What to Actually Ask a Clothing Manufacturer Before You Commit
By The Velocity Wear Team
Choosing a manufacturer is usually decided on price and lead time, which are the two things easiest to compare and least predictive of whether the relationship will work. These are the questions worth asking instead, grouped by what they actually tell you.
Capability: can they make your product properly
- **What do you make most of?** A factory that makes your garment type every day will make yours better than one taking it on as a change of pace.
- **Which decoration methods are in-house and which are subcontracted?** Subcontracting is normal, but it adds a link — and it is where lead time and quality control get less visible.
- **What fabric weights do you regularly work with?** A factory used to lightweight jersey handling heavy fleece is a different proposition.
- **Can I see a garment you made for someone else at my quantity?** Samples made for sales are made carefully; a real production piece is more informative.
Capacity: can they take your order when you need it
- 1**What is your realistic lead time at my quantity, in your busy season?** The answer for October is the one that matters, not the answer for February.
- 2**Will you hold a production slot against a confirmed order?** A yes here is worth a great deal in peak.
- 3**What is your minimum, and is it per design or per size?** A 20-piece minimum that turns out to be per size is a 120-piece minimum in disguise.
- 4**What happens if you are running late?** The answer tells you whether you will hear about it early or on the delivery date.
Records: can they tell you what you are buying
This has moved from a nice-to-have to something approaching a requirement, given the direction of product-passport and green-claims regulation.
Ask whether they can supply exact composition and fabric weight per style, fabric origin to mill and country, certification references with their scope, and whether those records are held per production run against your account. A supplier who cannot answer may still be perfectly good — but you now know not to build claims on data nobody holds.
Failure: the questions that actually predict the relationship
- **What is your defect tolerance, and what do you do with pieces that fail it?**
- **If bulk misses the approved sample beyond tolerance, what happens?** Listen for a specific remedy rather than reassurance.
- **Who do I speak to when something is wrong, and how fast?**
- **Have you ever missed a delivery date, and what did you do?** A supplier who claims never to have missed one is either new or not answering honestly.
The signals worth noticing
Good signs: precise answers, willingness to say no to work outside their capability, questions back to you about your artwork and quantities, and a written specification before production.
Bad signs: agreement to everything, no minimum on anything, vagueness about where fabric comes from, and a quote that arrives without anyone asking what the artwork looks like. A manufacturer who does not ask about your artwork has not thought about whether it can be produced.
