can lcd displays be put on clothing made in china

A new kind of fabric can turn into a working keyboard, light up like a display, or even help send texts all while being bent, folded, and even washed like any other piece of clothing.

Researchers from China"s Fudan University built the material to withstand all the abuse we put other articles of clothing through while still serving as a useful piece of tech, according to The Independent. The tech, assuming it takes off and weaves its way into our clothing, could make for some useful new wearable gadgets — or, at the very least, lead to some great new hypebeast-style shirts with changing, billboard-like displays.

Most attempts to develop electronic textiles result in an unsurprisingly-fragile piece of cloth, but this new fabric display still worked, mostly, even after 100 washing and drying cycles, according to research published last week in the journal Nature.

That"s an important step toward building electronic clothing that actually makes it out of the lab and onto people"s bodies — a leap that has often proved insurmountable to other electronic textiles that remained in the proof-of-concept stage.

It"s not all fun and games, either. In the paper, the authors suggest that using a speech-to-text display that shows a message on their shirt could help people communicate in a new language or even help people with physical or cognitive impairments express their needs.

And in a purely aesthetic sense, the tech might open up a whole new world of clothing design as artists integrate electronic displays into outfits — hopefully even causing a revival of those cool light-up sneakers I never got to wear as a kid.

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Since the United States Tariff Act of 1930, the Country of Origin of every product needs to be marked clearly on the packaging of every product that is imported into the United States. Look at the label or the packing box of any product you’ve purchased lately, and you’ll see where that product came from.

Unfortunately, there aren’t currently similar laws that make listing the Country of Origin mandatory for online listings, which is why it seems almost impossible when you’re browsing a product listing on Amazon, Walmart, or Target to figure out where a product was made (hint: if it says “Imported” anywhere in the listing, it most likely came from China).

The reasons are simple. Retailers know that obfuscating this information is better for business. And so those of us who want to be more informed consumers have almost no way of making informed decisions.

Making matters worse, Amazon doesn’t even look like it’s trying. If you search for the phrase “not made in China” in their search bar, their search algorithm isn’t intelligent at all.

On the screenshot below, I searched for “toys not made in China”. 7 of the top 10 results were made in China (And one result isn’t even a toy–it’s a bag of dog treats!)

Honestly, I think Hanlon’s Razor applies here (never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity). That said, even though “not made in China” and “made in USA” are almost certainly two of their top search phrases, they don’t seem in a rush to want to fix it. That’s because most customers are just taking their search results at their word and assuming none of these products are made in China.

The country of India took a bold move in 2020; starting on July 21, 2020 they mandated that Amazon India add “country of origin” to their product listings. And sure enough, if you go to amazon.in and search for any product, you’ll see a beautiful “Country of Origin”

The government of India, perhaps being right on the border with communist China, realized the existential threat to their national security by letting cheap imports from China flood in and subsume their economic infrastructure.

Back in May 2020, legislation was introduced that mandated disclosure of country of origin be put on online product listings, just as it is already mandated to be printed on boxes and products (as it has been since 1931). It finally passed the Senate in June 2021, and was clear and concise in its mandate.

The bill went to the House in January 2022. Instead of adopting the bill, the House decided to write an entirely different, monstrous 2912 page bill that omitted any reference to country of origin labeling. This was thanks to Amazon and other retailers who spend untold money to lobby against it, and of course there are politicians on both sides of the political aisle that are heavily funded by those who support (and are even funded by) the CCP.

I wrote a long Reddit thread trying to educate people about what has happening. There was a shred of hope that the House would adopt the Senate’s language, but after coming out of conference committee, the House and the Senate ended up coming up with the CHIPs act which contained a lot of spending of our tax dollars to reward big corporations and special interest–but no mention at all of mandating country of origin online, which would have cost the taxpayer NOTHING and would have allowed we, the consumers, to make informed choices.

In 2021, Amazon already mandated that sellers provide country of origin when they submit product information. I have noticed throughout 2022 that Country of Origin is in more and more of their product listings, which is a good sign. But since it’s voluntary, there are no repercussions if Amazon, its suppliers, or its sellers decide to omit country of origin information, or even to lie about it.

And so, it’s up to us, the consumer to educate ourselves and to do what we can to provide each other the knowledge and transparency that retailers refuse to provide. Here are my “tips” for always making sure you buy a product that’s not made in China on Amazon:

Until a law passes that mandates accurate country-of-origin information online, for people like you or me who want to do our research to avoid products made in China, what can we do?

Yeah, I know. We’ve gotten used to shopping online to the point where making the schlep to a retail store seems antediluvian. But visiting a physical store is the only way to make sure you know the product you’re interested in came from a country other than China. Since the Tariff Act of 1930, it’s been mandatory for anyone shipping a product from overseas to the United States to clearly mark their products or their packaging to say where the product was made. Specifically, if you see a label that says “Made in” a certain country, it means that it’s that country where the most “substantial transformation” of the product took place, generally meaning it’s where the product was assembled and finished before packaging.

Truth is, you can’t always trust Country of Origin information even on a box or label; in some cases China manufactures most of the raw ingredients or parts, but because the product is assembled in another country, it’s that country which gets the “credit” on the label. Still, one thing you can be sure of is that if it says “Made in China”, that no other country or country’s government benefitted from making that product.

On the Amazon Product Page, scroll down to the section that says “Have a question?” or “Customer questions & answers”. Type in phrases like “made in”, “made”, “origin”, “USA”, and “China”. Chances are, especially with a more popular product listing, that someone has already asked the question and that someone who owns the product (and therefore has access to the product label or the outer packing box) has answered it, either in the Q&A section or as part of a Customer Review.

This method isn’t foolproof–in some cases a product that used to be made in another country years ago eventually switched to China. In other cases, manufacturers maintain multiple factories in different countries, so there’ll be no way of knowing where the product you’re buying really came from. But again, the Question and Answer section is the only place on Amazon where you’ll be able to get remotely accurate information.

