SgT Textile Quality Management Blog

The leather material supply chain is complex creating multiple challenges for leather product importers as it is traditionally horizontal with many middleman and transformation steps where issues can occur. Everything from climate change to dangerous working conditions for staff can affect the supply chain, and cause importers problems.

 For those of us in the textile and apparel industry, sourcing sustainable fabrics poses some unique challenges. While it is certainly desirable for apparel brands to promote sustainability in the supply chain, how can it be assured, and what risks do we face?

The retail industry is evolving like never before. Thanks to advancements in digital technology and innovations in delivery and data, retailers can predict and understand what their customers want, successfully meeting their demands.

It’s no secret that there are no quick-wins for starting a business. Unfortunately, the majority of small businesses fail within the first few years of its lifespan, specifically apparel brands. This can be attributed to fashion industry’s many challenges, and fragmented and competitive nature, making the success rate fairly low. According to Statistic Brain, the percentage rate of businesses that still operate after the first 4 years of operation in the retail industry is 47%.

The fashion industry is dynamic, complex and rife with competition. Running a successful fashion brand and maintaining success over the long run comes with many industry challenges and unfortunately, few apparel brands outlive their first 5 years of existence.

30 years ago if you were to suggest that paper sketches of new garment designs would be going 'extinct' by the early 21st Century, or that product samples would exist solely online, fashion brands would say you were crazy. But that future is here now as computer generated 3D modelling hits the fashion world.

If this is apparel brands' future, let's look at how 3D virtual sampling for softlines can positively affect your business.

Social compliance is essential in any manufacturing sector. In the apparel industry, adhering to set standards, practices, industry rules and government regulations can mean the difference between brand failure and brand success.

In the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, more textile brands and manufacturers are considering the shift towards advanced manufacturing technologies and automation of production by incorporating robotic sewing machines and connected systems for their softlines.

In the apparel sector, many organizations tend to misunderstand the Cost of Quality (COQ) because the term often gets incorrectly associated with the price of creating quality products, rather than the costs incurred as a result of manufacturing products incorrectly.