What to look for when choosing a clothing manufacturer: a verification checklist

Start from your product, not from a directory

Factories specialise. A knitwear factory will make you a bad hoodie; a woven-shirt factory will make you a bad tee. Before contacting anyone, know your product family, target fabric and quantity — then filter for factories that demonstrably make that product at that scale. Regional clusters matter too: Sialkot in Pakistan, for example, is an established export cluster for cut-and-sew apparel, sportswear and leather goods, which means deep local supply chains for fabric, trims and decoration.

The questions that separate factories fast

Ask every candidate the same set and compare the answers:

1. What exactly does your MOQ apply to — per order, per style, per colour? What supplier minimums sit underneath it?
2. What is your sampling process, its cost policy, and its minimum timeline?
3. Which processes run in-house and which go to partners — and who quality-controls the partners?
4. What does your quality control actually check, at which stages, and what records do I receive?
5. What happens when bulk deviates from the approved sample?
6. Which markets do you regularly export to, and which documents ship with an order?

Evidence beats adjectives

Every factory says 'high quality' and 'fast delivery'. Discount all of it, and weigh what can be verified instead: real photos and video of the floor (ask for a live video call from the factory — a legitimate factory will happily walk the line with a phone), process documentation, inspection records, named certifications with scope and validity dates, and specific answers where a claim depends on the project.

Treat unverifiable claims as absent. A factory that says 'certifications pending verification' is being more honest than one that pastes logos it cannot substantiate — and honesty in small claims is your best predictor of behaviour when a problem appears mid-order.

Judge experience by comparable work

Years in business say less than you would think. What matters is whether the factory has recently made garments like yours — the same product family, a similar fabric and a comparable level of detail. A factory with decades of experience in woven workwear can still struggle with a fitted performance top.

Ask to see comparable pieces, not a general portfolio: a hoodie with the same fleece weight, a jacket with the same lining and zips, a jersey with the same decoration method. Photos and videos of real garments on the factory floor tell you more than finished-product photography, and a factory that has made your product before will usually ask sharper questions about it.

Red flags to walk away from

• A price dramatically below every other quote — the difference will come out of fabric, stitching or your patience.
• Yes to everything: any product, any fabric, any quantity, any deadline. Specialists say no sometimes.
• No willingness to sample, or pressure to commit to bulk before a sample exists.
• Vague MOQ answers that shift between conversations.
• Stock photos or other factories' floors presented as their own.
• No written quotes — everything verbal, everything 'no problem'.

The communication test

Your first RFQ is a free audit. Time the response, but judge the content harder than the speed: did they read your specification and ask intelligent clarifying questions, or reply with a generic price list? A factory that asks about your stitch density before quoting will also notice when bulk drifts from spec. The clarifying question is the single most reliable early signal in sourcing.

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Pricing transparency: how to read a quotation

The cheapest unit price is rarely the cheapest order. Before you compare factories, make sure each quotation is built on the same specification and states clearly what is included:

• Unit price per style and quantity, and whether it changes by size or colour.
• Fabric and trims — composition, weight and whether colours are stock or custom-dyed.
• Decoration — every print or embroidery position, and any setup costs such as screens or digitising.
• Labels and packaging — what is included and what is charged separately.
• The sample fee, and whether it is credited against bulk.
• Currency, payment method and how long the price is valid.

A transparent factory explains what drives the price and what would change it — a lighter fabric, fewer print positions, a larger quantity. If one quote is far below the others, compare the specification line by line before you compare the totals. Our guide to what clothing manufacturing costs explains the main cost drivers.

At LOMERAQ, quotations are valid for one week, the sample fee is quoted per product and branding and is credited against bulk orders of 150 pieces or more, and any supplier minimums underneath the order are stated in the quotation.

Production terms to agree in writing

Most production disputes come from terms that were assumed rather than written down. Before you commit, agree these in writing:

• Payment schedule — how much is paid when, and what triggers each payment.
• Approval points — which sample is approved, and that bulk must match it.
• Changes after approval — how a change to quantity, colour or design is handled and priced.
• Production timing — when it starts, and what it depends on.
• Defects — how and when a problem must be reported, and what the remedy is.

At LOMERAQ, payment is made in two instalments — 50% on order confirmation and the remaining 50% before shipment — for both sample and bulk orders. Production timing depends on quantity and scope and is quoted per project. Changes after approval are agreed in your quotation. If a defect is found, you report it with photos as soon as the goods arrive, and the remedy is a refund or a remake. Our guide to ordering, samples, payment and shipping sets out all of these terms in one place.

Shipping: who is responsible for what

Who pays for freight, insurance and import charges — and where the risk passes from factory to buyer — is usually expressed with an Incoterm in the quotation. The four you will meet most often:

• EXW (Ex Works) — you collect the goods from the factory and handle everything from there.
• FOB / FCA — the factory delivers the goods to the agreed port or carrier in its country; you pay the main freight and everything after it.
• DAP (Delivered at Place) — the factory pays transport to your address; you pay import duty and VAT and clear customs.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) — the factory also pays import duty and taxes in your country.

Whatever the term, confirm who books the freight, who insures the goods in transit, and who acts as importer of record. Import duty depends on the product, the country of origin and your market, so check it with a customs broker before you price a collection — see import duty on clothing from Pakistan.

At LOMERAQ, we pay sample shipping. For orders, import duty and VAT in your country are paid by you; we do not ship duties-paid (DDP). The shipping method and its cost are set out in your quotation.

Run a test order before you scale

However good the answers, the real vetting is a paid sample and then a small first production run. A low minimum matters here: a 25-unit first order tests the factory's sampling discipline, communication, quality control and shipping paperwork with the smallest possible stake. Only scale a supplier that has already delivered a small order well — and keep the approved sample from that run as your permanent quality reference.

Building a long-term manufacturing relationship

The second order with a good factory is easier than the first: patterns, approved samples and specifications already exist, and both sides know how the other works. That is why switching suppliers for a small saving per unit often costs more than it saves.

A few habits make the relationship stronger over time:

1. Keep a labelled approved sample of every style as the permanent reference.
2. Keep specifications, measurement charts and artwork files up to date after every change.
3. Share realistic forecasts early, so fabric and production capacity can be planned.
4. Give clear, specific feedback after every delivery — what to keep and what to change.
5. Pay on the agreed schedule; reliability works in both directions.

Evaluate the relationship regularly on the same points you used to choose the factory: quality against the approved sample, honesty when something goes wrong, and how clearly they communicate.