The more popular the product, the better chances you’ll have customer reviews that contain the country of origin. In fact, In cases where the manufacturing was changed from one country to another, sometimes you can infer through the timestamp of the review exactly when a product changed from one country to another.

If this information doesn’t exist, help out the community by asking the question clearly: “Where was this product manufactured?” or “In what country was this product made?” In most cases, the seller or someone who purchased the product and can read the physical label will chime in with the correct answer.

Here’s a screenshot from Williams-Sonoma. Yes, they may be a bit pricier, but they clearly respect their customers to the point where they fully disclose the country of manufacture of all products listed on their site. It’s this kind of respect for you, the consumer, that needs to be rewarded.

Click through this link to see the research I did on e-commerce Web sites that divulge country of origin. There aren’t a whole lot of them, so make sure to reward the ones that do respect you enough to be transparent with this information by giving them your business.

If there’s a brand you never heard of, it’s almost probably a “fake brand” from a China company. Granted, buying from a brand you heard of may support China in some way, but buying from one of these “fake” companies definitely well. And yes, I count Amazon Basics as one of those “fake brands”.

Trust me, you’ll be doing yourself a favor. At least with recognizable brands that have been built over many years there is some incentive for them to maintain a certain level of quality control. With fly-by-night fake brands, as soon as a few negative reviews come in, all they need to do is take down their page, change their brand, change their labels, and put up a new page. How many can you spot in this list of coffee maker brands? If you guessed brands like SHARDOR, CHULUX, OUTON, and SUNVINI OUTDOOR, you’re on the right track.

There are services like FakeSpot that attempt to automate the detection of fake reviews, but the fakers are getting more and more sophisticated at avoiding the kinds of patterns that these sites (and Amazon themselves) use. All said, the best kind of test is the “sniff test”.

Share this page with your friends to let them know how to look for China-made sources. If you have definitive information about Country of Origin for any given product, leave Amazon reviews and answers that help others steer clear of China. Share your own experiences on this site and others where users trade information.

Funny thing is, I tend to think of myself as somewhat libertarian politically, so I generally don’t tell people to “wire Congress”. But this is an example where it’s literally their job to protect our country and our local economies from those enemies foreign and domestic who would not hesitate to destroy both, whether out of malice or out of sheer ignorance. Even though the law to mandate country of origin failed to pass, keep writing your Senator or Congressman to insist that this law be passed. Or vote them out and vote in someone who will represent you.

China Never: Products Not Made In China – Probably the most popular site that researches brands that proactively (and proudly) state that they have kept manufacturing to the US, Canada, or the EU. The site is slightly out of date, so read the comments to make sure that all the brands are still adhering to their commitments.

r/avoidchineseproducts on Reddit – An active subreddit where you can post a question (or provide an answer) if you’re curious about a specific product, product category, or brand.

And that number is growing rapidly. According to Marketplace Pulse, in 2021 75% of new sellers in Amazon’s top markets are from China (this is up from 47% in 2020 and 41% in 2019).

This number is hard to tell because Amazon does not reveal country of origin information. But when you calculate the product sold by third party sellers plus the percentage of consumer products from first party sellers that are made in China, the number is staggering. Some estimate it at up to 90% or more.

The easiest and quickest way to tell is to look at the Seller (look for “Ships from” and “Sold by” under the Add to Cart button on any product page. If it’s shipped from and sold by Amazon.com, chances are the supplier has been vetted by Amazon. That’s not to say they’re not from China, but you’re protected to a certain degree because the seller is going through Amazon.

If you see another name under “Sold by”, click on it. Amazon’s rules state that all sellers must provide accurate contact information. If you see something like this…

…then run away. It doesn’t matter how cheap their product is or how good their reviews are. Just run. Because the reviews are probably fake and the product is probably garbage. And good luck getting “customer service” from a company like this. In most cases, companies like this will sell a ton of product and then close up shop and open up under a different name.

China companies are getting smarter. You may see American-sounding names. You might see addresses of LLCs that were established in the US. So your best bet is to avoid third party sellers altogether.

With traditional retail, there are lots of layers to navigate to sell a single product. You need brands, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, marketers, sales, and many more disciplines working together to get a product to market.

Amazon revolutionized retail by allowing brands and manufacturers to cut out the middlemen and go straight to the consumer. That’s an amazing thing. But it only works when all of the companies involved play by the rules.

In China’s totalitarian state, “playing by the rules” means something different than in the West. In the West, there’s a natural aversion to cheating and subverting rules. Not to say that it doesn’t happen (it does all the time), but the Western culture is such that when someone is found cheating, it’s not a good look.

In the People’s Republic of China, cheating is not only condoned, it is encouraged. Because the most important value in China has nothing to do with personal integrity or honor. It has everything to do with what advances the Chinese Communist Party’s power. And so if a company cheats to get ahead–especially at the expense of Western companies–

Bottom line, Chinese companies–egged on by their government–have made an art of exploiting the free and open nature of the West to dominate. Consumers are clueless, because they assume that Amazon is policing their systems to punish abuse. Amazon is helpless, because their platform was built on the assumption that all of its users would be governed by Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”, and not the “Invisible Hand” of the CCP.

There’s an excellent analysis by EComCrew here. My analysis above is largely from my own experience as a consumer, an SEO expert, and a sporadic seller, but their analysis dives deeply into what it looks like from a merchant perspective. It’s not pretty, and it’s not getting any better.

Planning to import clothing or other textile products from China? In this guide, you will learn what need to know to select the right clothing manufacturer, create a techpack, select materials, get samples made, and much more.

Overall, the COVID-19 disruption has been fairly limited in Mainland China. Factories resumed operations as early as March 2020 and have continued to operate since then. That said, worker testing and regional restrictions have resulted in delays for a fair number of our customers.

