to figure this out.  You don’t.  In this post about working with fabric suppliers, I break down exactly how to estimate your costs without ever having to contact a supplier. The bottom line? When you set a budget, you set yourself up for success. I have helped over 200 people start their fashion businesses, and I can tell you this – the ones that have a solid budget are much more likely to succeed than the brands that don’t. Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is, or how much the world needs it if you run out of money.  And knowing your budget looks good to manufacturing partners. Because when you can show them your have taken the time to make a budget, they trust you will make it past sampling and into production (again, production is where clothing manufacturers for small orders will be making most of their profits). TASK 2: NAIL DOWN YOUR DESIGNS You need to know what you want to make. And not just a vague idea. Your designs should be nailed down and about 90% finalized before you start talking to custom clothing manufacturers. That is because the factory you work with will be determined by the designs. There are some clothing manufacturers for small orders that make everything, but most factories are very specialized. They only make one type of product, whether it's woven women's wear, t-shirts, or swimsuits. Some factories will not work with luxury fabrics like silk and satin, while others only do that.  A lot of times, I see new founders thinking they found the perfect supplier.But once they finalize their designs and send them to the factory, the factory says, “Sorry, we don’t do those types of styles.” (It actually happens way more than you think). I know, I get it. You’re probably very anxious about finding a factory and checking that off your to-do list. But finalizing your designs will save you time in the long run. TASK 3: DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CLOTHES TO BE MADE Where in the world do you want to make your product?  Some parts of the world specialize in different types of products. An example of this is with swimwear – there are actually five major hubs of swimwear production, they are – the USA, China, Brazil, Bali, and Italy. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of deciding where to make your clothing line, you can check out this article. The reason you want to decide where you want your clothes to be made first is because, domestic and overseas clothing manufacturers opperate very differently. And, you you try to research both at the same time you will probably end up feeling overwhelmed. THE BIG QUESTION - Domestic Clothing Manufacturers vs. Overseas Here is my opinion on this great debate.  For startup brands, I recommend getting started close to home for not just one, but three different reasons. 1. Work in person without time zone or communication issues. I like to call this face time. No, not the video calling thing, but actually spending time with your factory in person.  What over a decade in this industry has taught me is that anything is possible and everything is negotiable. That is, if your supply chain partner likes you. And the best way to get them to like you and build a strong working relationship with you is to spend time with them in person. Sorry, Zoom, the digital stuff will never replace IRL, IMO. When I worked in fast fashion, I can’t tell you how many times my boss would beg a factory to do something for him, and the factory would refuse. Then I would ask, and they would be like, “sure” (because they liked me).  The other benefit of working with a factory close to home is that you won’t have language barriers. Different countries communicate in different ways and have their own fashion industry lingo. For example, what most of us know as a clothing seam is often called a joint in India. Speaking the same language makes learning a new fashion language a lot easier. 2. Save on shipping and logistics prices. Shipping these days is expensive. And if you are shipping fabric swatches, lab dips, strike-offs, samples, and all the product development things halfway across the world, those costs are going to add up quickly.  Even though the production cost in developing countries tends to be much lower than in the West, by the time brands factor in all the development costs and shipping, they aren’t actually saving very much money. 3. No cultural learning curve, holidays, etc. When you work in a different country for the first year or two, you are going to be constantly surprised.  Random holidays you had no idea existed and even the weather are going to delay your timelines. One thing most people don’t realize when working in India is how slow things become in the monsoon. Yeah, during the fall, they might be able to crank out your order in a month, but during the rainy season, good luck – another month to two could be added to your calendar.  Once a brand is a few seasons in, their orders are growing, and they’re learning the ins and outs of the garment manufacturing world, then they can start exploring overseas options. Now, if you want to skip straight to overseas, I suggest hiring someone to help manage your project who knows the lay of the land. I offer private consulting, which you can check out here. To sum it all up - the reason small businesses often have more luck finding a manufacturer close to home for the small orders is because it is just easier.  Overseas partners often feel like not only are they spending time teaching new brands the ins and outs of getting their garments made, but also have to offer them a crash course in the local culture. It’s just too much free work for them.  For example every time I have a new client working in India for the first time, that first bank transfer is painful. Something as simiple as paying a deposit becomes a days long tutorial (sorry we don’t have Zelle, Venmo, or even Paypal here). THE ONLY GARMENT SOURCING TRIP YOU SHOULD PLAN Trade shows! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love trade shows. Here is a list of my favorite textile trade shows. And, this is why trade shows are so great. They are a one-stop shop for global suppliers who actually want to work with you. So much so, that these suppliers are paying tens of thousands of dollars to travel and participate in the shows. Back in the day, tradeshow suppliers were mostly focused on big orders. But, times have changed, and that is no longer the case. Some shows even have special fashion startup areas that feature clothing manufacturers for small orders. And when you attend a trade show, there are also tons of free seminars and talks. So they are a great place to get educated at no cost to you. If your budget for your brand is going to restrict your ability to travel, going to a trade show is what I would spend those limited dollars on. Can’t make it to a show live? Most trade shows now have digital components as well. So, you can check out digital showrooms and chat with suppliers on their websites from your home. ONLINE SOURCING RESOURCES THAT EVERY STARTUP FASHION BRAND SHOULD KNOW ABOUT  Speaking of digital sourcing . . .  Here are a few of the most buzzworthy online sourcing resources that every fashion startup founder should know about. Not only do they have deep connections to suppliers, but they also help you stay organized and on top of your communication and orders. Their promoted partners range from mega suppliers with huge MOQs to clothing manufacturers for small orders that are perfect for startup brands. But, they do have their downfalls. Fabric sourcing and garment manufacturing are very physical businesses - it’s important to see, feel, and touch the quality. So, be careful and understand the limitations when working online. SEWPORT “Built to support emerging brands and aspiring fashion designers who struggled to connect with the right clothing manufacturers to launch their businesses.” SEAMLESS SOURCE “We developed an automated omnichannel sourcing platform and integrated order management tool to help your brand build a digitalized, faster, leaner and more responsible supply chain, all in one place with industry-leading, reliable, responsible and sustainable suppliers across the globe.” FOURSOURCE “A global network that brings people, organizations, and innovative ideas together. We make textile sourcing smarter, transparent, and more sustainable.” (FYI - I DO NOT RECOMMEND MAKERS ROW AFTER 2 BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPANY AND THEIR CLOTHING MANUFACTURING SERVICES) THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN HACK TO FIND CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS FOR SMALL ORDERS Sample rooms and home sewers.  Sample rooms are like mini-factories, with one or two sewing machines. And an alternative to that would be a home sewer, just like it sounds, someone who sews from their home.  Now, the pro is that these apparel manufacturers are more than happy to take on really tiny production orders. The downside is that they might not be able to scale with you, so they are not always a long-term solution. When I tell founders to try out one of these options, I usually get pushback because they are convinced that if their product is not made in a traditional factory, it will not be professional or high quality.  But this is very false. Independent sewers are some of the best clothing manufacturers for small orders around! A lot of people (especially women) go out on their own after working in factories for years. They are highly trained and are starting their own mini businesses for the same reason you are starting your own clothing business. The freedom, control of their own paycheck, and all the other perks that come along with being a small business owner. I would even go as far as to argue that if you are into true women’s empowerment, this is the ONLY option to choose.  3 THINGS A MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH THEM You know - what you need to do and, how to find a manufacturer for your small business. Now, let’s discuss some things THEY should do before you decide to work with them. Remember, you are always in control of your supply chain. Yes, finding a supplier that is a good fit is hard. But I hate it when new brands start working with the first person that answers their emails.  You don’t just have to accept the first person that responds to you. Be picky! Just because your order is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have options. Or, that you shouldn't be able to vet your supplier properly. Be choosey. Before you start working with anyone, make sure to do these three things.  1. TALK TO REFERENCES If a factory tells you they sign NDAs so they can’t share clients with you, that is a blazing red flag.  Whenever a new supplier gives me this excuse, I respond, “I am sure you must have one client that you have become friends with over the years that would be happy to vouch for you.” If they don’t, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t work with them. 2. LOOK AT SAMPLES Most factories have showrooms with samples from past projects that they can show you. This can give you an idea about the type of garments they can make and prove that they can make good quality clothing for your brand.   While clothing manufacturers for small orders might have fewer examples to show than a big factory showroom, they should still have something. Quick tip. When you look at samples, you are not just looking at the quality, but also the type of garment. If you want to make swimsuits and every sample in the showroom is a t-shirt... Well, this factory might not be the best fit. 3. GIVE PRICING  It is impossible for clothing manufacturers for small orders to give you accurate pricing until they make your sample. They need to see how much fabric the garment consumes (the more fabric, the higher the price) and how long the garment takes to make (the longer it takes to sew, the higher the price).  But what they can do is tell you approximately how much it will cost. Because if your target price is $30 per garment in production and they are quoting $50, you know they won’t be a good fit. So, why waste your time sampling with them? ADDITIONAL SOURCING RESOURCES Here are a few more articles to check out for even more help. Where to source sustainable fabrics (list includes suppliers) Affordable mentorship options My favorite hack to launch your brand faster Tips for working with fabric suppliers Everything you need to know about tech packs WHAT DID YOU THINK? What step are you on in finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner? Let me know in the comments. Source link

[oliviajoyice21]

