UK Clothing Manufacturer needed

[Adam Le Grand]

Hey all!

We have a customer that currently has t-shirts, polo shirts and jumpers manufactured in Turkey.

They are looking to improve their green and buying local credentials, so can anyone recommend a UK clothing manufacturer?

To be clear they are NOT after a glorified merchandise company that just prints designs onto cheapy off the shelf apparel. They require a full manufacturing solution that can source materials, cut materials from templates and make the garments. Not huge figures, they currently order a few hundred units of 10 or so ranges.

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[MOIC]

Leicester is where they need to head to.

 

[Adam Le Grand]

Leicester is where they need to head to.

I'm assuming that is a joke as it was Leicester where those manufacturers got exposed unethical working conditions.

 

[MOIC]

No joke.

There are literally hundreds of small factories there. you pick who you want. if you want cheap and cheerful, you take the risk, otherwise pay the going rate and get an ethical company. Most of the UK's wholesale material and component suppliers are there, as well as in London. I'm sure there are other factories in London and dotted around the UK.

 

[Adam Le Grand]

Oh wow! I see.

They certainly do not want cheap and cheerful. They produce higher quality apparel. I have some of their clothes myself, have got hoodies that I have had for 4 or so years and they still look practically brand new.

They are having huge issues just organically finding a manufacturer. A lot of them turn out to not be UK manufacturers at all, they just have UK offices and still farm out to the likes of China and Turkey. Or they are UK but even though they advertise as being manufacturers they end up be glorified merchandisers that will print and adapt off the shelf garments.

The few actual manufacturers they have found either have very dubious working conditions or too small.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

To be viable even the small back street cut and sew people need a reasonable order size to make it worthwhile the machinist setting up time, nobody is interested in 10 of a size per item and still want larger orders when say size medium has run out and you just want to order more of that size. they also have 3-6 month waiting times

For very small runs what most do is look for machinist in your area who can cut and sew probably working from home and happy to meet your requirements, always these days a local printer or embroidery company who can meet your logo type needs

Unless you know some trade secret, you can buy quality items with just your own label attached at all price ranges from UK wholesalers of workwear and other clothing

 

[Adam Le Grand]

To be viable even the small back street cut and sew people need a reasonable order size to make it worthwhile the machinist setting up time, nobody is interested in 10 of a size per item and still want larger orders when say size medium has run out and you just want to order more of that size. they also have 3-6 month waiting times

For very small runs what most do is look for machinist in your area who can cut and sew probably working from home and happy to meet your requirements, always these days a local printer or embroidery company who can meet your logo type needs

Unless you know some trade secret, you can buy quality items with just your own label attached at all price ranges from UK wholesalers of workwear and other clothing

Hi Chris, thank you for the feedback. Very interesting.

The problem is their current garments are by no means off the shelf. They have very specific designs, shapes and sizes. They could not get away with an off the shelf t-shirt or hoodie etc.

Their clothes go into John Lewis and House of Fraser concessions so must be to a high standard.

 

[alanicclothing]

Hey,
You can contact us, as we Alanic Clothing, leading wholesale clothing manufacturer in London, UK.
For more details kindly visit us on our website address.

 

[japancool]

Hey friend,

Why don't you look at once OnlyTeez a famed T-shirt Manufacturer, based in Manchester, UK and has clothing hub all over Europe. Also they have shipping option. Check their website and contact for more queries.​

"sarah taylor" from Lahore or Karachi, I'm guessing.

 

[DebsSME]

Hi Adam, I would recommend contacting Edward Taylor Textiles in Blackburn, they are Manufacturers for over 30 years and are a tremendous ‘font of all knowledge’. I am also a British Manufacturer but we specialise in 4-way Stretch, Performance Sportswear so not really a contract for us.

I have experience and knowledge of this company, hence the recommendation.
Website: https://www.edwardtaylortextiles.co.uk/

Good luck!