China is now at the center of the business world with its wide variety of industries and products. The clothing industry is no different. In this article, we will discuss how you can find the best clothing manufacturers in China- the ultimate guide. We will also include some of the best clothing suppliers in China.
What Are the Best Clothing Manufacturers in China?
China has a wide range of production lines even when it comes to clothing. However, not all of them are the best. The best clothing manufacturers in China can be determined by the following criteria.
1. Product Scope
Different suppliers specialize indifferent product categories. Sometimes, the specialization even covers materials. In terms of clothing, it is no different. If you are willing to import organic cotton t-shirts with certification from a specific organization, you need to look specifically for those suppliers who manufacture those products with that specific certificate. Just any cotton t-shirt manufacturer won’t do.
In terms of clothing, it also involves print techniques and some other technical requirements. Not all suppliers offer all kinds of printing. Hence, if you are looking for a specific printing technique, you should go for the manufacturer offering it.
2. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) requirement
Different suppliers have different MOQ requirements. For example, a supplier may set its MOQ at 500 pieces. In that case, you have to purchase or online order at least that amount. Otherwise, the supplier company won’t accept your order.
In the clothing manufacturing industry, MOQs can be of different types. For example, the usual MOQ per order is 500-1000 pieces. For MOQ per fabric and color, the normal quantity is 250-500 pieces. And based on size, the MOQ is normally 100-250 pieces.
There are some factors regarding MOQ, which if you keep in mind, will give you some better output. The MOQ of a supplier often reflects the minimum amount of fabric that suppliers can purchase from their contractors and subcontractors.
Hence, if you use the same colors and fabrics on more than one product, the overall MOQ will reduce. Also, custom fabric with customized color usually has a higher MOQ, compared to the standard colored fabric.
3. Test reports
As different chemical materials and dye products are used in the textile industry, it requires frequent tests and analysis. Hence, we see such regulations in most countries. Europe, Australia, and the United States are also among these countries.
These test reports help to understand the safety standards, like REACH, which is used in Europe, California Proposition 65. Restrict chemicals, heavy metals, and pollutants are also among these most applied safety standards.
However, where the industry is larger, the safety standards are less maintained. For example, as there are a huge number of Chinese clothing manufacturers, most of which are small ones, safety standards are often not met.
That is to say, these manufacturers often don’t know about the substance contained in their products. This problem usually goes beyond the manufacturing company. These manufacturers purchase materials, including fabrics and other components, from subcontractors. Hence, there is a chance that the manufacturer company may not always know about all the materials used.
To ensure that non-compliant components do not slip through the system, the supplier needs to test a large number of samples. Most small factories may find it expensive and time-consuming.
However, in some countries, it is a mandatory step. Some common clothing test reports include one or more of the following-
4. Fabric quality
Many companies often look over the fabric quality. It gets more common when you rely on a manufacturer for all the parts of successful production, including the fabric. As many histories go, a reliable manufacturer may even face some difficulty whilebuying top-quality fabricsfrom a responsible seller.
In those cases, demanding more and more samples won’t do much of an improvement. Hence, it is better if you get a set of sample and test it to the highest limit. It will help you understand how far your fabric is going to last. Also, you need to set your requirements quite straight and specific.
Also, you should source fabrics from different suppliers than the apparel manufacturer. When selecting fabrics and different other materials, relying on apparel manufacturers will be time-consuming. Hence, you can have a totally different material supplier for the fabric part.
5. BSCI and Sedex audit reports
Membership organizations like BSCI and Sedex perform social compliance audits on a regular basis in factories across the world. BSCI implements a protocol based on the following core principles-
Factories that are already Sedex or BSCI audited are usually managed better compared to the ones lacking such types of audit reports. When you are going to choose textile factories, BSCI and Sedex audit reports are quite the very primary criteria of selection, especially in China, Vietnam, and the surrounding countries.
6. Price
Price is always the prime factor. No matter how the quality of your textile is, the price will always have to be kept within an accessible range.
Now, the good news is that Chinese manufacturers offer clothing at quite a low price, compared to other global manufacturers. Hence, you won’t have to worry about the price in most cases. However, as the price lowers, so does the quality sometimes.
Hence, you must note that the quality of the product should never go down with the price. Even sometimes, you may need to go for a pricier one for better output.
7. Quality
As a wholesaler, ensuring quality is as challenging as it gets. However, if you manage to pass this challenge successfully, you will not have to face any more such difficulties.
In order to ensure the best quality, the best option is to ask for a batch of samples and then check out whether they meet your requirements.
Usually, the regular product flow will coincide with the sample. Hence, if the sample is of top quality, you can hope for future products to be the same. However, you need to keep in mind that top-quality products may sometimes cost more, although that is not an obvious cause.