Looking for clothing manufacturers for small orders to help take your fashion brand from idea to made? New brands are often intimidated by the high MOQs - lowest minimum order quantities - that many of the well-known factories demand. So they feel like they are left with only two options – invest heavily in large quantities of inventory or give up.  It might take a little extra work, but I want you to know there are small batch clothing manufacturers out there that are perfect for your small business.  This blog post is going to teach you how to find and work with clothing manufacturers for small businesses in two parts. First, I will teach you best practices for working with small quantity clothing manufacturers; then I will share a few of my favorites. Here is why the first part is soooo important.  Just because you have the email address, or direct phone number to an amazing factory, that doesn’t mean they will want to work with you. Competition to get into good factories is steep, and making a good first impression is critical. Think of it this way. It’s like getting a resi to an amazing restaurant, you wait 2 weeks to get to go, then you show up and can’t get in because you didn’t know about the dress code. So, close yet so far. I want factories excited to work with you (not ignoring you), so please don’t skip this first part.  I am here to help you on your clothing business journey, and sometimes that means not just giving you the info you are looking for, but even more!   BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can. In this post, you will learn: Why finding a clothing manufacturer with low minimum orders is hard  3 things you need to do, to turn a no from a factory into a yes The best sourcing trip you can take for your small business Online sourcing resources I love to find clothing manufacturers for small orders Nontraditional supply chain options perfect for small brands 3 things a manufacturer must do before you work with them (I know, it can feel like such a relief when someone finally says yet to you - but you still need to do your due diligence) Additional resources to help you even more NO TIME TO READ? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK   WHY ARE FASHION MANUFACTURING MOQs SO HIGH? First things first . . .  Quick reminder – MOQ means minimum order quantity, or the minimum amount you need to order for a factory to agree to work with you. The reality is it takes a factory the same amount of effort to source and develop styles for an order of 10 shirts as it does for an order of 10,000. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Let me explain. There are nine steps leading up to a style moving to production, and these steps are exactly the same no matter what size the production order is. If you want to learn more about each step, you can check out this article. But to quickly recap it – here are all the things that need to happen. Pattern making Fit samples  Fit sample revisions Pattern revisions Fabric, trim, and component sourcing (sometimes working with up to 10 different supply chain partners to get everything needed to make a garment - from fabric to thread to labels and tags) Fabric, trim, and component sampling Proto samples/production quality sample (includes ordering sample fabric, trim, etc.) Pattern grading Ordering all components and organizing shipping and logistics to the factory A LOT of time, energy, and resources (read money) go into all of this. And again, it’s the same whether a factory is making 10 garments or a million.  So, from just a staying-in-business perspective, some factories need to have high MOQs just to cover the cost of all the development and pre-production work that goes into sampling. IF IT COSTS SO MUCH TO DEVELOP, HOW ARE FACTORIES ABLE TO TAKE ON SMALL MOQs? Traditionally, a factory will charge a client about 2x the bulk production rate for sampling, including pattern making, sourcing, and the whole shebang. So if a shirt costs $10 in production, the sample will cost $20. The factory ends up losing a lot of money. But there is this unspoken deal in the industry that if you sample with someone, you will work with them in production. And in production, the factory will make back the sampling costs, plus a lot in profits. This is also why factories don’t really like working with startups – there is no guarantee the brand will ever launch, give them a bulk order, and help the factory recoup the money spent on product development.  Now, if a factory is making tiny MOQs, there is no way they can sustain this, so manufacturing partners that help startups with small orders charge a fair rate for the costs of the sampling. So instead of $20, factories might charge $200 or more for the same sample with a low MOQ. And, this way, you can make as little as 10 pieces if you want to – because they aren’t relying on that bulk order to make their money back. Now, please don’t get any cute ideas and try to lie and say you are going to make big MOQs to get cheap sampling. It’s a great way to burn bridges and get a terrible reputation in the fashion manufacturing world. We all talk, we all know each other, and you don’t want factories to start deleting your emails without even opening them because they know you lied to their friend about big orders that never came last season. DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH A SMALL BATCH CLOTHING MANUFACTURER Now that you understand why finding a low MOQ factory can be difficult, I want to help prepare you to make the best first impression possible. So, before you press send on that email, I need you to do these three things. Remember low MOQ factories are scarce, and there are more and more people starting brands every day. Some factories even have 3-month waits, before they will even schedule the first meeting with you. So, this means you need to stand out as a professional. TASK 1 - CREATE A BUDGET  This is the most important thing you can do for the success of your brand. And it is often the most overlooked.  If you don’t have a budget, you can’t get started. One more time for the people in the back – even if you plan to crowdfund, you still need a budget. Because crowdfunding is unpredictable, you could raise $100 or thousands. Your budget is what is going to allow you to estimate the number of styles you can afford to make and your MOQ. The point of your budget at this time isn’t to figure everything out to the penny. It’s just to get a general idea. By the end of your first budgeting exercise, you should be able to say, “With the money I have, I can afford to make about x styles in y colors and place a production order of z pieces per style. Now, a lot of new founders think they need to talk to a factory to figure this out.  You don’t.  In this post about working with fabric suppliers, I break down exactly how to estimate your costs without ever having to contact a supplier. The bottom line? When you set a budget, you set yourself up for success. I have helped over 200 people start their fashion businesses, and I can tell you this – the ones that have a solid budget are much more likely to succeed than the brands that don’t. Because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is, or how much the world needs it if you run out of money.  And knowing your budget looks good to manufacturing partners. Because when you can show them your have taken the time to make a budget, they trust you will make it past sampling and into production (again, production is where clothing manufacturers for small orders will be making most of their profits). TASK 2: NAIL DOWN YOUR DESIGNS You need to know what you want to make. And not just a vague idea. Your designs should be nailed down and about 90% finalized before you start talking to custom clothing manufacturers. That is because the factory you work with will be determined by the designs. There are some clothing manufacturers for small orders that make everything, but most factories are very specialized. They only make one type of product, whether it's woven women's wear, t-shirts, or swimsuits. Some factories will not work with luxury fabrics like silk and satin, while others only do that.  A lot of times, I see new founders thinking they found the perfect supplier.But once they finalize their designs and send them to the factory, the factory says, “Sorry, we don’t do those types of styles.” (It actually happens way more than you think). I know, I get it. You’re probably very anxious about finding a factory and checking that off your to-do list. But finalizing your designs will save you time in the long run. TASK 3: DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CLOTHES TO BE MADE Where in the world do you want to make your product?  Some parts of the world specialize in different types of products. An example of this is with swimwear – there are actually five major hubs of swimwear production, they are – the USA, China, Brazil, Bali, and Italy. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of deciding where to make your clothing line, you can check out this article. The reason you want to decide where you want your clothes to be made first is because, domestic and overseas clothing manufacturers opperate very differently. And, you you try to research both at the same time you will probably end up feeling overwhelmed. THE BIG QUESTION - Domestic Clothing Manufacturers vs. Overseas Here is my opinion on this great debate.  For startup brands, I recommend getting started close to home for not just one, but three different reasons. 1. Work in person without time zone or communication issues. I like to call this face time. No, not the video calling thing, but actually spending time with your factory in person.  What over a decade in this industry has taught me is that anything is possible and everything is negotiable. That is, if your supply chain partner likes you. And the best way to get them to like you and build a strong working relationship with you is to spend time with them in person. Sorry, Zoom, the digital stuff will never replace IRL, IMO. When I worked in fast fashion, I can’t tell you how many times my boss would beg a factory to do something for him, and the factory would refuse. Then I would ask, and they would be like, “sure” (because they liked me).  The other benefit of working with a factory close to home is that you won’t have language barriers. Different countries communicate in different ways and have their own fashion industry lingo. For example, what most of us know as a clothing seam is often called a joint in India. Speaking the same language makes learning a new fashion language a lot easier. 2. Save on shipping and logistics prices. Shipping these days is expensive. And if you are shipping fabric swatches, lab dips, strike-offs, samples, and all the product development things halfway across the world, those costs are going to add up quickly.  Even though the production cost in developing countries tends to be much lower than in the West, by the time brands factor in all the development costs and shipping, they aren’t actually saving very much money. 3. No cultural learning curve, holidays, etc. When you work in a different country for the first year or two, you are going to be constantly surprised.  Random holidays you had no idea existed and even the weather are going to delay your timelines. One thing most people don’t realize when working in India is how slow things become in the monsoon. Yeah, during the fall, they might be able to crank out your order in a month, but during the rainy season, good luck – another month to two could be added to your calendar.  Once a brand is a few seasons in, their orders are growing, and they’re learning the ins and outs of the garment manufacturing world, then they can start exploring overseas options. Now, if you want to skip straight to overseas, I suggest hiring someone to help manage your project who knows the lay of the land. I offer private consulting, which you can check out here. To sum it all up - the reason small businesses often have more luck finding a manufacturer close to home for the small orders is because it is just easier.  Overseas partners often feel like not only are they spending time teaching new brands the ins and outs of getting their garments made, but also have to offer them a crash course in the local culture. It’s just too much free work for them.  For example every time I have a new client working in India for the first time, that first bank transfer is painful. Something as simiple as paying a deposit becomes a days long tutorial (sorry we don’t have Zelle, Venmo, or even Paypal here). THE ONLY GARMENT SOURCING TRIP YOU SHOULD PLAN Trade shows! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love trade shows. Here is a list of my favorite textile trade shows. And, this is why trade shows are so great. They are a one-stop shop for global suppliers who actually want to work with you. So much so, that these suppliers are paying tens of thousands of dollars to travel and participate in the shows. Back in the day, tradeshow suppliers were mostly focused on big orders. But, times have changed, and that is no longer the case. Some shows even have special fashion startup areas that feature clothing manufacturers for small orders. And when you attend a trade show, there are also tons of free seminars and talks. So they are a great place to get educated at no cost to you. If your budget for your brand is going to restrict your ability to travel, going to a trade show is what I would spend those limited dollars on. Can’t make it to a show live? Most trade shows now have digital components as well. So, you can check out digital showrooms and chat with suppliers on their websites from your home. ONLINE SOURCING RESOURCES THAT EVERY STARTUP FASHION BRAND SHOULD KNOW ABOUT  Speaking of digital sourcing . . .  Here are a few of the most buzzworthy online sourcing resources that every fashion startup founder should know about. Not only do they have deep connections to suppliers, but they also help you stay organized and on top of your communication and orders. Their promoted partners range from mega suppliers with huge MOQs to clothing manufacturers for small orders that are perfect for startup brands. But, they do have their downfalls. Fabric sourcing and garment manufacturing are very physical businesses - it’s important to see, feel, and touch the quality. So, be careful and understand the limitations when working online. SEWPORT “Built to support emerging brands and aspiring fashion designers who struggled to connect with the right clothing manufacturers to launch their businesses.” SEAMLESS SOURCE “We developed an automated omnichannel sourcing platform and integrated order management tool to help your brand build a digitalized, faster, leaner and more responsible supply chain, all in one place with industry-leading, reliable, responsible and sustainable suppliers across the globe.” FOURSOURCE “A global network that brings people, organizations, and innovative ideas together. We make textile sourcing smarter, transparent, and more sustainable.” (FYI - I DO NOT RECOMMEND MAKERS ROW AFTER 2 BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMPANY AND THEIR CLOTHING MANUFACTURING SERVICES) THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN HACK TO FIND CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS FOR SMALL ORDERS Sample rooms and home sewers.  Sample rooms are like mini-factories, with one or two sewing machines. And an alternative to that would be a home sewer, just like it sounds, someone who sews from their home.  Now, the pro is that these apparel manufacturers are more than happy to take on really tiny production orders. The downside is that they might not be able to scale with you, so they are not always a long-term solution. When I tell founders to try out one of these options, I usually get pushback because they are convinced that if their product is not made in a traditional factory, it will not be professional or high quality.  But this is very false. Independent sewers are some of the best clothing manufacturers for small orders around! A lot of people (especially women) go out on their own after working in factories for years. They are highly trained and are starting their own mini businesses for the same reason you are starting your own clothing business. The freedom, control of their own paycheck, and all the other perks that come along with being a small business owner. I would even go as far as to argue that if you are into true women’s empowerment, this is the ONLY option to choose.  3 THINGS A MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WORKING WITH THEM You know - what you need to do and, how to find a manufacturer for your small business. Now, let’s discuss some things THEY should do before you decide to work with them. Remember, you are always in control of your supply chain. Yes, finding a supplier that is a good fit is hard. But I hate it when new brands start working with the first person that answers their emails.  You don’t just have to accept the first person that responds to you. Be picky! Just because your order is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have options. Or, that you shouldn't be able to vet your supplier properly. Be choosey. Before you start working with anyone, make sure to do these three things.  1. TALK TO REFERENCES If a factory tells you they sign NDAs so they can’t share clients with you, that is a blazing red flag.  Whenever a new supplier gives me this excuse, I respond, “I am sure you must have one client that you have become friends with over the years that would be happy to vouch for you.” If they don’t, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t work with them. 2. LOOK AT SAMPLES Most factories have showrooms with samples from past projects that they can show you. This can give you an idea about the type of garments they can make and prove that they can make good quality clothing for your brand.   While clothing manufacturers for small orders might have fewer examples to show than a big factory showroom, they should still have something. Quick tip. When you look at samples, you are not just looking at the quality, but also the type of garment. If you want to make swimsuits and every sample in the showroom is a t-shirt... Well, this factory might not be the best fit. 3. GIVE PRICING  It is impossible for clothing manufacturers for small orders to give you accurate pricing until they make your sample. They need to see how much fabric the garment consumes (the more fabric, the higher the price) and how long the garment takes to make (the longer it takes to sew, the higher the price).  But what they can do is tell you approximately how much it will cost. Because if your target price is $30 per garment in production and they are quoting $50, you know they won’t be a good fit. So, why waste your time sampling with them? ADDITIONAL SOURCING RESOURCES Here are a few more articles to check out for even more help. Where to source sustainable fabrics (list includes suppliers) Affordable mentorship options My favorite hack to launch your brand faster Tips for working with fabric suppliers Everything you need to know about tech packs WHAT DID YOU THINK? What step are you on in finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner? Let me know in the comments. Source link

