Good textile suppliers are the foundation of your apparel
supply chain, but finding the right ones can be a challenge. With all the
international options, ever-changing tariffs on textiles, and
sustainability concerns, keeping your customers happy and your ledger in the
black isn’t getting any easier. If you’re looking for a new textile supplier,
follow these two tips to find the best one for your apparel supply chain.
Where
to Look for Textile Suppliers
Now that you have a better idea of the pros and cons of
finding manufacturing partners domestically and abroad, you can begin your
search. There are a few great places to start that can put you on the right
track to finding your perfect textile manufacturers and suppliers.
There are plenty of places
to find out textile suppliers in the world and there are various places to do
that including the most traditional way and online B2B marketplace and other
digital platforms.
Traditional Ways
In traditional ways,
sourcing has to be done through agents and or trading partners. In this way
companies of apparel manufacturing are looking for potential textile suppliers.
Even merchandisers are also looking for suppliers. They are even the largest
sourcing information giver in the industry. Because this third party companies
have been doing this from the starting of the industry. In a sense
merchandising houses are the best option as a trading partner.
Online and Digital
platforms
B2B market places are some
of the best sourcing options for textile suppliers in the whole world. They are actually the hub of the
manufacturers and suppliers of any textiles. Because suppliers and
manufacturers are working to find out buyers and this is the most potential way
of finding out textile and manufactures and suppliers.
What to Consider Before
Sourcing?
Essential
First Step
One
thing that you should do before you even begin working on your prototype, is
order samples! When you explore fabric options before the design phase, you
have the flexibility to adapt ideas based on the options.
Every
designer should have a reliable fabric sourcing strategy to successfully meet
production demands, and sample selection is the first step in this direction.
Questions
To Ask
Minimum
and maximum quantities: Many suppliers impose a minimum
order quantity of a few hundred yards of fabric, which may be too much to order
when you are an emerging designer. In such cases, either look for alternative
materials from a low minimum supplier, or negotiate terms and settle on a
compromise that works for you both.
Lead
time: Always
ask about the lead time for production and delivery. This will be vital when
planning your production schedule. Don’t assume a supplier will be able to get
your fabric to you in a couple of weeks. If you need hundreds or even thousands
of yards, it’s unlikely to be pre-made and so you will need to factor in
the time to have it made to order.
Repeat
orders: Discuss
stock availability and continuity in advance, especially if you order only a
small quantity for sampling. Imagine if the supplier discontinued the fabric at
the time you needed it for production – it would upset all your plans! Make
sure it will be in stock if you need to come back for more.
Pricing: Smaller quantities of
materials are usually more expensive. Find out whether the supplier has
wholesale or tiered pricing (like we do), as this can affect your overall
profit margin.
Fabric
width: Don’t
assume that the fabric is a standard width – always check! Hand woven fabrics
are often thinner and some wholesale fabrics may be wider than you would
normally assume. It really makes a difference on what you can fit onto the
fabric – and may mean that you can buy less yards overall.
Sustainability
and Ethical Policy
This
is becoming increasingly important for consumers and something you should
really think about as a designer. With the increasing ease of access to
sustainable supply chains and an increased demand for transparency, it is no
good turning a blind eye to the way the cotton growers are treated or the
ethical standards of the factory creating your fabric, just to increase your
profit margin. “I didn’t know” or “I didn’t realize” are not going to cut it
with savvy consumers if things are not up to scratch. It is your design and
your responsibility to know what is going on at every stage.
These
are few things about textile sourcing options. You must be careful about
everything while sourcing textile including. Traditional options are equally
popular with digital platforms. In traditional sourcing options, trading
partners, merchandising houses and sourcing agents are widely popular and more
than half of the sourcing happens by these methods. On the other hand, B2B
textile sourcing platforms. Besides you must maintain the mentioned checklist
before you source before.
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