Sourcing is one of the biggest components when you talk about manufacturing and production for your fashion business. Sourcing will basically dictate your costs. The key to keeping costs down is to do research and source worldwide for the best rates. For Elle B. Zhou’s founder, Elle B. Mambetov, this means having her brand’s dinnerware made in Poland, while her fashion collection is produced in London, and digital printing is done in both the United Kingdom and U.S.
Fabrics are sourced from other locations, based on cost comparisons. For new garment tags, Mambetov priced them out in several different countries before deciding. Sometimes, pricing is going to be better to have items made in the U.S. rather than China. Why? Once you factor in Chinese New Year, that’s going to cause a time delay. Then there is the extra cost for shipping overseas. Once you add the shipping cost, you may actually get it faster in the U.S. for basically the same price.
Time and shipping costs are things you want to factor in when you’re sourcing a product. Learn from online fashion education, conduct research on manufacturers, and look everywhere before making your final decision rather than default to sourcing in China. You also need to think about the quality.
Mambetov knows when she’s sourcing garment lining she will find impeccable quality in London without having to oversee the process in person. To take away the guesswork, she sources from reputable companies she has bought from in the past that have produced high quality product.
When sourcing new fabrics, always make sure to ask manufacturers for swatches. They should send you these swatches at no cost. You are offering them business, so they will send these for free in hopes of winning your business with quality fabrics and materials.