8. Shipping times
Shipping times make a vital difference in choosing the manufacturing company. While some companies will offer shipping overseas within a few days or a week, some will take weeks or even months.
However, as a wholesaler, you must fulfill the demands of your retail customers. And you will find that none of them want to receive things late.
Hence, check out the shipping times of different Chinese manufacturers and go for the one with a better shipping time. While looking for a better shipping time, don’t forget to look forthe best shipping method.
9. Experience
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Experience rules over everything. As the Chinese clothing industry is expanding every while, many manufacturing companies are being born. Although some new companies will look lucrative with their offers, they actually do not have the necessary experience to fulfill the demand of customers.
Hence, you should go for an experienced manufacturing company. Also, keep in mind that experience does not denote an old company. It denotes the company which has served just the type of clothing you want for a long time and can ensure the same in the future.
How to Find the Best Clothing Manufacturers in China?
Finding the best company in any industry is not even close to easy. In the same way, finding the best clothing manufacturers in China can be overwhelming.
Here are some of the ways tofind the best clothing manufacturers in China.
1. Search engines, Online directories, and B2B marketplaces
Search engines are the easiest way to find something very fast. You will find a ton of different search engines out there, all of which will help you find just the thing you want. However, the top three search engines that you can try are Google, Baidu, and Yandex.
Nevertheless, you will also have to know how to search on these platforms. As you are looking for clothing manufacturers in China, searching with these keywords will do. You can add some associated keywords, like a factory, wholesale, etc., to get more results.
Another easy place to find the top manufacturers may be the B2B marketplaces, like Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China, etc.
As these B2B marketplaces are popular worldwide, you can easily compare the Chinese companies with the other global ones.
Also, it gets easier to compare different companies in terms of MOQ, shipping time and fees, and so on.
Another possible way to find these manufacturers online can be the online directory. However, not all Chinese manufacturers serve online. Especially the small factories often do not offer any online service.
Hence, looking for them in the online directory or search engines might not help much. That should not be a problem because most of the time, companies that do not serve online also do not sell overseas. So you can go for the online platforms and find the best Chinese clothing manufacturer.
2. Facebook groups
Facebook has now become one of the largest online marketplaces. You can now find any and all types of information you want on Facebook. You will find many Facebook groups associated with the item you are looking for, which is clothing in this case.
And as we are going for Chinese manufacturers, you will have to look for the same among the different Facebook groups. Once you find such a group, you can easily connect with the seller, get a quote, place your order, get a sample, and do all other things from there. Another advantage of keeping added to such groups is that you get regularly updated regarding the whole sector.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is another name for online business. You can easily rely on LinkedIn to connect with Chinese clothing suppliers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors.
You will find a lot of China clothing manufacturers who have published their profiles on LinkedIn.
You can choose some of them and then evaluate each one to find out the best. Then, you can approach the right clothing manufacturer on LinkedIn as well.
4. Trade fairs
Trade fairs and different exhibitions are an easy way to learn about different factories as well as the whole industry. In an exhibition or trade fair, you can easily approach different clothing factories without any hesitation.
You can go to different stalls, try different types of garments with different materials, and so on.
Some famous trade fairs and exhibitions regarding the Chinese clothing industry are Global Source Fashion and Centrestage in Hongkong, ACLE and Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles in Shanghai, and so many more.
Here are some of the different fairs you can attend in China:
Before you attend such exhibitions and fairs, it is better if you contact one or some of the target clothing manufacturers beforehand. You can also ask for a meeting with them at the exhibition. It will help them provide you with all the necessary information. Also, they will keep more time in hand to discuss things in detail with you.
5. Industry meetups
Industry meetups involve a wide number of factories in the same industry. In this case, we are looking at the textile industry. You will find a lot of Chinese clothing manufacturers in such industry meetups. You can find the right China garment factory from there.
Also, as different issues and their solutions are discussed in these meetups, it will help you find the merits and demerits of all factories.
6. Sourcing agents
Sourcing agents are always the best option to find the right manufacturer company. If you are not experienced enough with how the process works or with the clothing manufacturing industry, you can easily rely on sourcing agents to find the best company for you.
Usually,sourcing agents or companiesare the most professional ones in such cases. They will follow all the necessary steps and keep you updated.
Also, as you assign a sourcing agent or company to do the task, they will do all the necessary things to make sure you get the best. Their services include meeting with different companies, collecting samples, evaluating those samples, and so many more.
7. Clothes wholesale markets
If you can visit the wholesale markets physically, this can be another option. Although in the present world, things have got quite online. And as most buyers are from overseas, finding information online has become easier.
Nevertheless, if you get the chance to visit the clothing wholesale markets, you can easily use that to learn about different Chinese clothing manufacturers and can choose the best one for your business.
