One of the biggest tasks when starting a clothing brand is finding a suitable clothing manufacturer that will
align with your requirements and meet your quality and service expectations. Your manufacturer will be a key element to your
business being a success and you will require consistency and a trusted relationship with them
in order to supply your customers with consistent quality.
In this blog we will discuss red flags to look out for and some pointers to be wary about when having conversations with potential manufacturers.
Manufacturers with no traceability
When you launch your social media pages for your brand, you will get many messages from these kinds of clothing suppliers.
They will have an Instagram page, clearly using stock photos with no website,
no factory address and nothing to trace back to validify them as a legitimate clothing manufacturer.
Although this should be obvious red flag, some people get caught up with the prices that seem too good to be true.
That is because they more than likely are. When communicating with a supplier,
you should have access to their website, company address and so on to validate that they are indeed, a genuine company.
Manufacturers who do not offer samples
This is a huge red flag. It is very risky for any business to place a bulk order on a product without
first seeing a sample and a risk that is easily avoided. Samples are not cheap to make, take time and will not always
lead to an order but it is an essential service that a manufacturer needs to offer. If a supplier is confident in the quality they provide,
they should be confident that the sample will lead to you becoming their client.
Manufacturers who will not accept meetings
Some may disagree, but if a manufacturer will not accept meetings, whether this be face to face or video meetings,
this can be a red flag. It is hard to get a feel for a company over a few emails and a meeting is often
when you will work out whether they are a good fit for you and your clothing brand.
A good manufacturer should be confident in selling themselves to you and welcome meetings with the expectation
that it will lead to you becoming a client of theirs.
Questionable payment methods and terms
If a manufacturer requires a 100% up front payment and requires it paid through western union, run a mile.
Firstly, a legitimate business should have a bank account registered to their business and will not need to use payment methods
with little or no traceability. Most factories will usually require a 50% deposit to start an order with the balance being paid
when the production is finished. It can be known for some manufacturers to request
a full payment or higher deposit on your first order, to minimise risk on their end but this is not usually how a manufacturer works.
If the factories you have spoken to display none of those red flags, you are off to a good start.
Below we will also list some pointers to be cautious about.
MOQ’s that are too low
Setting up a production line for a custom garment involves a lot of work,
most good factories will not offer low minimum order quantities to do this. It is not necessarily attractive
If a factory is offering bespoke manufacturing at very low quantities e.g. 20 pieces as this is almost too low to be worth the
while for a manufacturer with a good infrastructure. If you are purchasing wholesale garments then low quantities are completely acceptable as they are essentially just adding your logo to a ready made garment.
Suppliers that will not offer a quote until after sampling
If you are going to spend money on a sample, you want a rough idea on what it will cost.
If a manufacturer is experienced in that area, they should be able to provide that.
If a factory will not give you any indicators until after a sample, you could be wasting on a money and time
on using a factory that is not creating the garment at a price point that works for you.
Suppliers that are too cheap
If you are looking for good quality, then the factory will be using high quality fabrics,
skilled workers and have an infrastructure that all cost money. If you are selling a t-shirt for £10 then yes,
buy as cheap as possible because your customers’ expectations will be that of a £10 t-shirt but if you are looking for quality items,
find a balance between high quality and realistic pricing for that.
If you would like to discuss manufacturing with us a DSA Manufacturing,
please do not hesitate to send us an email via our contact form. Our minimum order quantity is 100 units per style/colour with mixed sizes.