Finding the right clothing manufacturers to start a clothing line can be a make-it-or-break-it decision for the future of your apparel brand business. For those who have never sought out clothing manufacturing companies, there are many resources available to help guide you on your way to finding the right manufacturer for you. In this post, you’ll get an overview of the best ways to find the perfect clothing manufacturer for your next project, as well as get access to our free clothing manufacturers directory and our premium clothing manufacturers directory to help you get started launching your clothing business.
Domestic vs. Overseas Clothing Manufacturers
A classic question when looking for suppliers if you plan to manufacture or wholesale is whether you want to source domestically or from overseas. Overseas can refer to any location overseas but since the readership of this site is mostly North American, when we refer to overseas suppliers, we are referring to clothing manufacturers in countries like India, China, and Taiwan.
You likely already know that it’s almost always cheaper to source your products overseas but there’s a lot more to that decision than just the upfront investment and cost per unit.
Both domestic and overseas sourcing have their advantages, as well as disadvantages, which has previously been discussed in our Alibaba Review blog post, The Ultimate Guide to Safely Sourcing Your Products from Alibaba and in this informative article by the Sourcify founder and overseas sourcing expert, How to Source Products from Chinese Manufacturers.
Let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages below:
Domestic (USA) Clothing Manufacturing Companies
Advantages
- Typically higher manufacturing quality
- Typically higher labor standards
- Easy and efficient communication
- Similar time zones and holiday schedule
- Marketability and brandability of North American-made goods
- Faster shipping times and cheaper shipping costs
- No import duties or tariffs
- Intellectual property right protection
- Higher payment security
Disadvantages
- Higher manufacturing costs
- Typically smaller choice of potential factories
- Smaller product choice (many items are exclusively made overseas these days)
Overseas Manufacturing Companies
Advantages
- Lower manufacturing costs
- A greater number of manufacturers/factories to choose from
- Well established directories like Alibaba have made it easy to find potential suppliers
Disadvantages
- Lower perceived quality from customers
- Typically lower manufacturing and labor standards
- Import clearance and customs brokers to deal with
- Potential language and communication barriers
- Significant timezone differences
- Cultural differences in negotiating and schedules
- More costly to visit and verify the manufacturer
- Longer shipping times
- Import tariffs
- Higher shipping costs
- Lower payment security
Where to Look for Clothing Manufacturers
Now that you have a better idea of the pros and cons of finding manufacturing partners domestically and abroad, you can begin your search. There are a few great places to start that can put you on the right track to finding your perfect apparel manufacturing partner.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular:
Directories & B2B Marketplaces
Directories can be your best bet for casting a wide net. Some of the larger directories can contain hundreds or thousands of potential manufacturers/factories for your next project.
While there are a lot of manufacture directories online, many of them are low-quality or outdated. However, there are several legitimate directories that are have done a great job of consolidating manufacture profiles.
Online Domestic Clothing Directories
- Makers Row (USA Based/Paid)
- Free ABLS Clothing Manufacturer Directory (USA Based/Free)
- ABLS Clothing Manufacturer Directory (USA Based/Paid)
- Let’s Make It Here (UK Based/Free)
- Sqetch (Europe/Free & Paid)
Online Overseas Clothing Directories
Worldwide Clothing Directories
- Kompass (Worldwide/Free)
As you probably can imagine, searching Google is a great way to find clothing manufacturing companies if you’re willing to dig deep and work hard to find them.
The most important thing to keep in mind when searching Google is that it’s not easy to find them. Factories and manufacturers notoriously do a poor job of keeping their websites updated and optimized for modern times. That means that most of the factory websites are very outdated and aren’t optimized for Google searches.
What this all boils down to is that fact that you’ll have to dig deep. Really deep. It’s not unusual to have to parse 20-30 pages on Google before finding what you’re looking for. So don’t give up.
