10 Questions You Need to be Asking Your Factory

I’ve been pretty spoiled with my decades of working with overseas factories. I’m lucky enough to consider many of my foreign partners as friends and colleagues. Yes, I have worked with challenging factories, but I’ve also had the weight and power of financial investment and the dangle of prolonged partnerships promising large orders to help grease the wheels to get things done.

However, as someone who works with a lot of small fashion businesses, I sadly hear a lot of horror stories happening when a newbie to the garment industry ventures out into the world of overseas apparel production. At first, I was in disbelief that certain behaviors were happening. But I’m at a point now that I advise my clients to take a deep breath and reassess how to proceed. 

Through hearing the stories of how they’ve been taken advantage of, been misled, or had time and money wasted, I’ve come to one common conclusion- fashion entrepreneurs are not asking the right questions from the start. But that stops today! This is your  wakeup call to protect yourself even before you start out. 

I know that you are more than eager to get production happening on your project and getting it done cheaply is a priority. You don’t have time to go back to school or take a class. I get it, and you don’t have to because I’m going to tell you the critical questions you need to be asking before you even start. 

“But Betsy, I have an NDA and a lawyer. I should be good!”

My friend, do you really want to get into a legal tangle with an overseas vendor that is subject to international law? Do you have that kind of money? I’m thinking if so, you would be better off investing that money by producing domestically where you at least are not subject to tariffs and you speak the same language. Wouldn’t it be better if you saw the red flags from the get go so you wouldn’t get into trouble later? 

That’s what I thought. Let’s dive in!

Question 1: Email works best for you right? 

This is to say-get everything in writing! Make sure that all communication happens via email, especially any guarantees. You want it in writing so you can easily reference later if needed. I know there are a lot of you that just love a good phone call or zoom meeting. It's a human connection thing. But in reality it’s a liability. Even if you make those phone calls or have a meeting, make sure to recap via email and ensure everyone is in agreement. 

Question 2: The patterns you will use to produce my product will be my property and supplied to me as DXF files, correct?  Take note that this is not an inquisitive question. This is a question of confirmation. Any pattern developed for you that you are paying for will be your property. End of story. Do not let anyone provide you with files in any other format than DXF. These are universal files that can be read by professional apparel software platforms. 

This is a very important part, so I want to make sure you understand the situation. Patterns are your templates for mass production. It takes time and money to create them. If the item you produce with your factory becomes a bestseller, but the relationship has turned, you need the means to use the same patterns again with another manufacturer. 

Question 3: What approval samples will you send me? 

This question is entirely dependent upon what services your factory is providing. For example, if they are sourcing your fabric and trims, you want to approve those. You may also want to approve color standards, thread choices and button styles, to name a few. Just consider what will make up your garment and what records you can collect confirming what you will be receiving. 

I had a client that built a successful product and business around an item that only the factory had the master data to. When the relationship soured they had no fabric swatches, no pantone colors, no patterns to rebuild from. You should know exactly what comprises your product and have fabric swatches on hand in case you need to source the same later.

Question 4: You will send me a pre-production sample, right? 

Even if you are supplying all the materials and the patterns you still want to know what you are getting from a factory before they cut into your expensive fabric. A pre-approval sample gives you the opportunity to ensure that everyone is on the same page as to how the product goes together. 

Question 5: How are revisions charged? 

Even if the factory is doing just the cutting and sewing, it’s imperative to find out what would happen if you need a change made after you receive the pre production samples. This is potentially a money pit. Let’s say you get your sample and it’s a disaster. Now you play the game of what happened and whose fault it is. 

Question 6: Do you require a deposit?

This question could be very telling. I think a small deposit could be completely valid. They want to ensure you are serious and you can pay for the factory's services. However, if you are asked to pay the full amount in advance I would look elsewhere. This is not how the industry works. It’s totally ok to bargain and negotiate until you get to a scenario where both parties feel comfortable. 

Question 7: How long should I expect the process to take?

When I hear of how long designers can be waiting on their samples I’m speechless. I had someone wait months to get a sample from a factory despite the fact they were provided all the patterns. Getting a sample made should not take any longer than a few weeks. It is entirely feasible that you could also have revisions sent to you within a week's time, so don’t let anyone push that off too far as well. It’s fair to assume the factory has a lot of other work to filter in, but you need to find out how your project will be prioritized. Also, be wary of anyone promising too quick of a turnaround. They are overpromising. 

Question 8: What can I expect for communication? 

The goal here is to find out how long the response time takes. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting weeks for a reply to a basic question, only to not have that question properly answered. You want to be assured that the people you are in contact with respond in a timely manner and can speak the same language as you. 

Before you even commit to anything you may want to test the waters and take note of how responsive the factory is and the quality that you get back.

Question 9: Who will my contact be and if I have issues, who else can I get in touch with?

More than likely you will be communicating with a liaison for the factory. They know nothing about production, but they got the job because they know English. They are not physically at the factory. Instead they are communicating with a production coordinator. If you have access to people who are actually working on your project such as production coordinators or pattern makers, the better off you will be.

There is nothing more frustrating than hitting a dead end with your contact.  It’s always good to have a back up person who has more clout. When you don’t speak the same language, sometimes challenges can arise and misunderstandings happen.

Question 10: The work you do for me will not be reused for others, correct?

This may seem to fall under the NDA realm, but I think it is a little too subtle and polite for what I’m getting at. I had someone tell me that a factory’s pre-requisite to working with them was an agreement/understanding that the factory owned the rights to whatever they produced. No subtlety there! 

Now some factories may want to utilize your product as an example of services they can offer. It’s totally fair to ask about this and it’s completely up to you if you agree to let them do this. Think about it this way- let’s say they figured out how to do a complex embroidery for you and now they want to do this for others, but need something to show. I’m personally 50/50 on this, because more than likely other potential embroidery customers are coming with their own designs. It’s up to you. 

We’ve covered a lot of potentially sketchy behavior and situations you could find yourself in. This is not to say it’s the norm. But I do want you to be prepared with thoughtful questions.. Finding the right factory can be a bit like dating. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial to find “the one.”