Keep in mind that the textiles industry is highly interconnected. Delays caused by shutdowns in one province (or another country for that matter) can delay fabric and garment accessories deliveries – which has a direct impact on your lead times.

Shipping costs from Asia to Europe and North America have increased by as much as 10 times. Garments, which are high in volume, are normally shipped by sea – which has resulted in profits being decimated by many brands and importers.

As a result, a significant number of our customers started buying from clothing manufacturers in Europe, Turkey, and Mexico in 2021. While it’s still more expensive to manufacture textiles in, for example, Europe compared to China, the freight rates alone drive the landed unit costs to levels that the two are comparable.

Further, the shipping costs are not only impacting clothing manufacturers in China though. Suppliers in other Asian countries also face the same situation.

Yotex apparel is a sportswear manufacturer based in Shanghai, China, providing ODM & OEM one-stop full package service for the US, Canadian and European market since 2015. Some of their products include seamless leggings, Bikinis, swimsuits, and sweatshirts.

YOTEX is a combination of two founders – Yova and Terry, “X” means a lot of other stakeholders and partners such as university professors, textile quality experts, overseas partners, etc. Terry, one of the founders of YOTEX, originated from Fashion design engineers who specialize in garment quality inspection for many years in Shenzhen, Fujian, and the Shanghai area.

For importers, any ready-made sportswear and activewear clothes can be found in YOTEX. They provide apparel to schools, sporting events, club meetings, etc. They also accept custom design requests with their silk-screen printing, DTG, heat seal printing technology.

ARLISMAN was founded in 1999 as a typical garment factory for clothing customization, garment processing, and mapping services. Lin Guoli, the founder of ARLISMAN, entered into the garment industry in 1988 till now.

With 20 years of development, ARLISMAN has started cooperation with other international brands such as US. POLO, H&M, and BHS. The main product of ARLISMAN included Men’s t-shirts, Polo shirts, Knit sweaters, and jeans.ARLISMAN provides a full range of services from design to shipment. During the whole process, they have standardized supervision and management for the quality of products. In recent years, they also established their own brands like AVANZAR and ARLISMAN to improve the ability and service level of processing.

On the other hand, you can find the blog on their website. Industry-related articles are published from time to time. For example, “How to choose the right technology to customize your clothing logo”, and “how to select fabric for customized T-shirts”.

D&J Garment was established in 1995 as a Women’s Garment Manufacturer in Guangzhou. Over 20 years of experience focusing on high and medium quality fashion brands, D&J had been working with brands and clients from Europe or North America, for example, TOBI, QUIZ, FORMAT, and DABUWAWA.

The location of D&J is close to the biggest fabric market in China – ZhongDa Fabric Market, which gives them the advantage to source some hot trending fabrics and accessories to create new fashion styles. This advantage also gives D&J the capability to make samples to their clients in a short time to adopt fast fashion changes.

The material D&J mainly used are cotton, polyester, nylon, spandex, viscose, etc. They have a modern manufacturing process and quality control system for every product. D&J also offers 300 pieces per min order, 7 days for the garment samples, and 3 weeks for bulk production.

Huaxiang is primarily a knitwear production house with almost 2000 employees in factories based in China & Bangladesh. Back in 1991, it was all started in a local market in Shanghai. Mao Ping Hua, the founder of Huaxiang, sewed woolen sweaters and sold them in the market. It was successful and Mao bought more sewing machines and started the company in the same year.

HTX is a subsidiary of Shanghai Huaxiang Woolen Co., a wool and knitwear clothing manufacturer. With 26 years of experience in the fashion industry, they have been working with many international brands, for example, H&M, Victoria’s Secret, Coach, and Burberry.

On their website, you can find many articles regarding the fashion industry. They have provided guidelines for people who want to start their own fashion brand. For example, how to market your fashion brand and the systems of wool manufacturing.

Unlike other factories, they do not have a minimum order quantity for orders. As they tend to learn more about your brand and work out a reasonable solution that will work. And this strategy has helped many small businesses to grow.

Doven was established in 2013 as a supplier listed on Alibaba.com. They mainly manufacture functional clothing, sportswear to promotional clothes including T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, and shorts.

During the six years of development, they have attended different exhibitions such as the Asia World-Expo exhibition and obtained different certifications such as OEKO-TEX, ISO9001, and BSCI.

Both OEM/ODM orders are welcomed in Doven, especially for the promotional event, supermarket, company work clothes, and school uniforms. Their products have also been exported to Europe, Australia, North America all around the world.

As a 4 year Gold supplier on Alibaba, Doven also keeps their typical turnaround time on 30 days in order to improve productivity. They offer a full line of apparel that they can customize to fit your needs.

Weiye is a manufacturer specializing in T-shirts, Polo shirts, Vest, Football wear, Hoodies, Sportswear, babies’ and Children’s garments. since 1998. For people who are looking for a one-stop service, they operate the whole process from design, weaving, dyeing, printing, sewing, packaging to shipping.

You can also find a lot of videos on Weiye’s website. They upload videos about the procedures of the production. For example, how weave machines or dying machines works, and how to fastness the material. This could be interesting to know every procedure when you order from Weiye.

Weiye can provide the certificate of ISO9001, BSCI, Oeko Tex 100, SGS, and other test reports. All of the products meet Europe and the United States standard. In fact, some of Weiye’s long-term customers include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Gap, and Walmart. Here notice that they work on OEM orders only, and they do not have stock products for sale.

Kuanyang is a textile product venture, which specializes in transfer printing and printing materials since 1995. They have been working with China’s largest printing ink producer Wuxi Hongbao special Dyeing and Printing Ink Co., Ltd., and they have been providing one-stop services for customers from design to shipping.

Kuanyang focuses on environment-friendly and toxin-free printing ink. The ink has passed the test of quality authoritative organizations such as ITS, SGS, and Oeko-Tex. Their main products include textile fabric and transfer printing, such as curtains, shopping bags, cosmetic bags, luggage, and so on.