Make sure you also try a variety of search terms. You might just be searching for “t-shirt manufacturer” but you may need to be less specific and search for keywords like “apparel manufacturer” too.
Local Library
Believe it or not, libraries still exist and they have some excellent resources for finding factories and manufacturers. We talked about directories already, but libraries have exclusive or paid access to some really great directories that can help you with your search. Many of these directories are simply too expensive for an average entrepreneur but free to access through your local library. Ask your local librarians to see what resources their establishments may be able to offer you.
Tradeshows
Tradeshows are a goldmine for finding, vetting and getting to know potential manufacturing partners and there’s no lack of tradeshows in the clothing and apparel niche.
Many of these tradeshows can help you meet with clothing factory and printer representatives and they can also be a great place to source fabrics. Here are a few popular clothing production tradeshows to get you started:
Local Fashion Schools & Incubators
Another great place to find manufacturers for your clothing and apparel brand is by calling or visiting a local fashion school or fashion and apparel incubator. These institutions are rich sources for vetted manufacturers since these schools and incubators tend to have good relationships with many manufacturers and make use of them regularly.
Try giving them a call or emailing them and ask for referrals to local manufacturers that can help you with your project.
Referrals
As you’re using the methods listed in this post and talking to potential suppliers and manufacturers, you’re very likely to hit a bunch of dead ends. Maybe your order will be too small for a potential manufacturer, maybe they can’t do what you need them to do, or maybe they are just too busy to take on new customers. While these may feel like dead ends and setbacks, you can still make the most of each of these conversations by asking every person and company you speak with if they know any other factories or manufacturers that they could recommend.
The fact that they are in this industry likely means they have some good friends and contacts they can likely share with you to help you get closer to finding your perfect clothing manufacturing partner.
Short-List Your Options
After doing your initial factory research, you’ll likely have a large list of potential factories to work with. At this step, you’ll likely want to narrow down your list to just a handful, so that you can start getting some samples made of your final product from a select few.
To begin narrowing down your list, a good strategy is to start with the factories in closest proximity to you. Working with factories close to you can potentially cut down on shipping costs.
Close proximity to your potential factory also means it will also be cheaper and easier to conduct factory visits for quality control.
You’ll also want to narrow down your list based on the amount of experience your potential factories have with the exact product you’re producing and the materials you’re using.
Visit the Clothing Manufacturer or Factory
If you’re serious about producing a great product and brand, you’ll likely want to visit your selected factory before a full production run. Even after dozens, maybe hundreds of emails and phone calls, there’s really no substitute for actually meeting and greeting the people that will make your dream become a reality and take a tour of the factory floor.
Premium Clothing Manufacturer Directory
We’ve created a directory of clothing manufacturers based in the USA. All of the clothing manufacturers on this list are leading clothing production companies in the industry and with all the verified manufacturers in this directory, there is a clothing manufacturer to suit any job.
With factories that specialize in activewear, women’s clothing, men’s clothing, kid’s clothing, t-shirts, embroidery, lingerie and more, there are plenty of options and a variety of companies to choose from so you can find the right one that suits your needs.
The Clothing Manufacturer Directory can be the first and best step you take to creating your own clothing line, so have a look at the top clothing manufacturers in the industry and get started creating with industry experts. For a free preview of this directory and a sample of what it has to offer, check out our Free Clothing Manufacturers Directory here.
Conclusion
Choosing the right manufacturing partner for your business is a critical decision, not to be taken lightly or made quickly. This partner is an important piece to the puzzle of your business. Choosing a poor partner could mean production delays, unnecessary expenses, or even potentially a poorly made (or unsellable) product.
When reviewing manufacturers, always ask for references, carefully inspect previous product quality, and when you can, visit the factory floor to get a better sense of the company and the way they work.
Since your manufacturer is a partner and an extension of your brand, it’s important to take your time selecting the final candidate. Make sure you narrow your list of qualified manufacturing partners down to several and spend enough time vetting each of them to be sure of your ultimate decision.