[shosiblog]

What Is T-Shirt Size Pricing?

T-shirt size pricing refers to the variation in cost based on the size of the T-shirt being purchased or customized. It’s a common practice in the apparel industry and is influenced by factors such as fabric usage, printing complexity, and customization needs. Understanding T-shirt size pricing can help you make informed decisions when ordering custom apparel, whether for personal use, corporate branding, or events.

Factors That Influence T-Shirt Size Pricing

1. Fabric Usage

Larger T-shirt sizes require more fabric, which increases production costs.

For instance, a size XXL T-shirt may use up to 20% more fabric than a size M, leading to a slight price difference.

2. Printing and Customization

Screen Printing: Larger sizes may require adjustments in the printing setup, especially for all-over prints.

Direct-to-Garment (DTG): Printing on larger sizes can take longer, impacting labor costs.

Complex designs on larger shirts may also require more ink, adding to the expense.

3. Bulk Orders

Ordering in bulk can help offset size-based price differences.

T-shirt manufacturers in Chennai often provide tiered pricing, where larger orders receive significant discounts regardless of size variations.

4. Brand and Fabric Quality

Premium brands or specialty fabrics, such as organic cotton or moisture-wicking materials, may have a consistent price increase across all sizes.

Local vendors, like T-shirt manufacturers in Chennai, offer high-quality options tailored to your needs.

Real-World Example of Size Pricing

Let’s consider a bulk order from T-shirt manufacturers in Chennai:

Small to Large Sizes (S to L): Priced at $10 per piece.

Extra-Large Sizes (XL to XXL): Priced at $12 per piece due to additional fabric and printing adjustments.

3XL and Above: Priced at $14 per piece, reflecting the significant increase in material and labor requirements.

Did You Know?

Many manufacturers absorb the extra costs for sizes up to XL but charge a premium for sizes beyond that due to higher production expenses.

How to Manage T-Shirt Size Pricing Efficiently

Plan Bulk Orders: Reduce per-unit costs by ordering larger quantities.

Choose Simple Designs: Opt for designs that don’t require excessive adjustments for larger sizes.

Work with Reliable Vendors: Trusted T-shirt manufacturers in Chennai provide transparent pricing and consistent quality across all sizes.

Conclusion

T-shirt size pricing varies based on factors like fabric usage, printing complexity, and customization needs. By understanding these elements, you can better plan your orders and manage costs effectively. Whether you’re ordering for a small event or a large-scale promotion, partnering with experienced T-shirt manufacturers in Chennai ensures high-quality apparel at competitive prices.

Ready to place your order? Contact us today to explore a wide range of T-shirt options tailored to your needs!

[cleverhottubmiracle]

