Here are 6 reasons why China might not be a good source for your custom apparel manufacturing needs.
1- Customers demand low prices apparel products but the final cost will be different.
Lowprice apparel products are usually not of great quality. Suppliers, freight forwarders, or brokers may provide you with a very low price to attract your attention and interest. The cheap apparel product prices offered do not mean that that is your total out of pocket cost. Be sure to verify whether these manufacturers will be able to provide quality apparel products or services that are worth your choice. Make sure that you understand and always calculate “Landed in the USA” prices as well as “Ready to be on the Shelf” prices.
2- Assuming The Manufacturer Understands The Apparel Product Requirements.
Apparel manufacturers are often surprised to discover that their Chinese supplier doesn’t understand the apparel product requirements.
You might think your apparel product requirements make perfect sense. Do they make sense to the average production worker, however? What about someone from another country? Language barriers, cultural differences, and inexperience can all lead to misunderstandings with manufacturers.
3- The Lack Of Quality Control And Inspection For Your Apparel Order.
You need quality control of your complete apparel order. Do not approve your order to be blindly shipped to you. Colors, sizes, tags, labels, measurements, packing all must be inspected before shipment approval. A pre-shipment inspection on-site at your manufacturer’s facility performed by a third-party inspection company is another option. It verifies the quality and compliance of your apparel order. You can also consider hiring your own full-time inspection staff or inspect apparel products. Most brands find this option prohibitively expensive or unnecessary given their order size and volume.
4- Apparel Lab Testing
Lab testing is essential for all apparel products to ensure compliance with mandatory legal requirements. In most cases, suppliers lack the necessary equipment and expertise to test these standards themselves. Some legal regulations require that certified apparel laboratories, rather than the manufacturer’s own apparel lab, perform testing.
5- The Margin Of Error In Apparel Products.
There’s simply a higher margin of error when importing complex apparel products from China. Your supplier could misunderstand specifications, how they will be used, or the processes they need to follow. Misunderstandings often lead to quality issues or nonconformities in finished apparel products.
6- Language Barrier.
Keep in mind that a Chinese factory’s sales workers speak English as a second language, using either Mandarin or Cantonese as a primary one. Chances are that if a sales representative in the apparel industry is not so sure of your request, he or she might not raise a question directly about your apparel products. They don’t like to be deemed unprofessional and lose your apparel orders. You find it troublesome to figure out every detail and specification with them. That leads to laxness.
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