Buying Guide

How To Find A Reliable Clothing Factory In China

Most sourcing failures are visible before the first order if you know which four questions to ask.

Ask who is actually cutting your order

The single most useful question in a first conversation is which factory will cut the garment. A supplier who produces in factories they are part of can answer immediately and describe the workshop. A pure trading desk changes the subject. Neither answer is disqualifying, but it tells you where quality control will sit.

Judge the sample process, not the sample

Any supplier can buy one good sample. What matters is how they handle your comments on it. Expect more than one round before a final sample is approved; a supplier who signs off your first sample without questions is usually not reading it closely.

Put the boring details in writing

Fabric composition, gram weight, size ratio, label placement, packaging and carton marks belong in the order confirmation. Most bulk disputes come from something that everyone assumed and nobody wrote down.

Check what happens when something goes wrong

Ask what the supplier does about a parcel held by customs, a missing shipment or a quality claim. A supplier with a real answer has had to use it before.