For partnership, they have been working with some international brands such as Envy, Coach, Adidas, and Billabong. The market covers Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, and more.

Kuanyang also emphasized the impact on the environment during the manufacturing process. You can find some reports on their website regarding environmental protection. Also, They announced some data of wastes in order to monitor and reduce the impact on the environment.

Chanda’s product has been exported to Italy, Spain, the US, Germany, France, and Australia. In order to comply with different standards from different countries, their raw materials and products were sent to SGS, ITS, and STR for third-party inspections.

While their main product is sportswear, you can find a variety of sportswear on their Alibaba website. For example, Basketball, soccer, volleyball, Yoga, and racket sport. The minimum order varies, however, most of their products are limited to 10 pieces only, which is good for sports game orders. More importantly, they have products in stock for sale if you do not need any custom design. Therefore it can shorten the time to get your product delivered.

Hemp Fortex was founded in 1999, focusing on eco-friendly and sustainable textile production. They have a unique position as a vertically integrated manufacturer. Hemp Fortex source the fibers and spin the yarn, knit, and weave fabrics in fashion product.

Hemp Fortex mostly works only with its own manufacturing facilities or other audited facilities to maintain its standards. For example, they use only EU-approved dyes and chemicals in their dyeing and finishing. They have their own knitting facilities, weaving facilities, and garment lines for their product.

You can find a few garment products on their website, however, they focus on selling materials such as Pure Hemp, Organic cotton, Yarn, Recycled material for customers. Also, notice that Hemp Fortex does not offer custom fabrics for new customers. They work with many international brands such as Patagonia, prAna, Kathmandu, and Outerknown.

H&Fourwing has been a women’s clothing manufacturer since 1998. They have been supplying mainstream high-end fashion brands for years. They offer style research, design, fabric sourcing, and manufacturing process for customers. The main product of HFW included Women’s dresses, tops, blouses, and shorts.

The factory has passed a couple of third-party audits such as BSCI, SGS, BV, ITS. In fact, the QC team leader of HFW is from SGS, and they also offer an inspection report before shipping. For better quality control, they also provide full inspection from in-line to off-line, which includes fabric tests like colorfastness and fabric shrinkage.

HFW is an OEM supplier but they also deal with ODM production. They do not have a large amount of stock for sale, however, small units are still acceptable. Also for customers who are still struggling with the design, HFW offers a team of designers to help you develop your product.

Clothing and textiles manufacturers don’t keep products in stock. Instead, they offer production as an ‘on-demand’ service. Some suppliers don’t even keep fabrics, zippers, and other components in stock – but procure materials as needed, for each new order that comes in.

The only exception is products made for the domestic market. Some Chinese textiles suppliers make their own products for their own domestic markets. The “problem”, for overseas importers at least, is that ‘domestic products’ are not labeled according to US, EU, or Australian textiles labeling requirements. As a result, importing wholesale textiles is not even an option for most importers.

Not all Clothing and textiles manufacturers are equal. Making a random factory selection online, without verifying that the supplier is able to reach your quality requirements, is likely to end up in disaster. Below follows an introduction to the three main factors that really matter, when selecting clothing manufacturers in China.

All suppliers are specialized in certain product categories s, and sometimes even materials. If you plan to import GOTS certified organic cotton t-shirts, you need to look specifically for suppliers manufacturing GOTS certified organic cotton t-shirts – not just suppliers making ‘cotton t-shirts.

This also applies to print techniques and other technical requirements. If you intend to import DTG printed t-shirts, for example, it’s essential to only shortlist suppliers that already offer DTG printing.

All suppliers have a MOQ requirement. For example, if the supplier’s MOQ is set at 500 pcs, you must purchase at least 500 pieces – or they cannot accept your order. In the textiles industry, there are 3 different MOQs to keep track of:MOQ per order: Normally 500 – 1000 pcs

Notice that the MOQ often reflects the minimum amount of fabric the supplier must purchase from their subcontractors. As such, you can reduce the overall MOQ by using the same fabrics and colors on more than one product.

Clothing textiles are regulated in most countries, including the United States, Europe, and Australia. Most applicable safety standards, such as REACH (Europe) and California Proposition 65, restrict chemicals, heavy metals, and pollutants.

It’s a deeply rooted issue that goes way beyond the manufacturer. All clothing manufacturers purchase fabrics and components from subcontractors. The number of material subcontractors can range from two or three to hundreds.

Ensuring that non-compliant materials don’t slip through requires the supplier to test a large number of samples, which most small factories consider too expensive and time-consuming.

For importers based in Europe, America, Canada, and Australia, it’s critical to select a supplier that can demonstrate a compliance track record in terms of test reports, issued by an accredited third party such as SGS or Intertek.

In 2011, we were tasked with managing the product development process of a new polo shirt collection for a European brand. They’d already selected a new supplier in the southern Fujian province to manufacture their new designs.

The client received the samples and testing begins. A few weeks of usage and washing later, it was clear that the material quality was far below the client’s expectations. While they wanted to match brands like GANT and Ralph Lauren in terms of quality, this sample would go straight to an outlet.

Obviously, the client was upset about this, and we submitted a complaint to the supplier. They made another batch of samples. But the result was the same. This was when we realized that this may be a reliable supplier, yet unable to match our buyer’s quality requirements.

Before you get started, you need to get your fabric specifications in order. Never assume that a Chinese clothing and textiles manufacturer is specialized in making items matching your quality requirements.

For example, it can be hard to communicate fabric quality requirements to a supplier, and it can take weeks or even months of emailing back and forth to get the correct fabric samples.

A better option, if you have specific fabric requirements, is to identify a fabric supplier and order samples directly from them.  The fabrics supplier will then ship the materials to the apparel manufacturer in time for production.

