Benefits of Sourcing and Manufacturing Your Collection Locally

May 18, 2019

For emerging fashion brands, it can be tempting to look into manufacturing overseas. After all, that is what the big guys do, right?

Here’s the thing. For big brands that operate globally, manufacturing overseas is feasible; they have the capital and the demand to produce hundreds and thousands of items without incurring losses. For small brands on the other hand, manufacturing locally offers plenty of benefits.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of manufacturing your collection locally:

1. Avoid High Minimum Orders

If you’ve ever made a cold call to an overseas manufacturing plant, you’ll know that they usually have minimum order requirements of at least 5,000 pieces.

Manufacturing abroad makes sense for textile giants that sell all over the world, but startups and small businesses simply don’t have the demand to produce such large batches of items. Large orders inevitably lead to a surplus in inventory and tighten cash flow as a result.

When you produce locally, you won’t have to worry about minimum orders. You can manufacture small batches and take advantage of greater flexibility. You won’t need to produce more than you require or put items on sale to get rid of excess inventory.

2. No Import Taxes and High Freight Costs

The actual cost of manufacturing may be lower overseas, but you can’t ignore the cost of import taxes and freight. Import taxes aren’t cheap; for startups and small textile businesses, import taxes are an unnecessary expense that can heavily impact their bottom line.

By manufacturing locally, you avoid paying large sums of taxes and reduce freight costs.

3. Greater Quality

There is no doubt that goods produced locally tend to be of better quality than those produced in large factories. When your garment manufacturer is close, you can run ongoing quality assurance checks.

4. More Transparency

Consumers are becoming more and more conscious about how their goods are being produced. In the past, even large manufacturers like Nike and Nordstrom have come under fire for using sweatshops to produce their products.

The workers in sweatshops aren’t paid fair wages, they don’t receive adequate healthcare and work in dire conditions where they often risk their health.

Local manufacturers have to comply with labor laws. Laborers working in local factories do receive fair wages and work in safer conditions.

5. Shorter Lead Times

In the fashion industry, it’s imperative that brands launch new collections quickly and efficiently. By eliminating the distance between the manufacturers and the store, fashion brands can significantly reduce lead times and remain competitive.

Looking for a domestic apparel manufacturer Los Angeles? Look no further, Lefty Production Co. is at your service! We’re a garment manufacturing company Los Angeles that provides comprehensive design, development and production services to apparel brands.

Get in touch for more information.

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