One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ (minimum order quantity). FYI, generally, sweater MOQs are in the hundreds, but a few knitwear manufacturing suppliers will go as low as 50 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up; there are a few hacks, like using hacci fabric, that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  Today, I am going to walk you through 3 different types of sweater manufacturing, to help you decide which is right for you and your brand.  This is important because sweater supply chain is highly specialized. Before you can reach out to suppliers, you need to know what type of sweater you want.     BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can.    WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…   SHORT ON TIME? CLICK THROUGH THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE RECAP    WHY I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING AND SWEATERS Why do I love teaching people about sweaters? Take a walk down memory lane with me. I was still just a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)  studying Textile Development. Like many college kids, my friends and I spent more time in bars than in class (Hey, I’m a wild child (Labyrinth reference)! What can I say?). And like in any bar scene, we spent quite a bit of time chatting with strangers. The conversations went a little like this (I promise this is relevant to making clothes): Them – What do you do? Us – We’re in school for manufacturing. Them – What? Us – Like, how to make clothing. Them – (without fail, literally 99 times out of 100 – if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this, I would probably be retired), oh cool, can you knit me a sweater? Us - Ummm, that’s not how clothing manufacturers work From the multitude of groundhog-day-like bar conversations, I realized just how little people knew about how clothes were made. It blew my mind that some people thought that all clothes were made by people sitting in a chair, knitting. So, this post will teach you all about actual sweater manufacturing. And, this topic will always have a special place in my heart.    HAND KNITTING VS MACHINE KNITTING Sweaters are made directly from yarns (we get to skip the fabric step with knitwear manufacturing, but more on that in a little bit), and there are two different ways of making them: by hand or by machines - welcome to the future. I’ll teach you about both!    WHAT IS HAND KNITTING? Hand-knitting is exactly what the bar folk were thinking; two needles and a ball of yarn (rocking chair not included). Each garment is hand-made by one person. And is generally under the ethical fashion cateogry of artisan custom clothing.   With hand knitting, we rely on the skills of artisans. The labor-intensive work requires a large team of people.    WHAT IS MACHINE KNITTING? Full fashion machine knitting, on the other hand, starts with a computer program. Basically, you can design a sweater from special software, press a button, and the machine gets to work with entire jumpers popping out at the end. It’s like living in the Jetsons. Compared to hand knitting, a lot fewer people are needed to create the sweaters because the machines are doing most of the work. Generally, a company will only have 1-2 people programming them. Pro tip. Complicated patterns that take people a really long time to hand knit, like tailored, knit jacquard pieces are especially great products for machines to do.    A THIRD TYPE OF SWEATER FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Hacci sweater knits. So, what is hacci fabric? This is it. The big secret. This is my absolute favorite hack to help small brands PRODUCE custom sweaters. Hacci fabrics. Not to be confused with other knit fabrics like jerseys, or french terry fabric. Brushed hacci sweater fabric is a type of fabric that looks like a sweater knit fabric. The fabric can then be cut and sewn and made into a garment.   These textiles basically sit between the worlds of knitwear manufacturing and traditional cut+sew. Instead of going from yarn straight to garment like other sweaters, hacci sweaters need to go though the cutting, sewing, and finishing process. And, as you will see in just a minute are a great hack to getting lower prices and lower MOQs.   PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES  PROS OF HAND KNITTING  Artisanal. Custom knit sweaters are 100% made by people. This means that each sweater is a little bit different and unique. Not only does the product feel one of a kind and special. But usually, hand-knit sweaters are sold by types of programs that help people. There are quite a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations, or international charities) and groups that help different at-risk communities find work knitting. (want to learn more  about a few of these programs – scroll down to the bottom of the post.) Low MOQs (minimum order quantities). It is possible to make as little as 1 garment. All you need to do is hire one artisan to knit it.   CONS OF HAND KNITTING Slow production. Because people make the garments, the process is much slower than an automated machine. Also, many of the groups that do this type of work tend not to do it full-time, so production times can be hard to track.  Aging labor pool. The artisans that do this type of work tend to be much older. And finding workers to replace this aging population is difficult because young people today want to be TikTok famous, not work in a knitwear factory setting.  Expensive. Like many other manufacturing options, time is money. Generally, the longer something takes to make, the more expensive it is. Hand-knitting is an extremely slow process.    PROS OF MACHINE KNITTING A quick personal story. These machines are super cool, and as part of the textile curriculum at FIT, we had to learn how to program them ourselves. Cue ​​a flashback of me spending hours of my life down in the basement of FIT (we used to call it the textile casino, because there were no windows or clocks), learning how to create knitting computer programs. Set it and forget it. Just like 3-D printing, once the samples are approved, and the program is set, you can make as many sweaters as you want with very little effort or (wo)man power. Good bulk prices. Because bulk production is so automated and requires minimal manpower, large bulk orders tend to have competitive pricing.    CONS OF MACHINE KNITTING Sampling can be expensive. Although you can get a good rate for bulk orders, what tends to be expensive is the hiring of the engineers necessary to program the machines. Because the costs of labor are so high, development for these types of knit sweaters tends to be higher than other manufacturing options.  Larger MOQ. MOQs usually start with about a few hundred pieces. While it is possible to press knit only once and get one sweater, it would not be economical. A lot of time is taken to program, sample, and tweak the computer program. Once all of that work is done, factories want to make sure the machine can run on autopilot for a while. Sit tight, I am going to get into the pros and cons of using hacci knit fabric at the end of the article in the price savings section.   BENEFITS OF A KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN So, what happens in sweater production is that when the yarns are knit, instead of being knit into a flat piece of fabric (to then be cut and sewn), they are actually knit into the shape of a garment directly. It’s important to note that this is only possible with knitting. Woven fabrics (like the ones found in button-down shirts, jeans, etc.) are always cut and sewn. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you might remember there are 5 levels in the garment supply chain: Fiber  Yarns Fabric Dyeing/printing Garment cut + sew But, as I just mentioned, the only exception to this rule is when making a sweater. You can cut out the fabric, step making your supply chain only 4 levels.  And, being able to go directly from yarns to garment is good for 2 reasons.  The first is traceability. Traceability is being able to track where everything comes from in all of the stages of the supply chain. The fewer stages in the supply chain, the less to keep track of and audit. Basically less work. The second benefit is reduced carbon emissions. Very few suppliers in fashion are vertical, meaning very few suppliers conduct all 5 levels of the supply chain under one roof. What typically happens is that the fibers and yarns are produced in one country, and are then shipped to another country to be made into fabric. The apparel fabrics are then sent to a third country to be cut and sewn into a garment. And, lastly the garment is shipped to a forth location to actually be sold to customers. By being able to cut out an entire level of the supply chain, a whole lot of transportation can be avoided, reducing supply chain emissions.   HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SWEATER MANUFACTURING MOQ AND COST You can take the girl out of the Walmart supply chain, but you can’t take the Walmart cost savings hacks out of the girl.  A big part of my job, when I worked in fast fashion, was figuring out ways to chop down the price of our products without degrading their performance of the product. Basically, mission impossible.  One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ. Generally, sweater MOQs are generally at least 100 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up.  There are a few things I have in my bag of manufacturing cost savings tricks that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  To make lower MOQs and still keep manufacturing costs affordable, there are 4 things to consider: hacci fabrics, blended yarns, fabric weight, and colors. These are the good tricks most sweaters manufacturers won’t share.   HACCI FABRICS Cut and sew manufacturing using Hacci fabric tends to have a much lower MOQs than machine knitting. It requires no special machinery or training. And it is much cheaper than a hand knit or full fashion knit even though there is an extra level in the supply chain.  The only drawback is that after sewing the garment, the seams tend to be quite heavy. But most people don’t notice, and this does not seem to take away from the customer experience.   BLENDED YARNS The average consumer can’t tell the difference between 100% merino wool, and a wool acrylic (cheaper than wool) blend. Actually, sometimes they even think that the wool/acyclic blend feels more like a luxury knit sweater!  What they can feel is a low-quality wool yarn that feels itchy and scratchy. So, instead of going for that 100% wool label and compromising the quality of wool fibers, opt for a blend.  Cost-effective fibers to consider for this hack are cotton, acrylic, and nylon. The other nice thing about sweaters is that you can skip the spandex. Generally, sweater constructions naturally have a lot of stretch, so you don’t need elastic added to them. And, because elastic is one of the most expensive fibers around, this helps to reduce the price.   FABRIC WEIGHT The lighter the fabric, the less fiber resources, and the more money you can save. Now, there comes a point where a fabric becomes too thin and feels cheap. But, usually, it is possible to decrease the weight a little bit to save some money without anyone really noticing.   COLORS Instead of using custom-dyed colors, use stock yarns from your knitwear manufacturing partner. The process of lab dips and dying custom colors is not just expensive, but it is also time-consuming. By using the yarn colors factories have available (and some factories have up to 30- 50 options to choose from), you can get your production cheaper and faster.   MY FAVORITE KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS Are you a designer who needs  help getting your sweaters made, and tired of googling for things like sweater manufacturers near me, with no restults?  Here are a few of the best sweater manufacturers around!   HANDKNIT SUPPLIERS, FOR CUSTOM MADE KNITWEAR KOCO Knit - Indian artisan knitwear manufacturing, “KOCO was established in Australia by Danielle Chiel in partnership with women who live in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, southern India. What began as a solution to producing hand-knitted garments offshore is now a sisterhood of artisans and a business with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development entwined in our DNA. We have scaled the art of hand knitting to produce commercial quantities of garments, all entirely hand knitted.” Knitlab Peru - Move over cashmere sweaters, I am obsessed with sustainable alpaca these days. “Our practice involves working with knitting artisans that have formally set up their own small businesses and communities. Each leader, in turn, has their own group of knitters or a workshop.”   MACHINE KNIT SUPPLIERS Shima - “Always at the forefront of knitting technology, SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting machines are the global standard of the industry.” Stoll M1 - “Nowadays, knitting companies are facing an increasing pressure trying to cover the wide product range requirements and needs of their customers and to produce more economically at the same time. Customers, on the other hand, expect constant ability to deliver knit products, with an increasingly changing assortment and a decreasing order volume for each item.” Stoll provides these much-needed solutions. And, in NYC, they have a showroom open to the public where you can view the machines in action!    HACCI FABRIC SUPPLIERS SwatchOn - a super easy platform, with unbeatable low MOQ wholesale prices. And, over 200,000 fabrics to choose from! They even have hard-to-find rib hacci sweater fabrics. Plus, they have amazing customer service! Fabric Wholesale Direct - Another global, online option, with great prices, and even better reviews - with a seemingly never-ending selection of fabric types. And, you can buy as little as one fabric yard!   WANT ACCESS TO MY LIST OF OVER 500 SUPPLIERS? Check out The Sourcing Bootcamp, and my other private consultancy services!    WHAT DO YOU THINK? What type of knitted garment are you going to make - hand, machine, or hacci? Let me know in the comments! Answer Hacci fabric is a type of textile that looks like a sweater. It can be cut + sewn to make garments that look like sweaters for a fraction of the price of traditional sweater manufacturing. Question #5 What does hacci fabric feel like? Answer Hacci fabric feels and looks like a sweater. Schema.org's references: FAQPage Google's documentation: FAQ Page Source link

[norajworld]