BSCI and Sedex are membership organizations for manufacturers, performing regular social compliance audits in factories throughout the world. BSCI, for example, implements a protocol based on these core principles:The rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining

Apparel factories that already are BSCI or Sedex audited tend to be better managed than those that lack such audit reports. There are various reasons for this, but BSCI and Sedex (SMETA) audit reports are among the primary selection criteria we use when sourcing textiles factories in China, Vietnam, India, and other countries.

Clothing manufacturers are not concentrated in a few clusters but spread out all over the country. That said, large garment manufacturing hubs are located in these provinces:Guangdong

Most clothing manufacturers only make products on-demand. As such, they don’t keep stock but only start production whenever an order comes in from a foreign or domestic buyer.

The unit cost depends on the material cost, colors, prints, and labor cost (i.e. the time it takes to cut, sew and pack the product). There is no ‘standard’ pricing system in place for textiles. Take a t-shirt for example, which can be manufactured for less than $1 – or cost more than $20 – all depending on the material and other factors.

No, you cannot buy authentic brand-name garments directly from Chinese manufacturers. Regardless of whether the brand in question does manufacture products in China, brand-name goods are never ‘available’ for parallel importers.

Once you’ve found a few clothing manufacturers, it’s time to see what they go for. In this part, you will learn how to create a techpack, order product samples, and implement a quality assurance strategy.

The sewing pattern is a template for a certain part of the garment, such as sleeves and collars. It helps the supplier cut the fabric parts in the right shape, and according to the dimensions set in your size chart.

The BoM is essentially a list of materials and components used to make a single unit. Further, you must also specify the quantity or amount of materials and components used.

A size chart details garment measurements and dimensions for each size (e.g. S, M, L, and XL). Each measurement is normally visually represented by a letter on the size chart. Notice that there is no universal apparel size system or even mandatory national standards.

Fabric cutting, sewing, and pre-washing result in natural dimensional tolerances. That said, such differences must be contained within a clearly defined dimensional tolerance (i.e., +/- 5 mm) for each measurement in the size table.

No. There are no clearly defined ‘national size tables’. If you allow your supplier to take care of pattern grading and size measurements, you’ll most likely end up with pieces that are either too small or too big.

Printed logos, fabric prints, and embroideries must also be included in your techpack. In addition, you should also provide all necessary files to your suppliers in .ai (Adobe Illustrator) or .eps format.

An inkjet printer, with textile ink, is printing text or graphics directly on the fabric – based on a file uploaded to the connected computer. As such, you don’t need print tools, that can be relatively expensive – especially when you have many different prints.

Metal or wood blocks are cut to a certain pattern and then stamped on the fabric. This is a more traditional method but is still used for certain types of home textile prints, such as curtains.

Heat transfer printing is a low-cost method that adds a layer to the fabric. This method is often used for printing numbers or text. The print may crack after washing several times.

Cotton is a plant fiber commonly used in all types of apparel and textiles. Cotton can be combined with synthetic fibers, such as polyester. Cotton fabric is breathable.

Polyester is a type of plastic, which fibers are also used to make fabrics. Polyester fabrics are generally cheap and durable and used for various types of apparel. Unlike cotton, polyester is not breathable. However, there are cotton and polyester blend fabrics.

Wool is a textile fiber obtained from animals, mostly sheep. Wool is generally more expensive than cotton. There are various types of wool, including cashmere and merino wool. Many suppliers sell ‘generic’ wool as cashmere and merino wool.

Bamboo fabrics are not purely made of bamboo fibers. Instead, bamboo fibers are melted and mixed with chemicals to produce bamboo rayon fabrics. Virtually all so called bamboo fabrics are bamboo rayon fabrics. Many workers are exposed to extremely dangerous chemicals and toxic fumes during the refining process. Carbon disulfide is one such substance, that causes heart attacks, blindness, and even psychosis.

By definition, organic cotton is grown using methods that leave a smaller environmental footprint on the environment. For example, organic cotton is only defined as such if the following criteria are met:No use of toxins

In the textile industry, organic cotton is the exception, not the rule. Further, the reduction of POP and chemical fertilizers reduces yields and therefore results in higher prices.

Spandex (also known as lycra and elastane) is a synthetic fiber, with high elasticity. Spandex is often blended with cotton, or other fibers, and used in sportswear.

A supplier can be GOTS certified if they pass a factory inspection performed by an accredited third party. There are only a handful of ‘GOTS accredited’ inspection companies with offices in China:CERES GmbH

OEKO Tex Standard 100 is an international and independent testing and certification system for textiles. OEKO Tex Standard 100 ‘certified’ textiles meet various requirements, such as the following:Compliant with REACH (EU)

Fabrics are generally not defined by thickness, but by their weight, in terms of grams per square meter (gsm). Lighter fabrics are thinner, less durable and often cheaper than more heavy fabrics. A few examples follow below:Baby clothing: 120 – 140 gsm

Some fabrics are made of a single fiber, such as 100% cotton. However, many fabrics are blended, consisting of two or more different fibers. A few examples follow below:70% Cotton, 30% Polyester

Fabrics can generally be dyed according to a Pantone color. It’s important that you always specify the correct Pantone code to your supplier. However, notice that ‘custom dyed fabrics’ (according to certain Pantone colors) often result in a higher MOQ, compared to if you buy fabric in one of the supplier’s standard colors.

Garment labels are not optional but are required by law. Importing products without a textile label, or without sufficient information, can be enough reason for the customs authorities to seize and destroy the products. As such, you must create the care label file as part of your tech pack, according to applicable labeling requirements in your country or market.

Notice that each country or market have their own labeling requirements. However, the following is generally required:Fiber composition (e.g, 95% Cotton, 2% Spandex)

Clothing designs cannot be patented. At best, you can protect your brand name, logo, and graphical artwork. That said, you cannot get a design patent for a generic garment design, even if it differs from what’s already on the market.

