Indie Source

Starting any business or brand can be a risky endeavor, but it can pay off big time if you plan carefully, work with the right people, and have a little bit of luck (or positive press) on your side. The thing is, far too often people jump in feet first and make common mistakes that can cost them time, money, or even prevent their brand from launching.  Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common mistakes startup fashion brands make, why they can hurt your brand, and how to avoid them.  Relying Solely on Overseas Suppliers and Manufacturers Many big brands work with companies overseas to produce their goods. The thing is, it takes a lot of time, years even, to create strong relationships with reliable suppliers and to negotiate price points down—which typically involves mass orders of thousands of units. In addition to this, overseas manufacturers don’t have to adhere to the stricter labor and environmental standards that US clothing manufacturers...

A pop-up shop is essentially a short-term retail location where brands and businesses sell a (sometimes exclusive) run of products typically for as long as a week or as short as a day. In recent years, major fashion brands, artists, and others have used pop-up shops to drive attention and sales for their brand with great success.  With that in mind, if you're a smaller clothing brand or are just starting your line, are there benefits to launching your own pop-up shop? The answer: absolutely. Here are a few reasons why emerging and established clothing brands alike should consider it. Reach New Customers Pop-up shops are a fantastic tool for generating buzz and getting people talking about your brand. There are tons of websites and blogs online dedicated to finding pop-ups in major cities, and if you market your pop-up well, you can get the attention of bloggers, journalists, and spark a social media wildfire. This can't happen on its own, so make sure you...

When searching for clothing manufacturers in the USA , some may assume that they are all the same and the process is as simple as placing an order and paying the bill. While you can go about it this way, it rarely works out well in the long run. Building a strong relationship with the company that will produce your clothing is crucial in ensuring that your true vision comes to life and that you can sustainably grow the brand over time.  Creating a Clothing Line Shouldn’t Just Be Transactional While purchasing clothes off the rack is a simple transaction, when it comes to designing and manufacturing your clothes, your collaboration with the manufacturer should go deeper than paying the bill. The apparel market is complex, and if you're new to the clothing industry, you'll find that it's challenging to determine the right designs to move forward with, the correct fabric types for the style, your budget, and a variety of other details. When you have stro...

Working with clothing manufacturers either overseas or in the US presents its challenges. And, just like how you carefully try on clothes before you make your final purchasing decision, you need to select which manufacturer will produce your clothing line carefully and deliver the quality you’re looking for. As you start your search and get into contact with clothing manufacturers, keep these questions in mind to help identify if they will be a good fit for your brand. 1. Who do they work with? Knowing the brands that clothing manufacturers currently work with can give you a feeling for the quality of their production. If they work with big-name brands that you're familiar with, it says a lot about their quality of work. These relationships can also provide insight into their reputation within the industry and more. 2. Will they work with your budget? As with any manufacturing endeavor, budgets start as immovable constraints placed on the project. But onc...

The fashion industry generates immeasurable benefits for the economy and society at large. From job creation to economic productivity to artistic empowerment, fashion has long been valued as a mainstay of any society. In this day and age, however, consumers and businesses alike are interested in the environmental impacts of clothing manufacturing, and for good reason. Fortunately, consumer demands and corporate conscience are driving more sustainable business operations, and it is now easier than ever to build more eco-friendly practices into your partnership with clothing manufacturers . Manufacture Locally Manufacturing your clothing line domestically is one of the best ways to ensure a more environmentally conscious process, since US clothing manufacturers are held to higher environmental standards than foreign operations. Domestic manufacturers must adhere to rules and regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency that govern many aspects of manufac...

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...