One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ (minimum order quantity). FYI, generally, sweater MOQs are in the hundreds, but a few knitwear manufacturing suppliers will go as low as 50 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up; there are a few hacks, like using hacci fabric, that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  Today, I am going to walk you through 3 different types of sweater manufacturing, to help you decide which is right for you and your brand.  This is important because sweater supply chain is highly specialized. Before you can reach out to suppliers, you need to know what type of sweater you want.     BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can.    WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…   SHORT ON TIME? CLICK THROUGH THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE RECAP    WHY I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING AND SWEATERS Why do I love teaching people about sweaters? Take a walk down memory lane with me. I was still just a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)  studying Textile Development. Like many college kids, my friends and I spent more time in bars than in class (Hey, I’m a wild child (Labyrinth reference)! What can I say?). And like in any bar scene, we spent quite a bit of time chatting with strangers. The conversations went a little like this (I promise this is relevant to making clothes): Them – What do you do? Us – We’re in school for manufacturing. Them – What? Us – Like, how to make clothing. Them – (without fail, literally 99 times out of 100 – if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this, I would probably be retired), oh cool, can you knit me a sweater? Us - Ummm, that’s not how clothing manufacturers work From the multitude of groundhog-day-like bar conversations, I realized just how little people knew about how clothes were made. It blew my mind that some people thought that all clothes were made by people sitting in a chair, knitting. So, this post will teach you all about actual sweater manufacturing. And, this topic will always have a special place in my heart.    HAND KNITTING VS MACHINE KNITTING Sweaters are made directly from yarns (we get to skip the fabric step with knitwear manufacturing, but more on that in a little bit), and there are two different ways of making them: by hand or by machines - welcome to the future. I’ll teach you about both!    WHAT IS HAND KNITTING? Hand-knitting is exactly what the bar folk were thinking; two needles and a ball of yarn (rocking chair not included). Each garment is hand-made by one person. And is generally under the ethical fashion cateogry of artisan custom clothing.   With hand knitting, we rely on the skills of artisans. The labor-intensive work requires a large team of people.    WHAT IS MACHINE KNITTING? Full fashion machine knitting, on the other hand, starts with a computer program. Basically, you can design a sweater from special software, press a button, and the machine gets to work with entire jumpers popping out at the end. It’s like living in the Jetsons. Compared to hand knitting, a lot fewer people are needed to create the sweaters because the machines are doing most of the work. Generally, a company will only have 1-2 people programming them. Pro tip. Complicated patterns that take people a really long time to hand knit, like tailored, knit jacquard pieces are especially great products for machines to do.    A THIRD TYPE OF SWEATER FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Hacci sweater knits. So, what is hacci fabric? This is it. The big secret. This is my absolute favorite hack to help small brands PRODUCE custom sweaters. Hacci fabrics. Not to be confused with other knit fabrics like jerseys, or french terry fabric. Brushed hacci sweater fabric is a type of fabric that looks like a sweater knit fabric. The fabric can then be cut and sewn and made into a garment.   These textiles basically sit between the worlds of knitwear manufacturing and traditional cut+sew. Instead of going from yarn straight to garment like other sweaters, hacci sweaters need to go though the cutting, sewing, and finishing process. And, as you will see in just a minute are a great hack to getting lower prices and lower MOQs.   PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES  PROS OF HAND KNITTING  Artisanal. Custom knit sweaters are 100% made by people. This means that each sweater is a little bit different and unique. Not only does the product feel one of a kind and special. But usually, hand-knit sweaters are sold by types of programs that help people. There are quite a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations, or international charities) and groups that help different at-risk communities find work knitting. (want to learn more  about a few of these programs – scroll down to the bottom of the post.) Low MOQs (minimum order quantities). It is possible to make as little as 1 garment. All you need to do is hire one artisan to knit it.   CONS OF HAND KNITTING Slow production. Because people make the garments, the process is much slower than an automated machine. Also, many of the groups that do this type of work tend not to do it full-time, so production times can be hard to track.  Aging labor pool. The artisans that do this type of work tend to be much older. And finding workers to replace this aging population is difficult because young people today want to be TikTok famous, not work in a knitwear factory setting.  Expensive. Like many other manufacturing options, time is money. Generally, the longer something takes to make, the more expensive it is. Hand-knitting is an extremely slow process.    PROS OF MACHINE KNITTING A quick personal story. These machines are super cool, and as part of the textile curriculum at FIT, we had to learn how to program them ourselves. Cue ​​a flashback of me spending hours of my life down in the basement of FIT (we used to call it the textile casino, because there were no windows or clocks), learning how to create knitting computer programs. Set it and forget it. Just like 3-D printing, once the samples are approved, and the program is set, you can make as many sweaters as you want with very little effort or (wo)man power. Good bulk prices. Because bulk production is so automated and requires minimal manpower, large bulk orders tend to have competitive pricing.    CONS OF MACHINE KNITTING Sampling can be expensive. Although you can get a good rate for bulk orders, what tends to be expensive is the hiring of the engineers necessary to program the machines. Because the costs of labor are so high, development for these types of knit sweaters tends to be higher than other manufacturing options.  Larger MOQ. MOQs usually start with about a few hundred pieces. While it is possible to press knit only once and get one sweater, it would not be economical. A lot of time is taken to program, sample, and tweak the computer program. Once all of that work is done, factories want to make sure the machine can run on autopilot for a while. Sit tight, I am going to get into the pros and cons of using hacci knit fabric at the end of the article in the price savings section.   BENEFITS OF A KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN So, what happens in sweater production is that when the yarns are knit, instead of being knit into a flat piece of fabric (to then be cut and sewn), they are actually knit into the shape of a garment directly. It’s important to note that this is only possible with knitting. Woven fabrics (like the ones found in button-down shirts, jeans, etc.) are always cut and sewn. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you might remember there are 5 levels in the garment supply chain: Fiber  Yarns Fabric Dyeing/printing Garment cut + sew But, as I just mentioned, the only exception to this rule is when making a sweater. You can cut out the fabric, step making your supply chain only 4 levels.  And, being able to go directly from yarns to garment is good for 2 reasons.  The first is traceability. Traceability is being able to track where everything comes from in all of the stages of the supply chain. The fewer stages in the supply chain, the less to keep track of and audit. Basically less work. The second benefit is reduced carbon emissions. Very few suppliers in fashion are vertical, meaning very few suppliers conduct all 5 levels of the supply chain under one roof. What typically happens is that the fibers and yarns are produced in one country, and are then shipped to another country to be made into fabric. The apparel fabrics are then sent to a third country to be cut and sewn into a garment. And, lastly the garment is shipped to a forth location to actually be sold to customers. By being able to cut out an entire level of the supply chain, a whole lot of transportation can be avoided, reducing supply chain emissions.   HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SWEATER MANUFACTURING MOQ AND COST You can take the girl out of the Walmart supply chain, but you can’t take the Walmart cost savings hacks out of the girl.  A big part of my job, when I worked in fast fashion, was figuring out ways to chop down the price of our products without degrading their performance of the product. Basically, mission impossible.  One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ. Generally, sweater MOQs are generally at least 100 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up.  There are a few things I have in my bag of manufacturing cost savings tricks that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  To make lower MOQs and still keep manufacturing costs affordable, there are 4 things to consider: hacci fabrics, blended yarns, fabric weight, and colors. These are the good tricks most sweaters manufacturers won’t share.   HACCI FABRICS Cut and sew manufacturing using Hacci fabric tends to have a much lower MOQs than machine knitting. It requires no special machinery or training. And it is much cheaper than a hand knit or full fashion knit even though there is an extra level in the supply chain.  The only drawback is that after sewing the garment, the seams tend to be quite heavy. But most people don’t notice, and this does not seem to take away from the customer experience.   BLENDED YARNS The average consumer can’t tell the difference between 100% merino wool, and a wool acrylic (cheaper than wool) blend. Actually, sometimes they even think that the wool/acyclic blend feels more like a luxury knit sweater!  What they can feel is a low-quality wool yarn that feels itchy and scratchy. So, instead of going for that 100% wool label and compromising the quality of wool fibers, opt for a blend.  Cost-effective fibers to consider for this hack are cotton, acrylic, and nylon. The other nice thing about sweaters is that you can skip the spandex. Generally, sweater constructions naturally have a lot of stretch, so you don’t need elastic added to them. And, because elastic is one of the most expensive fibers around, this helps to reduce the price.   FABRIC WEIGHT The lighter the fabric, the less fiber resources, and the more money you can save. Now, there comes a point where a fabric becomes too thin and feels cheap. But, usually, it is possible to decrease the weight a little bit to save some money without anyone really noticing.   COLORS Instead of using custom-dyed colors, use stock yarns from your knitwear manufacturing partner. The process of lab dips and dying custom colors is not just expensive, but it is also time-consuming. By using the yarn colors factories have available (and some factories have up to 30- 50 options to choose from), you can get your production cheaper and faster.   MY FAVORITE KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS Are you a designer who needs  help getting your sweaters made, and tired of googling for things like sweater manufacturers near me, with no restults?  Here are a few of the best sweater manufacturers around!   HANDKNIT SUPPLIERS, FOR CUSTOM MADE KNITWEAR KOCO Knit - Indian artisan knitwear manufacturing, “KOCO was established in Australia by Danielle Chiel in partnership with women who live in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, southern India. What began as a solution to producing hand-knitted garments offshore is now a sisterhood of artisans and a business with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development entwined in our DNA. We have scaled the art of hand knitting to produce commercial quantities of garments, all entirely hand knitted.” Knitlab Peru - Move over cashmere sweaters, I am obsessed with sustainable alpaca these days. “Our practice involves working with knitting artisans that have formally set up their own small businesses and communities. Each leader, in turn, has their own group of knitters or a workshop.”   MACHINE KNIT SUPPLIERS Shima - “Always at the forefront of knitting technology, SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting machines are the global standard of the industry.” Stoll M1 - “Nowadays, knitting companies are facing an increasing pressure trying to cover the wide product range requirements and needs of their customers and to produce more economically at the same time. Customers, on the other hand, expect constant ability to deliver knit products, with an increasingly changing assortment and a decreasing order volume for each item.” Stoll provides these much-needed solutions. And, in NYC, they have a showroom open to the public where you can view the machines in action!    HACCI FABRIC SUPPLIERS SwatchOn - a super easy platform, with unbeatable low MOQ wholesale prices. And, over 200,000 fabrics to choose from! They even have hard-to-find rib hacci sweater fabrics. Plus, they have amazing customer service! Fabric Wholesale Direct - Another global, online option, with great prices, and even better reviews - with a seemingly never-ending selection of fabric types. And, you can buy as little as one fabric yard!   WANT ACCESS TO MY LIST OF OVER 500 SUPPLIERS? Check out The Sourcing Bootcamp, and my other private consultancy services!    WHAT DO YOU THINK? What type of knitted garment are you going to make - hand, machine, or hacci? Let me know in the comments! Answer Hacci fabric is a type of textile that looks like a sweater. It can be cut + sewn to make garments that look like sweaters for a fraction of the price of traditional sweater manufacturing. Question #5 What does hacci fabric feel like? Answer Hacci fabric feels and looks like a sweater. Schema.org's references: FAQPage Google's documentation: FAQ Page Source link

[ellajme0]