You must register your brand and logo under a trademark in your country, and other target markets. You should also consider registering your trademark in China, as a way prevent ‘trademark squatters‘ to take it before you do.

Chinese clothing factories rarely have standard designs, or even in-house designers, launching new collections. This is often confusing, as suppliers often list hundreds of ready-made designs on their Alibaba.com pages. What you normally see on Alibaba and other supplier directories can be categorized as follows:Products made for other customers

That said, clothing manufacturers rarely have an archive of complete tech packs you can choose from. As such, you must still create a techpack prior to ordering product samples.

Whenever possible, it’s recommended to provide reference garment samples to your factory. This method can greatly speed up the sampling process and prevent misunderstandings. That said, a physical reference sample alone cannot replace a techpack, as the latter is used in various stages of the process:Request for quotation (RFQ)

Perhaps you have a vision or concept but are not sure how to turn that into a workable pattern file. Rather than asking the factory for help, I recommend that you find a pattern maker on a freelancer website such as Upwork.com.

Once you have a complete techpack, it’s time to move on to sample production. The purpose of this stage is to both test the supplier and confirm materials – assuming you have not already done so.

In my experience, roughly 50% of the suppliers fail to manufacture satisfying samples. They might lack the precision to get the seams the right way, provide low-quality fabrics or prove that they don’t have much care for detail.

The purpose of a garment sample is to test the supplier and confirm materials. That said, there are certain sampling limitations that you must be aware of:

Visiting a factory and selecting fabrics is the most effective method, as you can compare and feel hundreds of fabric samples. However, if you don’t have the budget or time to visit factories in China, you can also consider these options:Order fabric samples from your supplier

Product samples naturally cost more than bulk production, on a per-unit basis. Expect to pay somewhere between $50 to $150, depending on the complexity and material cost. Prints and embroideries also impact the clothing sample cost.

The first sample batch is normally delivered in 2 to 4 weeks. That said, it often takes two or more sample revisions before you can move forward and place an order.

We recommend that your initial sample order only includes one or two sizes per garment SKU. Normally, clothing manufacturers only make one unit per size.

Now that you have a set of half-decent product samples in your hand, it’s time to pull the trigger and place your first order. Whenever placing your very first order with a supplier, I strongly recommend you keep the order volumes to a minimum.

However, before you wire the deposit payment, you need to prepare a production manual. This is a document listing all relevant requirements and order terms:Techpack attachment list

The purpose of a production manual is to standardize the overall ordering process, which is why it covers everything from export packaging to payment terms.

The enforcement mechanism is based on a standard 30/70 payment plan. While you must pay the initial 30% deposit before production starts, the remaining 70% must be withheld until the following criteria are met:Quality inspection passed

Manufacturing is not a science. Quality issues are certain to occur, to a varying degree. While quality issues cannot be completely eliminated, but can be managed and reduced to a degree that it doesn’t affect your profit margins.

There are a number of defects that may occur when manufacturing clothing. Below follows a list of defects I’ve stumbled upon:Poor seams (e.g. not straight, loose threads)

The quality inspection follows a clearly defined checklist, which can either be based on your own checklist – or a standard clothing and textiles checklist provided by the inspection agency. I strongly recommend that you first draft your own checklist, and request the inspection agency to add their own standardized tests. The checklist should include:Visual inspection

Quality agencies such as Sofeast.com and Bureau Veritas make booking inspections online very easy. All you need to do is to create an account and provide the following:Tech pack

Certain quality issues cannot be detected during a single factory inspection. For example, low-quality fabrics may lose fitting, only after a few washes. This is why extensive sample testing, and actual usage, is critical before production begins.

The standard price is normally USD 300, per inspection. The number of inspections needed depends on the order volume. That said, one is normally sufficient if you order less than 3000 pcs per order.

First, what you should absolutely not do is to pay the remaining 70% balance. Instead, you should give the supplier 1 or 2 weeks to correct the quality issues and book a follow-up inspection.

While existing test reports can be used to assess if a supplier has the capability to manufacture or procure compliant fabrics, ‘old test reports’ cannot be applied to fresh batch of garments. The only way to be sure is by booking third-party compliance testing.

You can either book a lab test to verify compliance with a certain regulation, or a standard. You can also book testing to only check whether the product contains specific substances, such as lead or formaldehyde.REACH

Note that third-party lab testing is mandatory for most non-children’s garments. That said, it’s the only way to verify if the material is compliant, which comes in handy the day a retailer or government agency asks for a test report.

There is a risk that they will, for their own benefit, submit compliant samples (made specifically to pass lab testing) – while your products are non-compliant.

Once the test is performed, you will receive a test report telling you if the products passed or failed. This test report (PDF) can later be used to prove that your products are compliant with relevant safety standards and chemical regulations, such as REACH and CA Prop 65. Note that the customs authorities, other government agencies or Amazon may require that you provide a test report at some point.

The testing cost is based on the number of fabrics, colors, and tests. On average, our customers in the textiles industry pay between USD 400 to 800 to test up to 5 different fabrics.

Our recommendation is to book lab testing when you place your first order with a supplier, or when you change materials. Ultimately, it comes down to cost of compliance versus risk.

Once the products have passed both the quality inspection and the lab testing, it’s time to wrap everything up. First, however, you need to wire the remaining balance payment of 70% to the supplier’s bank account.

I recommend that you book shipping through a platform such as Flexport.com. That way, you can keep track of the full door-to-door shipping cost and make sure that your cargo is insured. I strongly recommend that you don’t let your supplier take care of the shipping process, even though it may seem like the easiest alternative.

Airfreight is both faster and more cost-effective for smaller shipments. As a rule of thumb, I recommend air freight if the total cargo weight is less than 150 kgs. However, that is rarely the case when it comes to textiles. As such, sea freight or normally the best option when shipping clothing or other textiles from China.

