How to Find a Reliable Clothing Factory in China

Ask for the address and then look at it

A factory publishes where it is. Yiwu Tanbei Garments publishes Floor 8, Building B, No.1255 DaTong Road, NianSanLi Industry, Yiwu, Zhejiang. An agent usually publishes a city and an office. The address is not proof on its own, but a supplier who will not give one has answered the question.

Ask what the site actually does

Knitting, cutting, sewing, finishing and packing are five different operations and many suppliers only do one or two. Ask which happen on the site you were given. This factory knits seamless bodies, cuts and sews, runs washes and embroidery, and packs, all in Yiwu.

Ask for the headcount and the monthly capacity

Numbers that are published can be checked against what you see on a visit. The figures published here are over 300 people, more than 200,000 pieces a month and roughly 5 million pieces a year.

Ask which audit they hold and whether you can visit

This factory has passed a BSCI audit and states that buyers are welcome to visit at any time to see their production. A supplier who cannot host a visit during your own production is worth a second look.

Ask how comments on a sample are handled

This is the question that predicts the next six months. The answer you want is a process: comments recorded, checked one by one, answered on the next round, which takes about one to two weeks.