One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ (minimum order quantity). FYI, generally, sweater MOQs are in the hundreds, but a few knitwear manufacturing suppliers will go as low as 50 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up; there are a few hacks, like using hacci fabric, that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  Today, I am going to walk you through 3 different types of sweater manufacturing, to help you decide which is right for you and your brand.  This is important because sweater supply chain is highly specialized. Before you can reach out to suppliers, you need to know what type of sweater you want.     BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can.    WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…   SHORT ON TIME? CLICK THROUGH THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE RECAP    WHY I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING AND SWEATERS Why do I love teaching people about sweaters? Take a walk down memory lane with me. I was still just a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)  studying Textile Development. Like many college kids, my friends and I spent more time in bars than in class (Hey, I’m a wild child (Labyrinth reference)! What can I say?). And like in any bar scene, we spent quite a bit of time chatting with strangers. The conversations went a little like this (I promise this is relevant to making clothes): Them – What do you do? Us – We’re in school for manufacturing. Them – What? Us – Like, how to make clothing. Them – (without fail, literally 99 times out of 100 – if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this, I would probably be retired), oh cool, can you knit me a sweater? Us - Ummm, that’s not how clothing manufacturers work From the multitude of groundhog-day-like bar conversations, I realized just how little people knew about how clothes were made. It blew my mind that some people thought that all clothes were made by people sitting in a chair, knitting. So, this post will teach you all about actual sweater manufacturing. And, this topic will always have a special place in my heart.    HAND KNITTING VS MACHINE KNITTING Sweaters are made directly from yarns (we get to skip the fabric step with knitwear manufacturing, but more on that in a little bit), and there are two different ways of making them: by hand or by machines - welcome to the future. I’ll teach you about both!    WHAT IS HAND KNITTING? Hand-knitting is exactly what the bar folk were thinking; two needles and a ball of yarn (rocking chair not included). Each garment is hand-made by one person. And is generally under the ethical fashion cateogry of artisan custom clothing.   With hand knitting, we rely on the skills of artisans. The labor-intensive work requires a large team of people.    WHAT IS MACHINE KNITTING? Full fashion machine knitting, on the other hand, starts with a computer program. Basically, you can design a sweater from special software, press a button, and the machine gets to work with entire jumpers popping out at the end. It’s like living in the Jetsons. Compared to hand knitting, a lot fewer people are needed to create the sweaters because the machines are doing most of the work. Generally, a company will only have 1-2 people programming them. Pro tip. Complicated patterns that take people a really long time to hand knit, like tailored, knit jacquard pieces are especially great products for machines to do.    A THIRD TYPE OF SWEATER FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Hacci sweater knits. So, what is hacci fabric? This is it. The big secret. This is my absolute favorite hack to help small brands PRODUCE custom sweaters. Hacci fabrics. Not to be confused with other knit fabrics like jerseys, or french terry fabric. Brushed hacci sweater fabric is a type of fabric that looks like a sweater knit fabric. The fabric can then be cut and sewn and made into a garment.   These textiles basically sit between the worlds of knitwear manufacturing and traditional cut+sew. Instead of going from yarn straight to garment like other sweaters, hacci sweaters need to go though the cutting, sewing, and finishing process. And, as you will see in just a minute are a great hack to getting lower prices and lower MOQs.   PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES  PROS OF HAND KNITTING  Artisanal. Custom knit sweaters are 100% made by people. This means that each sweater is a little bit different and unique. Not only does the product feel one of a kind and special. But usually, hand-knit sweaters are sold by types of programs that help people. There are quite a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations, or international charities) and groups that help different at-risk communities find work knitting. (want to learn more  about a few of these programs – scroll down to the bottom of the post.) Low MOQs (minimum order quantities). It is possible to make as little as 1 garment. All you need to do is hire one artisan to knit it.   CONS OF HAND KNITTING Slow production. Because people make the garments, the process is much slower than an automated machine. Also, many of the groups that do this type of work tend not to do it full-time, so production times can be hard to track.  Aging labor pool. The artisans that do this type of work tend to be much older. And finding workers to replace this aging population is difficult because young people today want to be TikTok famous, not work in a knitwear factory setting.  Expensive. Like many other manufacturing options, time is money. Generally, the longer something takes to make, the more expensive it is. Hand-knitting is an extremely slow process.    PROS OF MACHINE KNITTING A quick personal story. These machines are super cool, and as part of the textile curriculum at FIT, we had to learn how to program them ourselves. Cue ​​a flashback of me spending hours of my life down in the basement of FIT (we used to call it the textile casino, because there were no windows or clocks), learning how to create knitting computer programs. Set it and forget it. Just like 3-D printing, once the samples are approved, and the program is set, you can make as many sweaters as you want with very little effort or (wo)man power. Good bulk prices. Because bulk production is so automated and requires minimal manpower, large bulk orders tend to have competitive pricing.    CONS OF MACHINE KNITTING Sampling can be expensive. Although you can get a good rate for bulk orders, what tends to be expensive is the hiring of the engineers necessary to program the machines. Because the costs of labor are so high, development for these types of knit sweaters tends to be higher than other manufacturing options.  Larger MOQ. MOQs usually start with about a few hundred pieces. While it is possible to press knit only once and get one sweater, it would not be economical. A lot of time is taken to program, sample, and tweak the computer program. Once all of that work is done, factories want to make sure the machine can run on autopilot for a while. Sit tight, I am going to get into the pros and cons of using hacci knit fabric at the end of the article in the price savings section.   BENEFITS OF A KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN So, what happens in sweater production is that when the yarns are knit, instead of being knit into a flat piece of fabric (to then be cut and sewn), they are actually knit into the shape of a garment directly. It’s important to note that this is only possible with knitting. Woven fabrics (like the ones found in button-down shirts, jeans, etc.) are always cut and sewn. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you might remember there are 5 levels in the garment supply chain: Fiber  Yarns Fabric Dyeing/printing Garment cut + sew But, as I just mentioned, the only exception to this rule is when making a sweater. You can cut out the fabric, step making your supply chain only 4 levels.  And, being able to go directly from yarns to garment is good for 2 reasons.  The first is traceability. Traceability is being able to track where everything comes from in all of the stages of the supply chain. The fewer stages in the supply chain, the less to keep track of and audit. Basically less work. The second benefit is reduced carbon emissions. Very few suppliers in fashion are vertical, meaning very few suppliers conduct all 5 levels of the supply chain under one roof. What typically happens is that the fibers and yarns are produced in one country, and are then shipped to another country to be made into fabric. The apparel fabrics are then sent to a third country to be cut and sewn into a garment. And, lastly the garment is shipped to a forth location to actually be sold to customers. By being able to cut out an entire level of the supply chain, a whole lot of transportation can be avoided, reducing supply chain emissions.   HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SWEATER MANUFACTURING MOQ AND COST You can take the girl out of the Walmart supply chain, but you can’t take the Walmart cost savings hacks out of the girl.  A big part of my job, when I worked in fast fashion, was figuring out ways to chop down the price of our products without degrading their performance of the product. Basically, mission impossible.  One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ. Generally, sweater MOQs are generally at least 100 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up.  There are a few things I have in my bag of manufacturing cost savings tricks that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  To make lower MOQs and still keep manufacturing costs affordable, there are 4 things to consider: hacci fabrics, blended yarns, fabric weight, and colors. These are the good tricks most sweaters manufacturers won’t share.   HACCI FABRICS Cut and sew manufacturing using Hacci fabric tends to have a much lower MOQs than machine knitting. It requires no special machinery or training. And it is much cheaper than a hand knit or full fashion knit even though there is an extra level in the supply chain.  The only drawback is that after sewing the garment, the seams tend to be quite heavy. But most people don’t notice, and this does not seem to take away from the customer experience.   BLENDED YARNS The average consumer can’t tell the difference between 100% merino wool, and a wool acrylic (cheaper than wool) blend. Actually, sometimes they even think that the wool/acyclic blend feels more like a luxury knit sweater!  What they can feel is a low-quality wool yarn that feels itchy and scratchy. So, instead of going for that 100% wool label and compromising the quality of wool fibers, opt for a blend.  Cost-effective fibers to consider for this hack are cotton, acrylic, and nylon. The other nice thing about sweaters is that you can skip the spandex. Generally, sweater constructions naturally have a lot of stretch, so you don’t need elastic added to them. And, because elastic is one of the most expensive fibers around, this helps to reduce the price.   FABRIC WEIGHT The lighter the fabric, the less fiber resources, and the more money you can save. Now, there comes a point where a fabric becomes too thin and feels cheap. But, usually, it is possible to decrease the weight a little bit to save some money without anyone really noticing.   COLORS Instead of using custom-dyed colors, use stock yarns from your knitwear manufacturing partner. The process of lab dips and dying custom colors is not just expensive, but it is also time-consuming. By using the yarn colors factories have available (and some factories have up to 30- 50 options to choose from), you can get your production cheaper and faster.   MY FAVORITE KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS Are you a designer who needs  help getting your sweaters made, and tired of googling for things like sweater manufacturers near me, with no restults?  Here are a few of the best sweater manufacturers around!   HANDKNIT SUPPLIERS, FOR CUSTOM MADE KNITWEAR KOCO Knit - Indian artisan knitwear manufacturing, “KOCO was established in Australia by Danielle Chiel in partnership with women who live in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, southern India. What began as a solution to producing hand-knitted garments offshore is now a sisterhood of artisans and a business with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development entwined in our DNA. We have scaled the art of hand knitting to produce commercial quantities of garments, all entirely hand knitted.” Knitlab Peru - Move over cashmere sweaters, I am obsessed with sustainable alpaca these days. “Our practice involves working with knitting artisans that have formally set up their own small businesses and communities. Each leader, in turn, has their own group of knitters or a workshop.”   MACHINE KNIT SUPPLIERS Shima - “Always at the forefront of knitting technology, SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting machines are the global standard of the industry.” Stoll M1 - “Nowadays, knitting companies are facing an increasing pressure trying to cover the wide product range requirements and needs of their customers and to produce more economically at the same time. Customers, on the other hand, expect constant ability to deliver knit products, with an increasingly changing assortment and a decreasing order volume for each item.” Stoll provides these much-needed solutions. And, in NYC, they have a showroom open to the public where you can view the machines in action!    HACCI FABRIC SUPPLIERS SwatchOn - a super easy platform, with unbeatable low MOQ wholesale prices. And, over 200,000 fabrics to choose from! They even have hard-to-find rib hacci sweater fabrics. Plus, they have amazing customer service! Fabric Wholesale Direct - Another global, online option, with great prices, and even better reviews - with a seemingly never-ending selection of fabric types. And, you can buy as little as one fabric yard!   WANT ACCESS TO MY LIST OF OVER 500 SUPPLIERS? Check out The Sourcing Bootcamp, and my other private consultancy services!    WHAT DO YOU THINK? What type of knitted garment are you going to make - hand, machine, or hacci? Let me know in the comments! Answer Hacci fabric is a type of textile that looks like a sweater. It can be cut + sewn to make garments that look like sweaters for a fraction of the price of traditional sweater manufacturing. Question #5 What does hacci fabric feel like? Answer Hacci fabric feels and looks like a sweater. Schema.org's references: FAQPage Google's documentation: FAQ Page Source link

[chilimili212]