Transportation damages, such as broken cartons or mold-covered items, are common. If your goods arrived damaged, you can only receive compensation if you bought shipping insurance before the goods depart from the country of origin. Shipping insurance is not included by default, so you must specifically instruct your forwarder that the shipment should be insured – from the moment they collect the cargo at the factory, to the final delivery.

The insurance cost is calculated based on the cargo value, normally between $50 to $150. Whatever you do, make sure that you got insurance. That said, shipping insurance doesn’t cover the following:Quality issues caused by the supplier

Many manufacturers use cheap and substandard export packaging, which often results in severe cargo damage during transportation. Hence, you must provide explicit instructions for how the cargo should be packed.Inner cartons: 3 layers or 5 layers

4. The cargo is transported to the port of loading (e.g, Hong Kong). The forwarder should confirm the final cost, based on the actual weight and volume.

A folding screen, also known as pingfeng (simplified Chinese: 屏风; traditional Chinese: 屏風; pinyin: píngfēng), is a type of free-standing furniture consisting of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. They have practical and decorative uses, and can be made in a variety of designs with different kinds of materials. Folding screens originated from ancient China, eventually spreading to the rest of East Asia, and were popular amongst Europeans.

A Chinese Coromandel screen is seen in the oil painting Chopin (1873) by Albert von Keller. Typically for this kind of folding screen, the front has a detailed scene, while the back usually has a simple floral theme.

A folding screen was often decorated with beautiful art; major themes included mythology, scenes of palace life, and nature. It is often associated with intrigue and romance in Chinese literature, for example, a young lady in love could take a curious peek hidden from behind a folding screen.Cao Xueqin.Tang literature.Li He (790–816) wrote the "Song of the Screen" (屛風曲), describing a folding screen of a newly-wed couple.China pink flowers (an allusion to lovers), and had silver hinges resembling glass coins.

Folding screens were originally made from wooden panels and painted on lacquered surfaces, eventually folding screens made from paper or silk became popular too.antiquity, it became rapidly popular during the Tang dynasty (618–907).paintings and calligraphy on.huaping (Chinese: 畫屛; shuping (Chinese: 書屛; Song-era painter Guo Xi.lacquer techniques for the Coromandel screens, which is known as kuancai (款彩 "incised colors"), emerged during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644)mother-of-pearl, ivory, or other materials.

The byeongpung (Korean: 병풍; "Folding screen") became significant during the period of Unified Silla (668–935).byeongpung were as decoration, as room dividers, or to block wind caused by draft from the Ondol heated floors which were common across Korea.byeongpung screens known as throne room of some Joseon kings, placed immediately behind the throne. Several examples of irworobongdo can be seen across palaces in Korea such as at Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace and Changgyeonggung.

A Japanese folding screen (or byōbu) originated from the Han Dynasty of China and is thought to have been imported to Japan in the 7th or 8th century. The oldest byōbu produced in Japan is Torige ritsujo no byōbu (鳥毛立女屏風) from the 8th century, and it is stored in Shōsōin Treasure Repository.Heian period in the 9th century, due to the development of Japan"s original Kokufū Bunka (国風文化), the designs became more indigenous and came to be used as furnishings in the architectural style of Shinden-zukuri.

The characteristic of folding screens in the Muromachi period was the spatial expression of silence, but in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, when daimyo (feudal lords) competed for supremacy, folding screens with paintings of tigers and dragons became popular.Edo period, as the economy developed, emerging merchants became patrons in the production of folding screens. In this period, the Rinpa school folding screens were popular, which were characterized by highly decorative designs using gold or silver foil, bold compositions depicting simple objects, and repeated patterns.

Folding screens were introduced in the late Middle Ages to Europe.Coco Chanel was an avid collector of Chinese folding screens and is believed to have owned 32 folding screens, of which eight were housed in her apartment at 31 rue Cambon, Paris.I"ve loved Chinese screens since I was eighteen years old. I nearly fainted with joy when, entering a Chinese shop, I saw a Coromandel for the first time. Screens were the first thing I bought.

Although folding screens originated in China, they can now be found in many interior designs throughout the world.characters in their Chinese name: ping (屛 "screen; blocking") and feng (風 "breeze, wind"). They were also used to bestow a sense of privacy; in classical times, folding screens were often placed in rooms to be used as dressing screens for ladies.

Mazurkewich, Karen; Ong, A. Chester (2006). Chinese Furniture: A Guide to Collecting Antiques. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 144–146. ISBN 978-0-8048-3573-2.

Kim, Kumja Paik (2006). The art of Korea: Highlights from the collection of San Francisco"s Asian Art Museum. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-939117-31-4.

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In the coming weeks, Apple and Google will unveil their latest generation of smartphones, jockeying to distinguish the new devices from previous models. But one of the most significant changes will go largely unnoticed by consumers: Some of these phones will not bemade in China.

A very small portion of Apple’s latest iPhones will be made in India, and part of Google’s newest Pixel phone production will be done in Vietnam, people familiar with their plans said.

The shift is a response to growing concerns about the geopolitical tensions and pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions that have involved China in the last few years. China has long been the world’s factory floor for high-tech electronics, unrivaled in its ability to secure legions of high-skilled workers and the production capacity to handle demand for the next hot device.

But American companies are seeing more risk there — a perspective forged during the Trump-era trade war, with its tit-for-tat tariffs, and cemented by China’s saber-rattling after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month. They fear that basing a supply chain largely in China may thrust them into the middle of its escalating conflict with the United States over Taiwan.

China is still, by far, the most dominant consumer electronics manufacturer. But it’s not just smartphone production that is moving out the country. Apple is producing iPads in northern Vietnam. Microsoft has shipped Xbox game consoles this year from Ho Chi Minh City. Amazon has been making Fire TV devices in Chennai, India. Several years ago, all of these products were made in China.