As China is a large country, it might get a bit challenging to visit all wholesale markets. Hence, the better way is to find the different hubs of clothing wholesale markets and visit them. This way, you can learn about many wholesale companies in a limited time.
8. Referrals
Referral marketing has got quite common now. As your closely related people refer you to a company, the company automatically becomes a trusted place for you. Keeping that in mind, referral marketing has been more functional in recent years.
Nevertheless, you can also try it to serve your purpose. You can go for referrals from your colleagues, relatives, friends, and family. Hopefully, you will get the best referral.
Where Are the Chinese Clothing Manufacturing Bases?
China is one of the largest countries in the world. Also, the whole country is technically very advanced. Hence, finding a specific company sporadically is like finding a needle as the industries and different companies are spread across the country.
However, things are actually easier than it seems. There are some common Chinese clothing manufacturing bases. Some cities, some provinces, etc., house a lot of different clothing manufacturing companies. Hence, if you look in that base area, you will get a number of companies in the same place.
Also, clothes made in China cover all types of clothing available across the world. From men’s wear and women’s wear to child’s wear, you will get everything on these bases. A Chinese clothing factory may produce different types of clothes. Here are some of the Chinese clothing manufacturing bases depending on the types of clothes.
As you can see, there are a lot of different types of clothing bases across the whole country. Most of them are centered in Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangsu provinces. If you visit these base areas, you can get a hold of different types of factories producing different lines of clothing.
How to Import Clothing from Chinese Clothing Manufacturers?
Importing products from a country is never so easy. However, when the country is China, it is easier than other countries as China is now the center of all business.
Also, there are two types of exporters. One exports only a fixed type of product, while the others export customized product.
That is to say that you surely want to import products that you can customize according to your needs or can import after proper customization, the latter being the most common.
Here is the process of how toimport from custom clothingmanufacturers in China.
1. Develop a concept
First, you need to develop a concept for the order you are going to place. But before that, you need to source a manufacturer.
As we mentioned before, a sourcing agent or company can be of great help. You can source manufacturers on your own, as well.
As you develop a concept, you need to keep some things in mind. For example, you need to consider the product scope, quality management system, and social compliance, etc. In some countries, like the United States and the European Union, the product compliance track record is to be kept as well.
2. Create your Tech Pack
Then you need to create the necessary tech pack for your order. It is the document containing all the technical information about the product and the associated company, and so on. There are some things that need to be included in a tech pack.
For example, you need to include the fabric specifications in the tech pack, which includes material or fiver composition, the weight of the product, yarn count, yarn type, colors, coating, treatment, etc.
The Bill for the components or materials is to be included in the tech pack as well. The design, size table, logos, etc., are to be included, as well.
3. Get a Cut Sheet
Then you need to get an information sheet about the equipment. Such information sheets are called cut sheets.
This sheet describes and provides the features and/or specifications of the equipment. Almost all commercial jobs require a cut sheet. The clothing industry is no different.
4. Sample Production
The next step is sample production. As you connect to the manufacturer company or the sourcing agent or company on your behalf, you need to ask for the sample.
The company will then send you the sample. You can then evaluate the sample and finalize the product. The sourcing agent or company can do the sample evaluation on your behalf of you.
5. Make the Product
As you evaluate the sample and finalize the product, the manufacturer company will start making the product in mass numbers. The number of products the company will produce is the number mentioned in the tech pack and other documents.
6. Quality Inspection
It is an essential part of any production line. In some cases,the quality inspectionis done after the sampling.
In other cases, it is done after the first production line arrives. Hence, the MOQ matters in this case.
There are different companies that will do quality inspections for you. However, if you hire a professional-grade sourcing agent or company, they will do all the steps from first to last for you.
7. Shipping Clothing from China
The final step to ensure is proper shipping. As you are going toship clothes from China, you need to know all types of possible shipping methods.
The fastest shipping method is Express. You can also ship through different types of freights- air freights, rail freights, sea freight, etc.
Top 10 China Clothing Wholesale Market
China has numerous wholesale markets across the country selling clothing items and other associated products. Here are the top 10 wholesale clothing manufacturers in China. You can find the best wholesale clothing manufacturer in China from them.
Top 10 China Clothing Suppliers
There are a lot of china clothing suppliers. Among them, the following are the best clothing manufacturers in China.
1. Guangzhou Miqi Apparel Co., Ltd.
This Guangzhou clothing manufacturer is one of the prominent apparel manufacturers in China. The factory is quite new compared to many other such factories.
It was founded in 2013 to provide sportswear items, like leggings, shorts, bras, joggers, jackets, hoodies, etc.
Although the main market of this factory is in North America, it supplies products worldwide, including Australia, Europe, and Asia.
The main product of this factory is Yoga and other exercise-related clothing. It is also one of the gyms wear manufacturers in China.