One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ (minimum order quantity). FYI, generally, sweater MOQs are in the hundreds, but a few knitwear manufacturing suppliers will go as low as 50 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up; there are a few hacks, like using hacci fabric, that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  Today, I am going to walk you through 3 different types of sweater manufacturing, to help you decide which is right for you and your brand.  This is important because sweater supply chain is highly specialized. Before you can reach out to suppliers, you need to know what type of sweater you want.     BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can.    WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…   SHORT ON TIME? CLICK THROUGH THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE RECAP    WHY I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING AND SWEATERS Why do I love teaching people about sweaters? Take a walk down memory lane with me. I was still just a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)  studying Textile Development. Like many college kids, my friends and I spent more time in bars than in class (Hey, I’m a wild child (Labyrinth reference)! What can I say?). And like in any bar scene, we spent quite a bit of time chatting with strangers. The conversations went a little like this (I promise this is relevant to making clothes): Them – What do you do? Us – We’re in school for manufacturing. Them – What? Us – Like, how to make clothing. Them – (without fail, literally 99 times out of 100 – if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this, I would probably be retired), oh cool, can you knit me a sweater? Us - Ummm, that’s not how clothing manufacturers work From the multitude of groundhog-day-like bar conversations, I realized just how little people knew about how clothes were made. It blew my mind that some people thought that all clothes were made by people sitting in a chair, knitting. So, this post will teach you all about actual sweater manufacturing. And, this topic will always have a special place in my heart.    HAND KNITTING VS MACHINE KNITTING Sweaters are made directly from yarns (we get to skip the fabric step with knitwear manufacturing, but more on that in a little bit), and there are two different ways of making them: by hand or by machines - welcome to the future. I’ll teach you about both!    WHAT IS HAND KNITTING? Hand-knitting is exactly what the bar folk were thinking; two needles and a ball of yarn (rocking chair not included). Each garment is hand-made by one person. And is generally under the ethical fashion cateogry of artisan custom clothing.   With hand knitting, we rely on the skills of artisans. The labor-intensive work requires a large team of people.    WHAT IS MACHINE KNITTING? Full fashion machine knitting, on the other hand, starts with a computer program. Basically, you can design a sweater from special software, press a button, and the machine gets to work with entire jumpers popping out at the end. It’s like living in the Jetsons. Compared to hand knitting, a lot fewer people are needed to create the sweaters because the machines are doing most of the work. Generally, a company will only have 1-2 people programming them. Pro tip. Complicated patterns that take people a really long time to hand knit, like tailored, knit jacquard pieces are especially great products for machines to do.    A THIRD TYPE OF SWEATER FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Hacci sweater knits. So, what is hacci fabric? This is it. The big secret. This is my absolute favorite hack to help small brands PRODUCE custom sweaters. Hacci fabrics. Not to be confused with other knit fabrics like jerseys, or french terry fabric. Brushed hacci sweater fabric is a type of fabric that looks like a sweater knit fabric. The fabric can then be cut and sewn and made into a garment.   These textiles basically sit between the worlds of knitwear manufacturing and traditional cut+sew. Instead of going from yarn straight to garment like other sweaters, hacci sweaters need to go though the cutting, sewing, and finishing process. And, as you will see in just a minute are a great hack to getting lower prices and lower MOQs.   PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES  PROS OF HAND KNITTING  Artisanal. Custom knit sweaters are 100% made by people. This means that each sweater is a little bit different and unique. Not only does the product feel one of a kind and special. But usually, hand-knit sweaters are sold by types of programs that help people. There are quite a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations, or international charities) and groups that help different at-risk communities find work knitting. (want to learn more  about a few of these programs – scroll down to the bottom of the post.) Low MOQs (minimum order quantities). It is possible to make as little as 1 garment. All you need to do is hire one artisan to knit it.   CONS OF HAND KNITTING Slow production. Because people make the garments, the process is much slower than an automated machine. Also, many of the groups that do this type of work tend not to do it full-time, so production times can be hard to track.  Aging labor pool. The artisans that do this type of work tend to be much older. And finding workers to replace this aging population is difficult because young people today want to be TikTok famous, not work in a knitwear factory setting.  Expensive. Like many other manufacturing options, time is money. Generally, the longer something takes to make, the more expensive it is. Hand-knitting is an extremely slow process.    PROS OF MACHINE KNITTING A quick personal story. These machines are super cool, and as part of the textile curriculum at FIT, we had to learn how to program them ourselves. Cue ​​a flashback of me spending hours of my life down in the basement of FIT (we used to call it the textile casino, because there were no windows or clocks), learning how to create knitting computer programs. Set it and forget it. Just like 3-D printing, once the samples are approved, and the program is set, you can make as many sweaters as you want with very little effort or (wo)man power. Good bulk prices. Because bulk production is so automated and requires minimal manpower, large bulk orders tend to have competitive pricing.    CONS OF MACHINE KNITTING Sampling can be expensive. Although you can get a good rate for bulk orders, what tends to be expensive is the hiring of the engineers necessary to program the machines. Because the costs of labor are so high, development for these types of knit sweaters tends to be higher than other manufacturing options.  Larger MOQ. MOQs usually start with about a few hundred pieces. While it is possible to press knit only once and get one sweater, it would not be economical. A lot of time is taken to program, sample, and tweak the computer program. Once all of that work is done, factories want to make sure the machine can run on autopilot for a while. Sit tight, I am going to get into the pros and cons of using hacci knit fabric at the end of the article in the price savings section.   BENEFITS OF A KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN So, what happens in sweater production is that when the yarns are knit, instead of being knit into a flat piece of fabric (to then be cut and sewn), they are actually knit into the shape of a garment directly. It’s important to note that this is only possible with knitting. Woven fabrics (like the ones found in button-down shirts, jeans, etc.) are always cut and sewn. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you might remember there are 5 levels in the garment supply chain: Fiber  Yarns Fabric Dyeing/printing Garment cut + sew But, as I just mentioned, the only exception to this rule is when making a sweater. You can cut out the fabric, step making your supply chain only 4 levels.  And, being able to go directly from yarns to garment is good for 2 reasons.  The first is traceability. Traceability is being able to track where everything comes from in all of the stages of the supply chain. The fewer stages in the supply chain, the less to keep track of and audit. Basically less work. The second benefit is reduced carbon emissions. Very few suppliers in fashion are vertical, meaning very few suppliers conduct all 5 levels of the supply chain under one roof. What typically happens is that the fibers and yarns are produced in one country, and are then shipped to another country to be made into fabric. The apparel fabrics are then sent to a third country to be cut and sewn into a garment. And, lastly the garment is shipped to a forth location to actually be sold to customers. By being able to cut out an entire level of the supply chain, a whole lot of transportation can be avoided, reducing supply chain emissions.   HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SWEATER MANUFACTURING MOQ AND COST You can take the girl out of the Walmart supply chain, but you can’t take the Walmart cost savings hacks out of the girl.  A big part of my job, when I worked in fast fashion, was figuring out ways to chop down the price of our products without degrading their performance of the product. Basically, mission impossible.  One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ. Generally, sweater MOQs are generally at least 100 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up.  There are a few things I have in my bag of manufacturing cost savings tricks that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  To make lower MOQs and still keep manufacturing costs affordable, there are 4 things to consider: hacci fabrics, blended yarns, fabric weight, and colors. These are the good tricks most sweaters manufacturers won’t share.   HACCI FABRICS Cut and sew manufacturing using Hacci fabric tends to have a much lower MOQs than machine knitting. It requires no special machinery or training. And it is much cheaper than a hand knit or full fashion knit even though there is an extra level in the supply chain.  The only drawback is that after sewing the garment, the seams tend to be quite heavy. But most people don’t notice, and this does not seem to take away from the customer experience.   BLENDED YARNS The average consumer can’t tell the difference between 100% merino wool, and a wool acrylic (cheaper than wool) blend. Actually, sometimes they even think that the wool/acyclic blend feels more like a luxury knit sweater!  What they can feel is a low-quality wool yarn that feels itchy and scratchy. So, instead of going for that 100% wool label and compromising the quality of wool fibers, opt for a blend.  Cost-effective fibers to consider for this hack are cotton, acrylic, and nylon. The other nice thing about sweaters is that you can skip the spandex. Generally, sweater constructions naturally have a lot of stretch, so you don’t need elastic added to them. And, because elastic is one of the most expensive fibers around, this helps to reduce the price.   FABRIC WEIGHT The lighter the fabric, the less fiber resources, and the more money you can save. Now, there comes a point where a fabric becomes too thin and feels cheap. But, usually, it is possible to decrease the weight a little bit to save some money without anyone really noticing.   COLORS Instead of using custom-dyed colors, use stock yarns from your knitwear manufacturing partner. The process of lab dips and dying custom colors is not just expensive, but it is also time-consuming. By using the yarn colors factories have available (and some factories have up to 30- 50 options to choose from), you can get your production cheaper and faster.   MY FAVORITE KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS Are you a designer who needs  help getting your sweaters made, and tired of googling for things like sweater manufacturers near me, with no restults?  Here are a few of the best sweater manufacturers around!   HANDKNIT SUPPLIERS, FOR CUSTOM MADE KNITWEAR KOCO Knit - Indian artisan knitwear manufacturing, “KOCO was established in Australia by Danielle Chiel in partnership with women who live in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, southern India. What began as a solution to producing hand-knitted garments offshore is now a sisterhood of artisans and a business with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development entwined in our DNA. We have scaled the art of hand knitting to produce commercial quantities of garments, all entirely hand knitted.” Knitlab Peru - Move over cashmere sweaters, I am obsessed with sustainable alpaca these days. “Our practice involves working with knitting artisans that have formally set up their own small businesses and communities. Each leader, in turn, has their own group of knitters or a workshop.”   MACHINE KNIT SUPPLIERS Shima - “Always at the forefront of knitting technology, SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting machines are the global standard of the industry.” Stoll M1 - “Nowadays, knitting companies are facing an increasing pressure trying to cover the wide product range requirements and needs of their customers and to produce more economically at the same time. Customers, on the other hand, expect constant ability to deliver knit products, with an increasingly changing assortment and a decreasing order volume for each item.” Stoll provides these much-needed solutions. And, in NYC, they have a showroom open to the public where you can view the machines in action!    HACCI FABRIC SUPPLIERS SwatchOn - a super easy platform, with unbeatable low MOQ wholesale prices. And, over 200,000 fabrics to choose from! They even have hard-to-find rib hacci sweater fabrics. Plus, they have amazing customer service! Fabric Wholesale Direct - Another global, online option, with great prices, and even better reviews - with a seemingly never-ending selection of fabric types. And, you can buy as little as one fabric yard!   WANT ACCESS TO MY LIST OF OVER 500 SUPPLIERS? Check out The Sourcing Bootcamp, and my other private consultancy services!    WHAT DO YOU THINK? What type of knitted garment are you going to make - hand, machine, or hacci? Let me know in the comments! Answer Hacci fabric is a type of textile that looks like a sweater. It can be cut + sewn to make garments that look like sweaters for a fraction of the price of traditional sweater manufacturing. Question #5 What does hacci fabric feel like? Answer Hacci fabric feels and looks like a sweater. Schema.org's references: FAQPage Google's documentation: FAQ Page Source link

[oliviajoyice21]

