What Questions to Ask a Clothing Manufacturer Before You Order

Ask what the minimum is per style and per colour, which incoterm the price uses, how sampling and quality control work, certification with a number, and whether you can see the floor, and put the same list to every factory so the replies line up. The minimum matters because a figure quoted per order behaves very differently once you choose several colours. The incoterm matters because an FOB quote and a DDP quote are different numbers. Also ask what they specialise in and what they would decline, and for compliance audits with dates and scope. Certification should arrive as a certificate number plus the certificate itself, not a logo. On sampling, ask whether it is billed separately; you should approve a physical sample before bulk. On quality, ask which AQL level they inspect to and what happens when a batch fails. Finally, ask about payment terms; for the floor, a live call or a visit tells you more than an edited video.

Watch how a factory behaves before you have paid anything, because responsiveness and candour rarely improve after a deposit clears. Look for specificity first: a reliable factory answers a question about minimums with a number, names the incoterm on its price, and says plainly when a product is outside what it does well rather than agreeing to everything. Ask the same question twice at different points in the conversation and see whether the answer moves, and ask one question you already know the answer to; if the reply is confidently wrong, you have learned more than the answer itself was worth. Ask for proof rather than assurance: a certificate number and the certificate itself rather than a logo, and a live call from the floor during a working shift rather than an edited promotional video. Treat a quote far below every other you hold as a warning, not a win. It usually means something has been excluded that will reappear later.

Direct is usually better on price and materially better on accountability. An agent adds a margin, which is expected, but the larger cost is the communication layer: when something needs correcting on the production floor, you are relaying it through someone whose incentive is to keep both sides comfortable rather than to surface the problem quickly. Direct contact means the people who can fix an issue hear about it from you. That said, agents earn their place in specific situations — sourcing across several countries, managing categories outside your expertise, or when you have no capacity to run supplier relationships yourself. What is worth avoiding is paying agent margin while believing you are dealing directly, which happens more than it should. Ask plainly whether the party quoting owns the factory.

Settle five things about your own order first, because getting these wrong is what actually causes delay. What you are making: a reference garment whose fit you like tells a factory more than a mood board. How many per style and per colour: at our minimum of 150 per style and colour, one style in three colourways is 450 pieces, not 150, though sizes are flexible within each colourway. What you intend to sell it for, since retail price sets the ceiling on fabric and construction and lets a factory steer you before you commit to a spec you cannot afford. When you need it: count backwards from your launch date and include sampling, not just production. And what you will not compromise on, whether fabric weight, fit, certification or price. With those answers in your first message, the factory's reply can contain real numbers instead of more questions.

Ask what the minimum is per style and per colour, and how sizes are counted within it. A figure quoted per order behaves very differently once you choose several colours, because each colour is usually its own dye lot and its own minimum. A strong answer is specific, such as 150 per style and per colour with sizes flexible within that, which is Collective Studio's minimum. A weak answer is very flexible, depends on the order, because it gives you nothing to plan or compare with. Follow up with three more questions. Does the minimum change for special fabrics or colours? Are sizes split freely inside each colour, or is there a per-size minimum? And how does the unit price change as quantity rises? Ask the same question again later in the conversation and see whether the number moves. A minimum that shifts between emails, or pressure to over-order, is a red flag in itself.

Ask who runs quality control, which AQL level they inspect to, and what happens when a batch fails. A factory that answers that it will not happen has told you it has no process for when it does. A strong answer names the AQL level, explains who inspects and at which stages, and describes what happens to a rejected batch. Also ask whether you will receive photos during production, and whether you can book an independent inspection before the balance is paid. Confirm that bulk will be checked against a physical sample you approved, not against a photo or a description, and that the measurement tolerances in your tech pack will be used for the checks. Then put the agreed AQL level and the inspection point into the order confirmation before production starts, so a pass or a fail becomes a matter of arithmetic rather than a later argument.

Yes, ask for one or the other before you place a first order, because a confident factory welcomes it. A visit in person tells you the most, but a live video call from the production floor during a working shift is a practical alternative for most brands, and far more useful than an edited promotional video. On the call, ask to see the cutting area, the sewing lines and the finishing and packing area, and check that what you see matches the products the factory says it makes. Ask whether the floor you are looking at is where your order will be sewn, or whether some work goes to other units. Compare the address with the one on the invoice and the company registration. Collective Studio's floor is at a published address in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, and you can schedule a live video call to walk it before you commit to an order.

Ask for the lead time broken into stages, from first sample to delivery, rather than a single number. A useful answer separates sampling, production after sample approval, and freight by air or sea, because each stage moves for different reasons. Ask how long a second sample round adds, since that is the stage first-time brands most often underestimate. Then ask when the production clock starts and what usually causes delays. At Collective Studio, sampling takes about 10 days, production 40 to 50 days after the sample is approved, and freight comes on top, which makes about 70 days from order to your door by air. Count backwards from your launch date using those stages, and leave a buffer for public holidays in the manufacturing country. A supplier who promises a total that leaves out sampling or freight is quoting a number you cannot plan around.

Because the same garment has a different price under different incoterms, and a quote without one cannot be compared with anything. Under FOB, the factory's price covers the goods up to loading at the port in the country of manufacture, and you arrange and pay for freight, customs clearance, duty and delivery yourself. Under DDP, delivered duty paid, the seller arranges freight, clearance, duty and delivery to your door, so you receive one landed figure. A low FOB price can easily become the more expensive option once those costs are added. Ask the factory to name the incoterm and list what the price excludes, such as sampling, labels or inspection. For DDP, also ask who will be the importer of record, because that party handles the import tax and any reclaim. Collective Studio quotes DDP worldwide, so the quote can be compared directly with your full landed cost.