How to find clothing factories for your business: a beginner guide

Finding clothing factories is all about looking for the perfect partner that can work with you in the long run. With that in mind, this article will cover everything you need to know about how to find clothing factories for your business.

Why do you need to work with clothing factories?

The benefits clothing factories can offer you

You can produce high-quality garments at reasonable prices

For a global clothing line or brand, product quality is probably the most important aspect that you should concern about. Working with legitimate clothing factories will ensure that all of the garments can meet your requirements as the manufacturers often have their approach to quality control. This includes keeping the system complied with ISO standards and material inspection to minimize cases of unexpected problems throughout the production process. 

Moreover, the factory’s personnel may have more in-depth knowledge and expertise in the manufacturing process as well as managing the system. Therefore, not only can they produce premium garments but they also facilitate the stability of product quality. In other words, a clothing factory can help you get consistently satisfactory products with minimum effort on your part.  

You can improve the marketing process

With a clothing factory’s services, you can receive assistance in product development. Besides ensuring the garments’ quality, the manufacturers will act as an advisor, helping you bring your ideas into reality with recommendations on the design, the fabric, and so on. 

Moreover, you can also gain more benefits when it comes to pricing. Producing with a clothing manufacturer is more cost-effective than otherwise, as the plants are often equipped with modern technology and a flow of cheap labor. As a result, this will create significant savings and possibly help increase profits for your business.

Additionally, your choice of manufacturers also possibly affects your brand image. As the consumers are increasingly concerned about the products’ ethical production, working with clothing factories that offer transparency and sustainable manufacturing options can positively impact your garment and your brand’s reputation.

The drawbacks of working with clothing factories

When working with a clothing factory, a big consideration is that you will need to place bulk orders for your inventory. Every factory has its minimum order quantity (MOQ), which means you will have to receive a great number of products in one order.

In Vietnam, small clothing factories there often produce at the MOQs of about 1000 pieces per design. With bigger manufacturers, you will often receive higher minimums, usually not exceeding 10,000 pieces. For example, at Thygesen Textile Vietnam, our MOQ is 3000pcs/ design with mixed sizes and different colors

For many, this works out fine, especially if you have already gathered an audience liking the products you have created. However, this is not always the case, as there are risks that it could detract from valuable business funds. When it comes to businesses starting on a shoestring budget, these risks are further magnified.

Similarly, you need to make an upfront investment when working with a clothing factory. Disadvantages to being in the upfront could include things like less flexibility. When you are committed to the dollars, you may not have enough funds left for more opportunities that come along throughout the year

Choosing clothing factories: domestic or overseas?

Domestic clothing factories

As far as domestic clothing manufacturers are concerned, they are more likely to provide your business with higher quality products that comply with domestically regulated labor standards. In addition, if you are choosing a domestic manufacturer, it is generally advisable to emphasize your partnership with local industries in the marketing material. Considering that buyers nowadays are becoming increasingly aware of many aspects of the clothes they are purchasing, like the working standards and material sources, this tactic can enhance your brand image. In short, your brand can be more favorable to a wider audience.

The shipping time is another significant advantage of working with domestic clothing factories. Shipping will be not only significantly faster but also far less expensive than working with clothes producers in other countries. This reduced shipping costs and time can be of important savings to many businesses, optimizing the production process.

Nevertheless, one major shortcoming when it comes to producing clothing domestically is that the choices of products are generally much smaller and less diverse than manufacturing overseas. For businesses requesting generic products, this may represent no big deal. On the other hand, those who are seeking something more niche will probably benefit more from overseas clothing factories.

Overseas clothing factories

With overseas clothing manufacturers, nowadays there are plenty of options that can help you create products for your business, often at a much lower cost than a domestic manufacturer. The most common overseas clothing manufacturers include China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, and other Asian countries.

Offshoring clothing production can be generally cost-effective, especially if your business wants to produce large volumes. These savings often come from the reasonable labor costs in the manufacturing country. For example, many international fashion companies like Cotton On, Nike, and Uniqlo have chosen Vietnam to find suppliers for clothing primarily because skilled knitting and weaving labor is available there at prices of between $121 to $190 per month. This number represents a great benefit to businesses, as the low minimum wages can translate into lower cost & higher profit per unit.

Moreover, producing clothing overseas can offer you machinery and technology perks. In countries where textile and garment is one of the leading industries, the factories can have the most up-to-date machines and international standard manufacturing systems. With such technology, the factories will ensure efficient production, thus helping the clients receive high-quality garments within a reasonable time frame.

