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3 Tips For Reaching Out To Ethical Factories

2/15/2022

 
communicating with garment factories
Reaching out to garment factories can be daunting for emerging brands. Factory managers are often reluctant to take on first-timers as they can require a large investment in time for little financial return. So how do you catch the attention of a factory and convince them to work with you? Preparation and professionalism are key! Here are 3 tips to start working with garment factories for emerging brands.
1 | Create a brand email account 
First impressions count, so it's important to project a professional image from the very first time you connect with a factory. One of the simplest (but often overlooked) ways of doing this is to send an introductory email from your brand's email account. Factories are much more likely to respond to an enquiry from hello@brand.com than suzieq2399@gmail.com. So if you don't have a brand email account yet, be sure to create one before you send that first email.

2 | Craft a clear and concise production inquiry email
Solidify your first impression with a clear and professional email introducing your brand and providing full details on your production needs.  Factories will want to know the following:
  • Product category (e.g. yoga wear, raincoats, babies clothing)
  • Materials you will use (e.g. cotton, recycled polyester, merino)
  • Target customer (e.g. mothers, children, athletes) 
  • Target price (e.g. fast fashion, mid, contemporary, luxury etc)
  • Desired order quantity (e.g. 300 units across 3 colorways and 3 styles)
  • Desired turnaround time (e.g. 3 months)
  • Sales method will be (e.g. direct-to-consumers via eCommerce, B2B) *optional
  • How you intend to scale your brand (e.g. we aim to grow to 500 units in the first year) *optional
  • Additional services needed (e.g. sampling, pattern making, sourcing materials, QA, freight/tax assistance etc)

3 | Have your tech pack ready 
Your tech pack is the blueprint from which the factory creates your garment. It contains all the technical information about your product including your sketch, sizes, fabrics, trims, artwork, colors, construction information and labeling. Garment factories will absolutely need a tech pack to complete a price quote. 

BONUS | Not asking for an NDA
One of the biggest signs that a new brand is super green, is asking factories for an NDA. Factories are busy. They do not have time to build a brand. They make the least amount of profit in the whole supply chain and they aren't interested in stealing your designs. *We are not your lawyers and this is not legal advice. We are only providing you with industry norms for your edification. Yes, in fashion there is risk of copy and it's very hard to protect your intellectual property, all brands face this challenge, and the industry notoriously copies each other from top to bottom. It's also highly likely the person fielding the new production inquiries is not legally authorized to sign such a document. If you truly do have a patent and want an NDA signed, you need to address this after the factory responds and explain to them the situation. 

Need more help? We go through all of this in-depth in our Production Pro course so you are ready to approach a factory AND get a favorable response from them. If you're in need of product development but don't know where to go, get started here and we can connect you to a product development expert! 

​Emerging Brands

If you are an emerging brand and need help with approaching ethical factories, the Coaching Club is back! Our 4 month brand accelerator is designed for emerging brands and gives you everything you'll need to launch your brand successfully and help you grow. Applications are open until February 22nd. 
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APPLY NOW!

​Established Brands

If you are an established brand struggling to find an ethical factory that is right for you, we have a database of ethically certified factories ready for you!  Set up a call to speak with our team now. 

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