Briefing a Supplier for Hoodies
By The Velocity Wear Team
State nine things and the first quote will be accurate: quantity, fabric weight, cut, garment colour, decoration method, print positions and sizes, Pantone references, label requirements and the date you need delivery. Leave any of them out and the supplier either guesses or quotes a range, and the figure moves once the real answer arrives. Ten minutes writing the brief saves a week of email.
What makes a quote change after it is given?
Missing information, almost always. A quote built on one print position rises when a back print appears. A quote built on a mid-weight fleece rises when you decide on 450 GSM. A quote assuming a stock garment colour changes if you need a specific body shade. None of that is a supplier moving the goalposts; it is a supplier pricing a different order from the one you now want. The way to stop it is to describe the finished garment completely before anyone puts a number on it.
The second cause is quantity drift. Pricing is tiered, with the discount rising as quantity climbs to a ceiling of 35 per cent off the 50-piece price. A quote at 100 pieces is not valid at 60. If you are unsure of the final number, ask for the figure at two or three quantities at once, which costs the supplier nothing and gives you something to plan with. The tiers are laid out on the pricing page.
What exactly should the brief contain?
- 1Quantity, and whether that number is firm or an estimate.
- 2Fabric weight in GSM, or a description of how heavy you want it to feel.
- 3Cut: regular, boxy or oversized, and pullover or zip.
- 4Garment body colour, by stock name if you know it.
- 5Decoration method per position: screen print, DTF, embroidery, 3D puff or sublimation.
- 6Print positions with sizes in millimetres, not descriptions.
- 7Pantone references for every print colour, with coated or uncoated stated.
- 8Neck label, care label, swing tag and packaging requirements.
- 9The date the garments have to be in your hands, and what that date is for.
That last line does more work than it looks like it does. A supplier who knows the hoodies are for an event on a fixed date can tell you immediately whether the schedule works and what has to happen this week. A supplier who only sees a quantity will quote the standard 10 to 15 working day production window and leave you to do the arithmetic.
What should the artwork files look like?
Vector formats with text converted to outlines: AI, EPS or PDF. Build the file at the size it will print, so nobody has to decide how big your logo should be on your behalf. If the artwork only exists as raster, supply it at 300 dpi at final print size with a transparent background. Send the Pantone references as text in the email rather than relying on the colour values in the file, because those get interpreted differently by different software.
Check what you are sending before you send it. Artwork pulled from a website is low resolution. Artwork generated quickly by a design tool often has soft edges, inconsistent stroke weights or text that will not hold at small sizes, and those problems are invisible on screen and obvious on fleece. How to spot the difference is covered in spotting low-effort artwork before it reaches your garments.
What should you ask the supplier in return?
Ask for the per-piece price at your quantity and at the next tier up, the decoration cost broken out per position, the sample cost, any setup charges, delivery to your address, and the production window in working days. Ask what the size chart measurements are, in centimetres, for the block you are ordering. Ask what happens if you want to change the quantity after ordering. Every one of those has a definite answer, and a quote that gives all of them is one you can compare against another. Reading the reply properly is covered in reading a wholesale quote for hoodies, and current garment options and from-prices sit on the wholesale hoodies page.
