Indie Source

One may sometimes hear that US manufacturing is a vestige of a bygone era. That American companies can’t compete with the cost of foreign labor and cheaper raw materials, resulting in an off shoring of jobs to countries like India and China. For many years, this was the overall trend in manufacturing. An estimated 5 million US manufacturing jobs were sent overseas between 2001 and 2011, with a third of them going to China alone, according to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Looking back even further, Forbes estimates that the number of American factory workers fell from approximately 30% of the total population in 1950 to approximately 8.5% in 2017.   This trend has plagued every manufacturing industry, from automobiles to telecom to clothing manufacturers, but many experts are starting to see a change on the horizon. For example, the Kellogg School explains that labor costs are beginning to rise globally, thanks in part to a b...

The United States is home to the largest apparel market in the world, according to Statista. In 2016, store-based retail was valued at approximately $292 billion US dollars and is projected to reach $390 billion by 2025. Women’s apparel and girls’ apparel hit $117 billion in the United States in 2017, according to Statista, while the market for men’s and boys’ apparel was roughly $87 billion. The US apparel market is notoriously frenetic, with brands, retailers, and marketers all trying to adapt to or drive consumer trends or create a shopping experience that will attract and retain customers. If you’re one of the many US designers or clothing manufacturers looking to kick-start a fashion line, it’s important to pay attention to market trends and top-selling products, including popular fabrics and designs. Global Sources tracks trends in fashion apparel and products, and found that as of September 2018, customers inquired about the following products: 1. Men’s...

It’s hard to overstate how complex starting a clothing line can be. In addition to the requisite funds needed, new fashion entrepreneurs should be prepared to enlist the support of designers, sourcing specialists, and clothing manufacturers to make their clothing concept become a reality.  This traditional model requires a painstaking amount of time coordinating with different contacts and specialists, sourcing and testing materials, and waiting to receive and review samples and prototypes. At best, designers are left working long, tireless hours to get their creative designs finished on time. At worst, a nascent brand becomes bogged down by delays, do-overs, and cost overruns. The good news is that a new apparel manufacturing model is looking to up-end this old process through a more personalized in-house approach. Brands like Indie Source are replacing dusty warehouses and distributed communication with clean, collaborative spaces and a team of project manage...

We’ve all heard the warnings about startups: 8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 18 months; don’t expect to make a profit for at least the first two or three years; American fashion brands and retailers are on the decline, etc .   However, like most statistics, the devil is in the details, and this case, the details offer a more promising outlook. According to the Small Business Administration, about 75% of new businesses survive at least the first two years, and roughly 50% survive at least the first five years. This five-year survival rate has been on an upward trend too. In 2016, for example, nearly 49% of companies hit the five-year mark, an increase of 3% from 2015, according to the Kauffman Foundation. This is good news for the fashion industry, which has certainly seen its share of ups and downs. So, what makes some new clothing lines succeed and others become a statistic? In many cases, it comes down to how well a new entrepreneur can ...