2. Zhongshan Enjoy Apparel Co., Ltd.
Enjoy Apparel Co., Ltd., has cooperation with a lot of famous foreign brands and domestic e-commerce platforms.
The company has a factory building of 3000 square meters with more than 300 machines and a design and sales team comprising of 20 members.
The company specializes in bikini swimsuits, one-piece swimsuits, yoga clothes, etc.
It is one of the sports clothing manufacturers in China, providing different types of sportswear, including sport short pants, sport long pants, sports bras, and other types of sports series clothing products.
3. Xiamen Wingtas Group Co., Ltd.
Xiamen Wingtas Garments Co., Ltd., is one of the largest outdoor and sportswear manufacturers in China.
The company was established in 2002. Since then, the factory managed to keep and increase its name and fame in the last 19 years with annual sales of 300 million yuan.
Throughout this time, Wingtas managed to earn various awards and rewards.
The company specializes in a number of different clothing products. Sportswear and different types of jackets are among the top favorites.
4. Fuzhou Lemao Apparel Co., Ltd.
Fuzhou Lemao Apparel Co., Ltd., one of the Chinese apparel manufacturers, is located in Fuzhou, China.
With over 200 skilled workers and technicians, the factory has managed to become a prominent one in the clothing industry in China.
Products of this factory are usually exported to American and European markets.
Some of the major products of this manufacturer include different types of jackets, like outdoor jackets, softshell jackets, padded jackets, etc. Other products include outdoor gilets, outdoor trousers, sportswear, etc.
5. Zhongshan ARLISMAN Garment Factory
ALRISMAN was first founded in 1999. It started as any other typical garment factory with clothing customization, garment processing, mapping services, etc.
After 20 years after its introduction, ARLISMAN started cooperating with many international brands, like the US. POLO, BHS, H&M, etc.
the Main products of this factory include men’s t-shirts, knit sweaters, polo shirts, jeans, etc.
Hence, if you are looking for a China jeans factory, this might be your go-to. The factory is located in Zhongshan, Guangdong. The company is one of the most renowned shirt manufacturers in China.
6. Hujoin Apparel
It is another prominent one of clothing manufacturer in Guangzhou. The company offers a wide range of services.
While you can order already-designed products from them, you can also design your own clothing line with their help.
Clothing drawings, clothing design, fashion sketching- the company has a lot to offer. That is why you will find a wide range of productions in their product line.
Different products offered by Hujoin Apparel include women’s dresses, tops, sweaters, skirts, coats, pants, etc.
7. Tosinfashion clothing manufacturing co., ltd.
Tosin Fashion is one of the clothing manufacturing companies in China, first opened in 2008. In its journey of 12 years, the factory managed to earn a high reputation with its products and services.
And now, it has become a reliable and innovative women’s clothing design and manufacturing factory in China.
The company offers a wide product line, including dress clothes, jumpsuit clothes, top clothes, Muslim dresses, etc. The company is one of the major dress manufacturers in China.
8. Zool Clothing
Zool is a custom sportswear factory in China. Since its introduction in the market, the company has provided its clients with top-quality products, satisfying every need.
One specialization of Zool clothing is its custom-designed products, which are one of a kind, and made uniquely for you.
In other words, Zool is one of the best private-label clothing manufacturers in China. That has become possible as the Chinese garment factory works directly with every client to fulfill the exact requirements.
The product line includes uniforms, l leisurewear, swimwear, caps, school backpacks, etc.
9. Maya Garment Co., Limited
Maya Garment Co., Limited is one of the major garment manufacturers in China.
The factory specializes in all producing denim products. Maya is leading the denim industry in China for more than a decade.
Now, the company has around 150 workers with a monthly capacity of 80000-100000 pieces.
The company produces export-quality denim pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, vests, jackets, and so on.
The company has managed to make its place among the top clothing manufacturers in China.
10. H&Fourwing
If you are looking for a clothing vendor in China that manufactures women’s clothing, H&Fourwing is the right place to go.
The company, one of the cloth manufacturers in China, started in 1998. Since then, the company has been supplying mainstream high-end fashion brands with years of experience.
The factory managed to pass a number of third-party audits, like BSCI, SGS, BV, etc.
The Main products of this factory are all women’s clothing, which includes dresses, tops, blouses, shorts, jumpsuits, etc. The company is located in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
Conclusion
Like all other industries, China has managed to earn its position in the clothing industry, as well. For the same reason, companies from different countries across the world now import clothing products from China. However, finding the best China clothing manufacturer can be tiresome.
A sourcing agent or company can greatly help you in such conditions. You can tryHunterSourcingas your sourcing agent or company.
Once youhireHunterSourcing,we will do the rest, and you can rest assured that you will get the best output.
