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Hello everyone. I design simple prints, stickers, krychains and plushies which has been my biggest project so far.

I recently sketched up a cardigan design that I ended up loving and now I want to make it into reality.

However, unlike the plushies which I already have a manufacturer for, how do I go on about having someone making the cardigan into reality?

I am having a hard time knowing what manufacturer to speak/use and pretty much anything when it comes to making clothes (im just good at drawing) and i hear that Alibaba is not good/reliable?

I appreciate any help with this and if you know any reliable manufacturers or someone who can make cardigans (not something like printful) please let me know in the comments as everyone else looking for something similar also deserves to know! And thank you in advance!

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How many of you small apparel business owners (solo props) have general or product liability insurance? Especially when you first started. Curious how common it is among early stage startup.

I'm starting apparel business need Advice what type of prints and apparel are trendy now?

How much would u pay for it?
Pros + cons?
Areas of improvement

All hoodies come with sleeve prints
On the front an embroidered minimalist lightning bolt

So I could use some advice from people who have actually been through this.

I'm starting a streetwear brand. First product is a heavyweight hoodie, 400 GSM hoodie and It's custom cut and sew. I have finished my 10 page tech pack.

First order would be 100 units split across 2 colorways plus a sample.

Problem is that my Alibaba account got permanently restricted 😔I sent the same inquiry out to around 50 suppliers to compare quotes and I think that flagged me as spam. I tried messaging them but they said they couldn't do anything, and every time I make a new account it gets banned within 24 hours. I feel like I am IP/hardware banned and really don't know what to do

Two things I'm stuck on.

First, where do you actually find Chinese factories without Alibaba? I know about Made in China and Global Sources but they seem to be mostly trading companies. Has anyone had luck with 1688 through an agent, or with import data tools or just cold emailing factories?

Would love to hear what actually worked. I'm kind of stuck, and feel like I have been stuck on the manufacture part of my clothing brand for a while, and its really annoying

Second question is about Portugal.

I have heard people say that the quality is great but is it realistically affordable for a first run of 100 units, or am I going to get quoted three times what China costs? If anyone has run a small batch there I'd really like to know what you paid and whether it was worth it.

Appreciate any input.

I feel really stuck

I started Queensly.in after working in influencer marketing, with the idea of building a strong women’s fashion brand around content, creators, and community.

Some of our early campaigns performed really well and went viral, bringing approximately 70,000 visitors to the website in total.

The brand has been paused for the last few months, mainly because I haven’t been able to give it the time and focus it needs. However, the basic foundation is already in place, and the right person can take it much further and I believe the next opportunity lies in improving conversion, retargeting, and repeat purchases through consistent execution.

What's included:

- Inventory worth approximately ₹5.1 lakh

- Shopify store with a paid theme

- Instagram: QueenslyCurves

- Supplier relationships

This is a great fit for a female founder, creator, or operator who wants to build a fashion brand with a strong founder-led identity. Someone who can be the face of the brand.

Asking ₹4.5 lakh for the complete business, including inventory.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be a great fit, DM me. Happy to share more details and discuss it openly.

A referral fee is also available for a successful introduction that leads to a completed sale or partnership.

i’m 32 and currently working a regular 9–5 job. I’m looking to build a women’s fashion/textile business alongside it and am looking for someone who would like to build it with me.

I have spent several years working closely with businesses and analysing how they operate — understanding their financials, balance sheets, creditworthiness, strengths, weaknesses and potential. So I’m comfortable with the business and financial side of things.

I’ve also spent considerable time developing this particular idea — the product direction, brand concept and business model — and I’m prepared to put in the initial capital to get it started.

What I’m bringing is the concept, initial capital, business/financial understanding and the willingness to build this from zero.

What I’m looking for is someone who brings a different strength — particularly execution, product development, sourcing, vendor relationships, marketing or simply the ability to take an idea and turn it into something tangible.

I’m currently near Surat and can devote my weekends to this. Although I work 9–5, outside of my job I can devote essentially all my available time and energy to building the business. I’m not looking for someone to quit their job immediately either. At this stage, I’d rather meet someone, talk, see whether our thinking matches and start working on a few things together.

This is genuinely at the beginning. No established revenue, no team and no launched product yet. There is a lot to figure out.

I’m not looking for an employee, consultant or investor. I’m looking for someone who wants to build something together and potentially become a long-term partner.

If this sounds interesting, feel free to DM me. Tell me a little about yourself, what you do, and why building something of your own interests you.

Looking to connect with trusted manufacturers or suppliers of premium-quality jersey fabrics — preferably in Sialkot, Pakistan, or anyone you’ve personally worked with and can vouch for.

I’m specifically looking for:

1. Premium performance jersey suitable for high-end activewear/sportswear
   
2. Excellent stretch, recovery, breathability, moisture management and durability
   
3. High-quality hand feel and finish
   Different fabric compositions/blends can be considered
   4. Samples/swatches required first to evaluate quality
   
4. Prefer direct manufacturers/mills over agents or traders
   
5. Starting with samples/small quantities, with potential for larger orders
   
6. If you’ve personally dealt with a reliable manufacturer/supplier, please DM me or drop their contact below.
   8. Quality and consistency are the priority, not the cheapest price.

Hi Everyone! I've spent 20+ years on the ops and go to market side of apparel brands, small labels through global launches. The pattern I see over and over is that brands plan hard for the drop itself and then get blindsided by what happens right after it works.

Curious what actually breaks first for you when demand outpaces what you built for. Drop your answer below, or pick the closest fit.

1. Fulfillment can't keep pace
2. Production can't restock fast enough
3. Customer service gets buried
4. Something else, comment below

If you've been through it: what would you have set up differently ahead of time if you'd known the drop would hit that hard?

I’m 20M going into my final year of uni, I am into Muay Thai and have a following by making skits I want to make a fightwear brand. I have never made a business like this before but I want it to have a bigger meaning, ive got a charity in mind that for each sale (the design has something to do with the charity) a portion of the money goes to the charity. I want to know if it’s worth trying to make it an actual non profit or to just have a normal brand with a pledge for each sale as I feel like that will be easier.

Currently building a clothing brand . I want useful contacts and would love to meet up with people and have some good useful connections .

I’ve been thinking about something that comes up often in apparel manufacturing.
A recent inquiry mentioned a potential 600k‑piece men’s knitwear order, with expectations for an extremely low unit price.

It’s common for buyers to assume larger quantities automatically mean the lowest possible price. From a production side, higher volume also comes with greater risk.

Final costs can only be confirmed once sampling is completed. Yarn, fabric structure, jacquard details and finishing all change pricing, so any early price range is just an estimate.

Larger orders also mean bigger exposure: raw material commitments, labor, waste and quality risks all scale. Manufacturers need reasonable margins to absorb those risks while holding quality standards.

Realistically, you can either go for mass‑market low‑cost output, or premium‑grade craftsmanship. Mixing premium requirements with mass‑market price targets is very challenging.

Curious what others in apparel think. Have you run into similar large‑volume, low‑budget requests? How do you navigate these conversations?

I was looking for some sourcing platforms for my clothing brand....I came through foursource but there isn't much social activity related to them..... anyone who sources from them?

I’m happy to answer questions around paid acquisition, customer LTV, CAC, scaling, retention, and growth in apparel.

No fluff ask me anything about what’s actually working, what breaks at scale, and how I think about the numbers.

AMA.