On the other hand, when working with overseas clothing factories, many people are concerned about ethical manufacturing. For this reason, brands should take time to inspect not only the products’ quality but also the conditions under which the factories manufacture your garments. In Vietnam, some ethical clothing factories include Thygesen Textile Vietnam, Thai Son S.P Sewing Factory, and so on.

Another disadvantage of this approach is that many of these countries have less-developed logistics systems. Therefore, your garments will usually take longer to arrive. Furthermore, shipping expenses are typically higher when compared to domestic manufacturers.

Where to find clothing factories?

Industry meetups

Industry meetups might be of tremendous benefit to you in the search for the best clothing factories for your company.

Generally, manufacturers often promote their products and services at trade shows, also known as trade fairs. If you want to find suppliers for clothing, this represents an excellent opportunity for you to directly meet manufacturers, acquire some important information, and discuss your specific requirements. The same may apply to industry meetings. Face-to-face communication with a manufacturer via these events is unrivaled by any other means of researching. It contributes to the development of trust and confidence, as well as a more personal business relationship between both parties.

For example, a fashion business wanting to know how to find clothing factories in Vietnam can refer to these well-known trade shows in the country: The Vietnam International Textile & Apparel Accessories Exhibition, Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition, Vietnam Hanoi Fabric & Garment Accessories Expo (HanoiFabric) and so forth. 

Similarly, on a larger scale, you can also find clothing manufacturers in many international textile and garment expo. Below are 3 international trade shows, where many clothing manufacturers worldwide display their work:

• Texworld Paris: Texworld brings together over 1,000 exhibitors from the textile and garment industries twice a year. It’s a worldwide event, with apparel manufacturers from 26 nations and 26,000 brand visitors from all around the world attending.
• Who’s Next: For more than two decades, Who’s Next has been one of Europe’s most important fashion exhibitions for womenswear producers. It attracts almost 50,000 industry experts and 600 exhibiting companies from more than 100 countries twice a year.
• The Intertextile Fair Shanghai will bring together textile fabric, yarn, and garment makers from across Asia.

Online References

Social platforms such as Facebook are a terrific place to connect with other brands and communities who share your interests. There are numerous groups to pick from; however, you generally should seek ones that are geared toward businesses that often ask for a high MOQ. You will almost certainly discover queries and answers on finding dependable garment manufacturers in them.

Alternatively, you can go to the search bar of any social media and type in your query to see what groups come up. A quick Facebook search for “clothing manufacturers” yielded a myriad of distinct groups! However, determining their relevance will take some time. As a result, it is a good idea to start by joining well-established eCommerce organizations, which are full of helpful people who can point you in the right direction and assist you on your path.

Search Engines

Without a doubt, search engines like Google provide you with a great resource to find the information of a clothing manufacturer. Nevertheless, one thing worth noting is that because manufacturers’ websites aren’t updated regularly, you will probably have to wade through several pages before finding some relevant results that meet your requirements. 

Admittedly, this may seem like a daunting task, but there is no need to worry. Among those search results, there are definitely legitimate clothing manufacturers galore out there to which you can access with some patience.

Directories

You can also use directories to search for a suitable clothing factory for your company. The general rule of thumb is that you should stick to directories that are well-known and experienced because they will usually provide you with a large number of options. Additionally, when working with directories, it is important to make sure to clearly state your specifications so that you can select the ideal garment manufacturer for your needs.

Among the frequently used directories to find overseas factories are Makers Row in the US, Sqetch in Europe, and Kompass. If you want to find clothing factories in Vietnam, it is advisable to refer to Vietnam AZ, Vietnam Yellow Pages, Yes Asia (Vietnam Manufacturers), Vietnam Export, ASEM Connect, and so forth.

Thygesen Textile Company – The perfect factory choice for your clothing brand

Thygesen Textile Vietnam Company Ltd belongs to Thygesen Textile Group, a Danish company established in 1931. The Thygesen Textile Group’s head office is located in Ikast, Denmark; however, the Thygesen Textile Vietnam is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

With 90 years of experience in garment and fabric manufacturing, Thygesen Textile Vietnam is one of the best clothing factories in the north of Vietnam, providing ODM/OEM services for an array of reputable brands including Calvin Klein, DKNY,… If you are looking for how to find good clothing factories, our company will be the perfect solution for you, catering to your every requirement with our capacity and expertise.

Even better than that, Thygesen Textile Vietnam’s products meet international standards such as ISO 9001, GSV, FDA, and Oeko-tex 100 because they are created with the safest dyes and textiles. Hence, you can sell the garments in some strict markets, namely the European nations. 

Using knitted materials, the factory can construct practically any form of apparel, including casual wear, workwear, activewear, kids wear, underwear, and hospital wear & bandage