On Wednesday, China announced that factory activity contracted for a second straight month in August, according to the country’s closely watched survey of purchasing managers.

“The empire of manufacturing in China is being shaken,” said Lior Susan, founder of Eclipse Venture Capital, which invests in hardware and manufacturing start-ups. “More and more capital is going to pull manufacturing out of China and find an alternative.”

The fracturing supply chain is rippling across Asia, causing a spike in industrial land prices in Vietnam, a revival of manufacturing in Malaysia and a surge in demand for low-wage workers in India. For China, it is siphoning away manufacturing activity when the country is reeling from its slowest economic growth in decades.

“Everyone is thinking about moving, even if they’re not acting yet,” said Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, founder of Instrumental, a Bay Area company that remotely monitors assembly lines for electronics companies.

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When the first outbreak of Covid-19 shut down factories in China in early 2020, the closures roiled sales plans for many companies, including Apple, which had to cut its quarterly sales forecast because it couldn’t make iPhones.

ImageAn Apple store in Shanghai. Apple Watch and some iPad production has moved to Vietnam from China.Credit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The company’s operations team started to look at alternative manufacturing locations to hedge against future shutdowns in China, said three former employees, who asked not to be identified because they are not permitted to speak about their work at the company.

Vietnam, which Apple had already earmarked for AirPods production in 2020, became a much-discussed option, one of the people said. Since then, Apple has started producing its watch in the country and moved some iPad manufacturing there. In Apple’s most recent list of its top 200 suppliers, 20 use factories in Vietnam. By comparison, 155 of the companies operate factories in China.

Apple plans to assemble and package a small fraction of this year’s iPhone 14, the company’s flagship device, in India for the first time. While most of the initial and most critical production for that device is happening in China, Apple will move some of its overall iPhone production to India later — mainly as a way to assess the ability for future manufacturing there, two people familiar with the plans said.

Even as Apple pushed ahead with plans, the company was careful not to antagonize China’s ruling Communist Party since the vast majority of its products are still made there. As China carried out military drills around Taiwan during Ms. Pelosi’s visit, Apple reminded its Taiwanese suppliers to label components destined for China as made in “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China,” according to a report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper.

Foxconn, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer, recently signed a $300 million deal to expand in northern Vietnam with a new factory that will generate 30,000 jobs, according to state media. The latest spending was in addition to $1.5 billion that the Vietnamese government had said Foxconn had already invested in the country.

In Bac Giang and Bac Ninh Provinces in northeastern Vietnam, Foxconn and other contract manufacturers operate massive factories in scenic countryside that was once rice fields and farmland, surrounded by temples, banyan trees and ponds. Now, workers from around the country descend to these facilities in search of jobs.

A billboard outside a Foxconn factory in Bac Ninh advertised that the company is looking to hire 5,000 workers “urgently” with an offer of roughly $300 in monthly pay for an entry-level position. It is less than half the monthly pay — 4,500 yuan, or about $650 — that Foxconn is offering new hires at its assembly lines in Shenzhen in southeastern China.

The pay disparity underscores another reason that companies are looking for new manufacturing options. Over the past decade, manufacturing workers in China have tripled their annual income to more than $9,300, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics.

Tariffs also added to manufacturing costs in China. In 2019, President Donald J. Trump levied a 15 percent tariff on tech products such as smart speakers, smartwatches and wireless headphones.

As the tariff battle intensified, Google looked at alternatives to China. This year, Google plans to move manufacturing from Foxconn facilities in southern China to Vietnam, where it will begin assembling its latest model, the Pixel 7, two people with knowledge of the plans said.

But Google’s planning for next year’s phones demonstrates how hard it will be for companies to move from China completely. Google is exploring a foldable phone for 2023, but making a device like that, using newer screen and hinge technology, would probably require production to be close to key suppliers in China, these people said.

Over two decades, the tech industry has established an expansive collection of suppliers that make the cords, buttons and machines critical to assembling smartphones and computers. The concentration of suppliers reduces shipment costs and makes it easier to fix faulty parts.

“We have a long way to go to have the whole supply chain diversified outside of China,” said Mehdi Hosseini, a financial analyst at Susquehanna International Group who focuses on the tech supply chain.

So for alternatives to China, proximity matters. Interest from Foxconn and others has caused industrial real estate prices in Vietnam to spike by nearly a third since 2019 to $105 per square meter (about $9.75 per square foot), while the cost of warehouses has risen 20 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate firm.

Five years ago, said Trang Bui, Cushman’s general manager for Vietnam, she showed industrial land to clients once every other month. Now, she travels daily with clients from the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Europe and China to see real estate for factories.

ImageA factory worker shopping for phone accessories in a newly built neighborhood near the Van Trung Industrial Park.Credit...Linh Pham for The New York Times

This exhibition explores the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. In this collaboration between The Costume Institute and the Department of Asian Art, high fashion is juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, including films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery.

From the earliest period of European contact with China in the sixteenth century, the West has been enchanted with enigmatic objects and imagery from the East, providing inspiration for fashion designers from Paul Poiret to Yves Saint Laurent, whose fashions are infused at every turn with romance, nostalgia, and make-believe. Through the looking glass of fashion, designers conjoin disparate stylistic references into a pastiche of Chinese aesthetic and cultural traditions.

The exhibition features more than 140 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear alongside Chinese art. Filmic representations of China are incorporated throughout to reveal how our visions of China are framed by narratives that draw upon popular culture, and also to recognize the importance of cinema as a medium through which to understand the richness of Chinese history.

As nice as it is to have a community of like minded fellows all adding input, unfortunately the advice seen here is from people without any real personal experience.

I am giving this advice freely as a professional who performs this task numerous times every single day, not as a novice tech who dabbles in phone repairs.

There are two ways to properly perform this task on any OEM adhered lcd assembly. One way is v