How to evaluate an apparel manufacturer.
Choosing a factory is the highest-stakes decision a new brand makes, and it is usually made on the least information. This guide covers what to ask, what a genuine quote looks like, and the signals that should make you slow down.
You are not buying garments. You are buying a working relationship with the people who will tell you, or not tell you, when something has gone wrong. Judge candidates on how they handle information, not on how quickly they say yes.
We are a manufacturer, so read this knowing that. Everything below is what we would want a founder to ask us, and what we think a founder should walk away from.
About Zorixo Garments →At a glance
1. Decide what you are actually buying
There are two broad models. In cut, make and trim, you supply the fabric, trims and patterns, and the factory sews. In full package, the factory sources fabric and trims, develops patterns, samples, produces, finishes and packs. Full package costs more per unit and removes most of the work and most of the risk for a new brand.
Be clear which you are asking for before you compare quotes, because a cut and make price and a full package price are not comparable numbers. Half the confusion in early sourcing comes from putting them side by side. Our own model is full package, described on the process page.
- Cut and make: you source materials, they sew
- Full package: they source, develop, produce, finish and pack
- Never compare a cut and make quote with a full package quote
- Decide which you want before you send an enquiry
2. Ask what they actually make
Factories specialise, and the specialisation is usually narrower than the website suggests. A knitwear unit and a woven unit are different businesses with different machines and different skills. Ask what they make most of, in what fabric, in what weights, and at what typical order size.
Then ask whether your product is a normal job for them or an unusual one. Being an unusual job is not automatically bad, but it changes the risk. A factory that makes heavy fleece hoodies every week will make yours better than one that does it occasionally, whatever both of them say.
- Ask what they produce most of, not what they can produce
- Check knit against woven, and the weight range they work in
- Ask for the typical order size they run
- Ask whether your style is routine for them
3. Know what a real quote contains
A serious quote is more than a price. It states the fabric with composition and weight, the construction basis, which trims are included, the decoration method and its assumptions, the packing specification, the quantity and size split it is based on, the sample and bulk lead times, the payment terms, the incoterms, and how long the price holds.
Prices move with fabric markets, so a quote with no validity period is not really a quote. A number with no fabric weight against it is not a quote at all: the same style at two different weights is two different products at two different prices.
- Fabric composition and weight in GSM
- What is and is not included: trims, decoration, packing
- Quantity, size split and colour count it is based on
- Lead times, payment terms, incoterms and price validity
4. Ask about quality control specifically
Vague quality talk is easy. Ask mechanical questions. What inspection standard do they work to, and at what level. Do they inspect in line during production or only at the end. Who does the measuring, and against what document. What happens to units that fail. Will you receive an inspection report, and will you receive it before shipment or after.
Ask what happens when a defect is found after delivery. The answer tells you more about the relationship than anything on the sales call. We inspect to AQL 2.5 under an ISO 9001 certified quality management system, and provide QC and inspection reports on request. Details are on the quality assurance page.
- Which inspection standard, at which level
- In-line inspection as well as final inspection
- Measurement against the sealed sample and the graded spec
- Reports before shipment, and a stated process for defects
5. Test the communication before you commit
Your first three exchanges predict the next three years. Notice whether they answer the question you asked, whether they volunteer a problem, whether they say no to anything, and how long replies take. A supplier who agrees to everything immediately has either not read your requirements or is planning to renegotiate later.
Ask who your day-to-day contact is, whether that person is in the factory or in a separate office, what hours they work relative to yours, and who covers when they are away. The single best predictor of a smooth production is one named person who reads your messages properly.
- Do they answer the question you actually asked
- Do they raise problems before you find them
- One named contact, with cover arranged
- A supplier who never says no is a warning, not a relief
6. Warning signs
Some signals are worth acting on immediately. A price far below every other quote, with no explanation of why. No questions asked about your tech pack, which means it has not been read. Refusal to quote a sample separately. Pressure to increase quantity before a sample exists. Certification claims that are vague or unevidenced. Photographs of other brands' products presented as their own work.
Two more. A supplier who will not tell you where production happens, and one who cannot give you a lead time range without being pushed. Both mean you will not be told when something slips either.
- A price far below the field with no explanation
- No questions asked about the tech pack
- Pressure to raise quantity before sampling
- Vague certification claims, or unclear production location
- No willingness to commit to a lead time range
7. Why the lowest price often costs more
A quote can be made lower in a small number of ways: lighter fabric than specified, optimistic fabric consumption, fewer operations in construction, cheaper trims, less inspection, or a price that will be revised after you have committed. Only one of those is visible in the quote itself.
The real cost of the cheapest option shows up later, as returns, as a reorder you cannot make because the fabric is no longer available, as a delivery that misses the season, or as a production run you cannot sell. Compare quotes by specification, and treat a price that cannot be explained component by component as incomplete rather than cheap.
- Cheap usually means a different specification, not a better deal
- Ask which line is lower and why
- Factor rejects, delays and returns into the comparison
- A missed season costs more than any unit price difference
Questions worth asking on the first call
None of these are difficult for a serious supplier to answer. The answers tell you most of what you need.
What do you make most?
Not what can you make. Knit or woven, which weights, which categories, and what a typical order size looks like.
What is your minimum?
Per style, per colour, and whether sizes can be split within a colour. Ours is from 50 pieces per style per colour, split freely.
What are your lead times?
Sample and bulk, as ranges, and what makes a job land at the long end. Ours are 10–22 days and 25–55 days.
How do you inspect?
Standard, level, in line as well as final, measured against what document, and whether reports are shared before shipment.
Who is my contact?
One named person, their hours, and who covers absence. Ask how they prefer to receive sample feedback.
Where is production?
The actual address of the unit, and whether any process is subcontracted. If it is, ask who manages quality on that process.
Ask every supplier to break their quote into fabric, cut and make, trims, decoration and packing. The ones who can are the ones who know their own numbers.
Common questions
In cut, make and trim you supply fabric, trims and patterns. In full package the factory sources materials, develops patterns, samples, produces and packs. Full package costs more per unit and carries far less work and risk for a new brand.
Fabric composition and weight, construction basis, which trims and decoration are included, packing specification, the quantity and size split assumed, sample and bulk lead times, payment terms, incoterms and how long the price is valid.
Rarely, unless it is explained. A lower number normally reflects lighter fabric, optimistic consumption, fewer construction operations, cheaper trims or less inspection. Compare quotes by specification, component by component.
Ask what a supplier actually holds and ask to see it. We hold ISO 9001 certified quality management and inspect to AQL 2.5, with QC and inspection reports on request. Treat vague or unevidenced claims as a warning sign.
Ask what they produce most often, in which fabrics and weights, and at what order size. Then order a sample. A sample tells you more in three weeks than any amount of correspondence.
If you can, it helps. If you cannot, ask for the unit address, ask what is subcontracted and who manages quality on it, and ask for inspection reports. Our factory details are on the factory page.
Put us through the same questions.
Ask us what we make, what we charge, how we inspect and who you will be speaking to. We will answer all four in writing.