SBSBlog
How we make it.
Notes from the production desk on how apparel gets sourced, sampled and made, from fabric to freight. Written for production, sourcing, product development and design teams.
How we work
How an apparel program runs, from brief to shipment.
The six stages of an SBS Fashion program, and where each one tends to slip.
Read the article3 min read
Production3 min read
How to oversee overseas apparel production.
What being on the ground should mean once bulk starts, and what to ask a partner who says they have it covered.
Quality control3 min read
What to inspect before apparel ships.
Measurements, workmanship and finish, how AQL sampling works, and what a pass leaves in the cartons.
Production3 min read
Build the calendar backward from the in-store date.
Working back from the floor date shows when each decision has to be made, including the ones sitting in your own office.
Production3 min read
How to change production partners without losing a season.
What to collect before you tell anyone, which styles to move first, and how to leave the old vendor properly.
Compliance3 min read
One garment, three markets: apparel labels in North America.
A label that is legal in New York may not be legal in Montréal or Mexico City.
Sourcing3 min read
How to write an apparel sourcing brief.
What a partner needs to match your program to the right mill or manufacturer, and what can wait.
Sourcing3 min read
Sourcing apparel from Türkiye.
Who makes what in our Turkish network, and what to check before you place a program there.
Sourcing3 min read
Türkiye, Vietnam or China: where does your program belong?
Start with the garment. The country follows from its fabric, its construction and how fast you need to react.
Sourcing3 min read
Sourcing agent or production partner: what are you buying?
The labels overlap, so ask who pays whom and who carries the cost when goods fail.
Sourcing3 min read
The lowest FOB is often not the cheapest garment.
A first cost comparison leaves out duty, freight, time and failure.
Fabric3 min read
Why fabric comes first in apparel development.
A pattern is only right for the fabric it was tested in, so a late change resets work you thought was finished.
Sampling3 min read
What an approved sample should commit you to.
The samples a style passes through, how to run a useful fitting, and what approval commits the factory to.
Denim3 min read
In denim, the wash is the product.
You develop a pair of jeans three times: in the fabric, on the pattern and again in the laundry.
Knitwear3 min read
Flat knitwear plays by different rules.
A sweater is knitted to shape from yarn, so a team raised on cut-and-sew has to change how it specifies, samples and costs.
Product development3 min read
Write the tech pack for someone who will never meet you.
The operator reading your spec can’t ask what you meant, so anything you leave out gets decided on the factory floor.
Lace3 min read
Embroidered lace or raschel: choosing the right lace.
Both are sold as lace, but they are made differently and behave differently on the body.
Designers3 min read
From first collection to a real supply chain.
What to bring to a production partner, and how the money moves between the first deposit and the first store payment.
Designers3 min read
What a minimum order is, and how to work with it.
The number a factory quotes is the last of several minimums, and often not the one stopping you.
Designers3 min read
A first collection usually has too many styles.
Each added style brings its own fabric, samples, minimums and cash, long before it has sold a single unit.
Who we work with
How we work with your team.
Start a project
Ready to build your next collection?
Tell us about the product, the timeline and the market. We’ll come back with a plan that runs from fabric to freight.