The Clothing Supply Chain: From Ideas To Your Closet

Published On: July 6, 2022

One event leads to another. That’s how the world works, so it only makes sense that the wonderful world of fashion follows that same principle. This series of occurrences is the clothing supply chain.

You’ve probably heard more about supply chains and garment manufacturing in the past few years than ever. Let’s see what makes the clothing supply chain so important for fashion and manufacturing at large.

What Is The Clothing Supply Chain?

pieces of colored fabric being cut on the clothing supply chain

The clothing supply chain is the sequence of events that make up your favorite couture. From design to your closet, a lot goes into creating a fashion collection.

For example, experts must choose the perfect fabric and textiles for a clothing line. But what happens after they square away selecting the best fabric to use in a fashion line.

It’s time to examine the steps that make the fashion industry what it is today.

The Steps Of The Clothing Supply Chain

Although the supply chain process may be intensive, it’s not too difficult to follow.

As such, here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the clothing supply chain and how good clothing production delivers consumers their favorite indie brands.

The Design

Whether it’s a wedding dress or any other piece of apparel, there’s a creative brain making design decisions on the other end.

As such, this process is critical to allowing the rest of the clothing supply chain to unfold smoothly. Not only that, but good garment manufacturing in Los Angeles can help stem the tide of the global fast fashion supply chain.

Consumers and fashion brands understand the untenable cost of fast fashion’s raw materials on the environment. The environmental cost is too large, and they’re doing all they can to find an alternative.

For example, at The Evans Group (TEG), emerging independent clothing designers create sustainable fashion designs to become a fashion collection. By using organic fibers, Tencel, and other eco-friendly materials, sustainability is giving fast fashion a run for its money.

During this phase of the supply chain, Los Angeles clothing manufacturers like TEG create sustainable apparel designs.

Choosing from various textiles to perfecting fashion designs, this process in the clothing supply change is what kicks off each subsequent step.

The Textiles

colorful patterned reams offabric

While designing is crucial for anyone to thrive in the fashion industry, textiles are indispensable.

Without the production of raw materials, even a designer’s most ambitious fashion drawings mean little to nothing. That’s where the fashion supply chain comes in to make fashion products a reality.

The textile creation process in the supply chain starts from growing the materials. It’s the growth of materials, dyeing them, and weaving them into the fabric.

This is what garment manufacturers see in their fashion production houses when launching a clothing line.

Which fabric did you choose for your clothing line? Once you source the fabric, it’s time to create!

The Creation

Now comes the part of the supply chain that indie apparel designers and consumers have been waiting for: making the actual clothes.

The TEG team gets to work with the chosen material, whether it be organic cotton, Tencel, or hemp. With our accomplished team of textile workers like pattern makers and seamstresses, TEG aims to create local Los Angeles manufacturing jobs.

TEG promotes environmental and worker-friendly fashion, aiming to cut dependence on outsourced labor wreaking havoc on workers (especially women) in the Global South.

The Distribution

Now that everything’s in order, it’s time to distribute! Materials, clothing pieces, and more need to make their way to their proper place. With so many interconnecting parts, it’s no surprise that the global fashion supply chain is more fragile than you think with even one mishap.

The Purchase

After creating fashion items, they’re distributed worldwide to customers and retailers. Then, consumers see a designer’s end product and buy. For retailers, they need to focus on their primary and secondary selling options.

Will a fashion boutique choose an in-store shopping experience only? Or will they branch out and choose a more versatile option like online shopping?

Either way, the inventory won’t move on its own. To ensure a fashion collection makes an impact, designers must consider getting a (skilled) helping hand.

Creating Apparel With The Evans Group

large stack of white fabric rolls

With TEG, Jennifer Evans and her team of technical experts, rookie, and experienced designers have the chance to make fashion industry ambitions a reality.

This is especially true with TEG’s new fashion mentorship program and all it offers new designers.

A new designer will pair up with their hand-picked fashion mentor in this exciting program.

Fashion mentors are your guide through both the supply chain and every step in creating your dream fashion line.

Creating an ambitious project can be scary, especially if fashion has always felt out of reach. With a good fashion mentor, creating clothing has never been more accessible.

Final Thoughts On The Clothing Supply Chain

This primer on the supply chain should give you a better idea of what goes into creating your favorite pieces in the fashion industry. While different nuances exist, the bare-bones essence remains relatively the same.

Of course, different fashion brands and garment distributors may tweak steps in the process.

From demand to distribution, the global supply chain is the framework from which all your favorite apparel derives.

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