8 Fashion Terms You Need to Know Before Working With a Factory
Although I offer continued support through email for my clients, enabling you to tap into my knowledge and expertise or cast an eye over communications with a factory, it is understandably important to familiarise yourself with industry terms to ensure you are moving forward with confidence and clarity.
Beyond terminology you may not have heard before, an additional layer of confusion can be added when abbreviations are introduced and you’re tasked with deciphering their meaning.
Here are some common terms:
CMT - Cut, Make, Trim. This is a type of factory who can create your designs through cutting the fabric, sewing the garments and adding any trims (buttons, zips etc.) - they also take care of quality control but will not source or provide the fabric or trims needed.
CNY - Chinese New Year. If you are producing with factories in China, this will become a very familiar term and one you must prepare for with your schedule in mind. Many factories shut down for anywhere between 2 to 6 weeks. Expect delivery issues during the months of January, February and March and plan accordingly.
FOB - Free On Board. This may come up when receiving quotes. Usually it means the cost of delivering the goods to the nearest port are included in the manufacturing fee. However it is important to note that this does not include shipping or other fees such as taxes or insurance.
MOQ - Minimum Order Quantity. This relates to the minimum units of each garment a factory is prepared to produce or the minimum amount of fabric you’re allowed to purchase amongst other examples. Often start-ups don’t want an MOQ that’s too high, or don’t want an MOQ at all. It is possible, but a surcharge may apply.
Bonus terminology:
Bulk - means you have completed the sampling and are ready to proceed with the full order. Also known as going to bulk or approved to bulk.
Ex-Factory - the date the bulk will leave the factory. It’s important you offer clarity on which dates you mean when liaising with factories. The ex-factory date, for example, will be different to the shipping date as it can take several days for the stock to reach the port and be processed.
Grading or Grade Rules - Grading refers to the difference between your size range. Grade rules can be found on specification sheets and will advise on the difference between the measurements of each point on the measurement chart.
Lead Time - The period of time between confirming your order with a factory and receiving your final goods. Ensure both you and your factory are clear on this, creating a critical path can help!
Tolerance - The amount the measurement of a particular area of a garment can vary from what has been requested without there being a penalty. E.g. If a shoulder seam is specified as 12cm with a tolerance of 1, then an 11cm or 13cm result is within your tolerance.
If you would like further support or guidance with keywords, phrases or the process in general. Please get in touch, there is no such thing as a silly question and I am here to offer trusted guidance for the launch and development of your brand.