One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ (minimum order quantity). FYI, generally, sweater MOQs are in the hundreds, but a few knitwear manufacturing suppliers will go as low as 50 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up; there are a few hacks, like using hacci fabric, that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  Today, I am going to walk you through 3 different types of sweater manufacturing, to help you decide which is right for you and your brand.  This is important because sweater supply chain is highly specialized. Before you can reach out to suppliers, you need to know what type of sweater you want.     BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED... I love helping startup brand founders succeed, so I created a bunch of free guides that will help you with your business. They won’t be free forever, so make sure to grab them while you can.    WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…   SHORT ON TIME? CLICK THROUGH THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE RECAP    WHY I LOVE TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING AND SWEATERS Why do I love teaching people about sweaters? Take a walk down memory lane with me. I was still just a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)  studying Textile Development. Like many college kids, my friends and I spent more time in bars than in class (Hey, I’m a wild child (Labyrinth reference)! What can I say?). And like in any bar scene, we spent quite a bit of time chatting with strangers. The conversations went a little like this (I promise this is relevant to making clothes): Them – What do you do? Us – We’re in school for manufacturing. Them – What? Us – Like, how to make clothing. Them – (without fail, literally 99 times out of 100 – if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this, I would probably be retired), oh cool, can you knit me a sweater? Us - Ummm, that’s not how clothing manufacturers work From the multitude of groundhog-day-like bar conversations, I realized just how little people knew about how clothes were made. It blew my mind that some people thought that all clothes were made by people sitting in a chair, knitting. So, this post will teach you all about actual sweater manufacturing. And, this topic will always have a special place in my heart.    HAND KNITTING VS MACHINE KNITTING Sweaters are made directly from yarns (we get to skip the fabric step with knitwear manufacturing, but more on that in a little bit), and there are two different ways of making them: by hand or by machines - welcome to the future. I’ll teach you about both!    WHAT IS HAND KNITTING? Hand-knitting is exactly what the bar folk were thinking; two needles and a ball of yarn (rocking chair not included). Each garment is hand-made by one person. And is generally under the ethical fashion cateogry of artisan custom clothing.   With hand knitting, we rely on the skills of artisans. The labor-intensive work requires a large team of people.    WHAT IS MACHINE KNITTING? Full fashion machine knitting, on the other hand, starts with a computer program. Basically, you can design a sweater from special software, press a button, and the machine gets to work with entire jumpers popping out at the end. It’s like living in the Jetsons. Compared to hand knitting, a lot fewer people are needed to create the sweaters because the machines are doing most of the work. Generally, a company will only have 1-2 people programming them. Pro tip. Complicated patterns that take people a really long time to hand knit, like tailored, knit jacquard pieces are especially great products for machines to do.    A THIRD TYPE OF SWEATER FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Hacci sweater knits. So, what is hacci fabric? This is it. The big secret. This is my absolute favorite hack to help small brands PRODUCE custom sweaters. Hacci fabrics. Not to be confused with other knit fabrics like jerseys, or french terry fabric. Brushed hacci sweater fabric is a type of fabric that looks like a sweater knit fabric. The fabric can then be cut and sewn and made into a garment.   These textiles basically sit between the worlds of knitwear manufacturing and traditional cut+sew. Instead of going from yarn straight to garment like other sweaters, hacci sweaters need to go though the cutting, sewing, and finishing process. And, as you will see in just a minute are a great hack to getting lower prices and lower MOQs.   PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES  PROS OF HAND KNITTING  Artisanal. Custom knit sweaters are 100% made by people. This means that each sweater is a little bit different and unique. Not only does the product feel one of a kind and special. But usually, hand-knit sweaters are sold by types of programs that help people. There are quite a few NGOs (non-governmental organizations, or international charities) and groups that help different at-risk communities find work knitting. (want to learn more  about a few of these programs – scroll down to the bottom of the post.) Low MOQs (minimum order quantities). It is possible to make as little as 1 garment. All you need to do is hire one artisan to knit it.   CONS OF HAND KNITTING Slow production. Because people make the garments, the process is much slower than an automated machine. Also, many of the groups that do this type of work tend not to do it full-time, so production times can be hard to track.  Aging labor pool. The artisans that do this type of work tend to be much older. And finding workers to replace this aging population is difficult because young people today want to be TikTok famous, not work in a knitwear factory setting.  Expensive. Like many other manufacturing options, time is money. Generally, the longer something takes to make, the more expensive it is. Hand-knitting is an extremely slow process.    PROS OF MACHINE KNITTING A quick personal story. These machines are super cool, and as part of the textile curriculum at FIT, we had to learn how to program them ourselves. Cue ​​a flashback of me spending hours of my life down in the basement of FIT (we used to call it the textile casino, because there were no windows or clocks), learning how to create knitting computer programs. Set it and forget it. Just like 3-D printing, once the samples are approved, and the program is set, you can make as many sweaters as you want with very little effort or (wo)man power. Good bulk prices. Because bulk production is so automated and requires minimal manpower, large bulk orders tend to have competitive pricing.    CONS OF MACHINE KNITTING Sampling can be expensive. Although you can get a good rate for bulk orders, what tends to be expensive is the hiring of the engineers necessary to program the machines. Because the costs of labor are so high, development for these types of knit sweaters tends to be higher than other manufacturing options.  Larger MOQ. MOQs usually start with about a few hundred pieces. While it is possible to press knit only once and get one sweater, it would not be economical. A lot of time is taken to program, sample, and tweak the computer program. Once all of that work is done, factories want to make sure the machine can run on autopilot for a while. Sit tight, I am going to get into the pros and cons of using hacci knit fabric at the end of the article in the price savings section.   BENEFITS OF A KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN So, what happens in sweater production is that when the yarns are knit, instead of being knit into a flat piece of fabric (to then be cut and sewn), they are actually knit into the shape of a garment directly. It’s important to note that this is only possible with knitting. Woven fabrics (like the ones found in button-down shirts, jeans, etc.) are always cut and sewn. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you might remember there are 5 levels in the garment supply chain: Fiber  Yarns Fabric Dyeing/printing Garment cut + sew But, as I just mentioned, the only exception to this rule is when making a sweater. You can cut out the fabric, step making your supply chain only 4 levels.  And, being able to go directly from yarns to garment is good for 2 reasons.  The first is traceability. Traceability is being able to track where everything comes from in all of the stages of the supply chain. The fewer stages in the supply chain, the less to keep track of and audit. Basically less work. The second benefit is reduced carbon emissions. Very few suppliers in fashion are vertical, meaning very few suppliers conduct all 5 levels of the supply chain under one roof. What typically happens is that the fibers and yarns are produced in one country, and are then shipped to another country to be made into fabric. The apparel fabrics are then sent to a third country to be cut and sewn into a garment. And, lastly the garment is shipped to a forth location to actually be sold to customers. By being able to cut out an entire level of the supply chain, a whole lot of transportation can be avoided, reducing supply chain emissions.   HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SWEATER MANUFACTURING MOQ AND COST You can take the girl out of the Walmart supply chain, but you can’t take the Walmart cost savings hacks out of the girl.  A big part of my job, when I worked in fast fashion, was figuring out ways to chop down the price of our products without degrading their performance of the product. Basically, mission impossible.  One of the most difficult things about starting a sweater brand is the high MOQ. Generally, sweater MOQs are generally at least 100 pieces per style per color. Which, I get, can still feel kind of high for a startup brand. But, don’t give up.  There are a few things I have in my bag of manufacturing cost savings tricks that can help decrease your order size and still keep your costs low.  To make lower MOQs and still keep manufacturing costs affordable, there are 4 things to consider: hacci fabrics, blended yarns, fabric weight, and colors. These are the good tricks most sweaters manufacturers won’t share.   HACCI FABRICS Cut and sew manufacturing using Hacci fabric tends to have a much lower MOQs than machine knitting. It requires no special machinery or training. And it is much cheaper than a hand knit or full fashion knit even though there is an extra level in the supply chain.  The only drawback is that after sewing the garment, the seams tend to be quite heavy. But most people don’t notice, and this does not seem to take away from the customer experience.   BLENDED YARNS The average consumer can’t tell the difference between 100% merino wool, and a wool acrylic (cheaper than wool) blend. Actually, sometimes they even think that the wool/acyclic blend feels more like a luxury knit sweater!  What they can feel is a low-quality wool yarn that feels itchy and scratchy. So, instead of going for that 100% wool label and compromising the quality of wool fibers, opt for a blend.  Cost-effective fibers to consider for this hack are cotton, acrylic, and nylon. The other nice thing about sweaters is that you can skip the spandex. Generally, sweater constructions naturally have a lot of stretch, so you don’t need elastic added to them. And, because elastic is one of the most expensive fibers around, this helps to reduce the price.   FABRIC WEIGHT The lighter the fabric, the less fiber resources, and the more money you can save. Now, there comes a point where a fabric becomes too thin and feels cheap. But, usually, it is possible to decrease the weight a little bit to save some money without anyone really noticing.   COLORS Instead of using custom-dyed colors, use stock yarns from your knitwear manufacturing partner. The process of lab dips and dying custom colors is not just expensive, but it is also time-consuming. By using the yarn colors factories have available (and some factories have up to 30- 50 options to choose from), you can get your production cheaper and faster.   MY FAVORITE KNITWEAR MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS Are you a designer who needs  help getting your sweaters made, and tired of googling for things like sweater manufacturers near me, with no restults?  Here are a few of the best sweater manufacturers around!   HANDKNIT SUPPLIERS, FOR CUSTOM MADE KNITWEAR KOCO Knit - Indian artisan knitwear manufacturing, “KOCO was established in Australia by Danielle Chiel in partnership with women who live in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, southern India. What began as a solution to producing hand-knitted garments offshore is now a sisterhood of artisans and a business with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development entwined in our DNA. We have scaled the art of hand knitting to produce commercial quantities of garments, all entirely hand knitted.” Knitlab Peru - Move over cashmere sweaters, I am obsessed with sustainable alpaca these days. “Our practice involves working with knitting artisans that have formally set up their own small businesses and communities. Each leader, in turn, has their own group of knitters or a workshop.”   MACHINE KNIT SUPPLIERS Shima - “Always at the forefront of knitting technology, SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting machines are the global standard of the industry.” Stoll M1 - “Nowadays, knitting companies are facing an increasing pressure trying to cover the wide product range requirements and needs of their customers and to produce more economically at the same time. Customers, on the other hand, expect constant ability to deliver knit products, with an increasingly changing assortment and a decreasing order volume for each item.” Stoll provides these much-needed solutions. And, in NYC, they have a showroom open to the public where you can view the machines in action!    HACCI FABRIC SUPPLIERS SwatchOn - a super easy platform, with unbeatable low MOQ wholesale prices. And, over 200,000 fabrics to choose from! They even have hard-to-find rib hacci sweater fabrics. Plus, they have amazing customer service! Fabric Wholesale Direct - Another global, online option, with great prices, and even better reviews - with a seemingly never-ending selection of fabric types. And, you can buy as little as one fabric yard!   WANT ACCESS TO MY LIST OF OVER 500 SUPPLIERS? Check out The Sourcing Bootcamp, and my other private consultancy services!    WHAT DO YOU THINK? What type of knitted garment are you going to make - hand, machine, or hacci? Let me know in the comments! Answer Hacci fabric is a type of textile that looks like a sweater. It can be cut + sewn to make garments that look like sweaters for a fraction of the price of traditional sweater manufacturing. Question #5 What does hacci fabric feel like? Answer Hacci fabric feels and looks like a sweater. Schema.org's references: FAQPage Google's documentation: FAQ Page Source link