Sourcing guides

Short, practical guides for designers sourcing fabric, trims and production for the first time.

• How to find fabric suppliers as an emerging designer

  A step-by-step guide to finding fabric suppliers for a new clothing brand: writing a fabric spec, choosing the right supplier type, contacting mills and sampling.

• Fabric minimum order quantities (MOQ) explained

  What a fabric MOQ is, why mills set minimums, how minimums differ for mills and stock services, and how small brands can get lower minimums.

• How to buy small quantities of fabric: cut yardage, samples and stock

  Cut yardage, sample yardage, swatch headers, stock services, jobbers and deadstock explained, with a simple workflow for small-batch fashion production.

• Mill vs converter vs stock service: which fabric supplier do you need?

  The difference between textile mills, converters, stock services, jobbers, trim suppliers and agents, and which one to contact for your quantity.

• OEKO-TEX® labels explained for designers

  What OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 and MADE IN GREEN labels mean, how to check a label number, and how OEKO-TEX differs from organic certification.

• NYC Garment District fabric sourcing guide

  Where the NYC Garment District is, what you can source there, tips for a sourcing trip, and a list of Garment District fabric and trim suppliers.

• Local fabric suppliers in the USA: where to source domestically

  Why and how to source fabric locally in the United States, where US textile suppliers are clustered, and how to find small-batch suppliers near you.

• Textile trade shows for fabric sourcing: Première Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Techtextil

  How to use fabric and textile trade shows to find mills: what Première Vision Paris, Munich Fabric Start and Techtextil North America cover, how to prepare, and exhibitor lists.