Reputable Manufacturers

[JacobJoeyV]

Hi guys,
I'm starting up a clothing line, initially focusing on t-shirts, can anyone recommend some reputable chinese/overseas manufacturers with a good reputation that can take in custom measurements ?
Thanks guys!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Walter Hay]

Hi guys,
I'm starting up a clothing line, initially focusing on t-shirts, can anyone recommend some reputable chinese/overseas manufacturers with a good reputation that can take in custom measurements ?
Thanks guys!

You have chosen a very competitive field to work in, but there are countless manufacturers who can supply what you want. I suggest you look at Thailand and Turkey as well as China.

I don't have anyone in particular that I can recommend, but using my sourcing methods you should have no trouble finding reliable manufacturers. HINT: Don't waste your time by starting your search on Alibaba - too many traders, not real manufacturers.

 

[TJPB]

...HINT: Don't waste your time by starting your search on Alibaba - too many traders, not real manufacturers.

I tend to disagree. I used Alibaba exclusively for all of my original manufacturers and had great success. Their filters and a little common sense with searching and you can exclude the traders/dealers.

 

[Walter Hay]

I tend to disagree. I used Alibaba exclusively for all of my original manufacturers and had great success. Their filters and a little common sense with searching and you can exclude the traders/dealers.

I know that many people are very happy with their suppliers on Alibaba, but making sure you are dealing with genuine manufacturers can severely limit your choices, and once you find a real manufacturer there is still no guarantee of trustworthiness. Thousands of Gold Suppliers have scammed buyers.

Alibaba's filters are of limited usefulness. If you filter for "Verified", you find suppliers that actually exist, (supposedly, but there are so many forged business documents in China that even Alibaba would not be sure).

If you filter for "Gold Suppliers" you still only find suppliers that actually exist, plus they have been willing to spend as little as $299 (for over 12 months that was the rate), but currently $699, to buy a badge designed to give the impression that they are trustworthy.

If you filter for "manufacturer" you will find countless traders masquerading as manufacturers together with some genuine manufacturers.

If you filter for "Supplier Assessment" you will probably find out if they are a genuine manufacturers, but just because they have been Supplier Assessed does not mean they are manufacturers, so you must read the full report.

It is important to remember that a Supplier Assessment report does not indicate reliability or trustworthiness. See my AMA article on B2B scams in Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

There are a small number of B2B sites that do very thorough verification and on those sites if a business is identified as a manufacturer, that is what they really are.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[crockbar]

I know that many people are very happy with their suppliers on Alibaba, but making sure you are dealing with genuine manufacturers can severely limit your choices, and once you find a real manufacturer there is still no guarantee of trustworthiness. Thousands of Gold Suppliers have scammed buyers.

Alibaba's filters are of limited usefulness. If you filter for "Verified", you find suppliers that actually exist, (supposedly, but there are so many forged business documents in China that even Alibaba would not be sure).

If you filter for "Gold Suppliers" you still only find suppliers that actually exist, plus they have been willing to spend as little as $299 (for over 12 months that was the rate), but currently $699, to buy a badge designed to give the impression that they are trustworthy.

If you filter for "manufacturer" you will find countless traders masquerading as manufacturers together with some genuine manufacturers.

If you filter for "Supplier Assessment" you will probably find out if they are a genuine manufacturers, but just because they have been Supplier Assessed does not mean they are manufacturers, so you must read the full report.

It is important to remember that a Supplier Assessment report does not indicate reliability or trustworthiness. See my AMA article on B2B scams in Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

There are a small number of B2B sites that do very thorough verification and on those sites if a business is identified as a manufacturer, that is what they really are.

Hi Walter and everyone - just wanted to chime in my two cents here. Also been importing for over a decade in housewares and consumer goods.

But I wouldn't really trust these guys until you go there and see the factories. And even then I still don't really trust them. They all say they're factories and a lot of them are really trading companies. They'll take your item and farm it out to another factory. Going through it right now with a factory I dealt with for years - and a couple of items for key accounts.

When I started doing this there was more trusts involved in the business, but I think a younger generation is starting to take over and the factories are a lot less workable and negotiable. You can find some good contacts through Alibaba or other sites, but don't be shocked if they are not the real factory. If you find a "factory" you think you might like - search around the website a little more, and if you see the same item all over the place than it is likely not the factory. I was at Canton Fair in April, and I swear somewhere in China there is just a master mold for everything and they all share it.

So do a lot of research and communication on your factories first. Ask a LOT of questions before working with them or issuing a PO.

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter and everyone - just wanted to chime in my two cents here. Also been importing for over a decade in housewares and consumer goods.

But I wouldn't really trust these guys until you go there and see the factories. And even then I still don't really trust them. They all say they're factories and a lot of them are really trading companies. They'll take your item and farm it out to another factory. Going through it right now with a factory I dealt with for years - and a couple of items for key accounts.

When I started doing this there was more trusts involved in the business, but I think a younger generation is starting to take over and the factories are a lot less workable and negotiable. You can find some good contacts through Alibaba or other sites, but don't be shocked if they are not the real factory. If you find a "factory" you think you might like - search around the website a little more, and if you see the same item all over the place than it is likely not the factory. I was at Canton Fair in April, and I swear somewhere in China there is just a master mold for everything and they all share it.

So do a lot of research and communication on your factories first. Ask a LOT of questions before working with them or issuing a PO.

I like what you have written from your own experience. I have contacts in China who freely admit that "Everyone says they are the factory because that's what Westerners want."

Many Chinese manufacturers have what they call "Open" molds. These are generic, unbranded, and owned by the factory, not by the customer. If you can find the factory that owns that mold, you will be able to buy the molded product for less than you would pay when buying from the multitude of traders who buy and resell that generic product.

As a starting point when looking for that factory, it is better to go to a B2B site other than Alibaba, where you have to sift through dozens of claimants to the title "manufacturer". As I mentioned above, there are a couple of sites that only list as manufacturers those that are. Sorry I don't publish their identity online for good reasons, but if you read through my AMA thread you will understand why.

You might be interested in my AMA post on the subject: Traveling To China To Visit Factories. Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Your reference to changed attitudes with the advent of a younger generation of businessmen is spot on. The cultural changes are well illustrated by the growing neglect of proper observance of the rituals of Tomb Sweeping Day. So many people are now too busy to go to their ancestors' tombs on that day that there is a growth industry in Tomb Sweeping services. For a fee they will go to a businessman's ancestor's tomb, clean it up, decorate it, offer a sacrifice, and talk to the dead.

It's no wonder attitudes to trust are also changing.

 

[TJPB]

...It is important to remember that a Supplier Assessment report does not indicate reliability or trustworthiness. See my AMA article on B2B scams in Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Ah yes...the "lifetime experience" thread. Sorry, I had forgotten about you.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vigilante]

Buy this book.

http://provenchinasourcing.com/

 

[JacobJoeyV]

Buy this book.

http://provenchinasourcing.com/

My other thread wasn't exactly the same as this one Vigilante, I am concerned only with finding an ethical manufacturer, that is not a sweat shop, rather than a reputable manufacturer that possibly provides reliable sourcing and content but may very well be a sweat shop.