Lots of brands start out working with factories they've connected with on social media, or been recommended by someone already in the industry.
When you're first starting out and only making 20 pairs of jeans, you've got to roll with it. Investing in a long-haul plane ticket and a hotel for a not-so-glamorous "holiday" doesn't always make sense.
Once you're looking to scale, I really think you need to visit. There are so many reasons why it's important to meet your suppliers on their home turf and see where your product is actually being made.
You need to see your factory in its pyjamas with no makeup on, and you'll only get that by visiting and having a respectful poke around.
I know you want to look profesh, like you do this every day, so don't worry. I've got you.
First things first: let's get you there in one piece
Factories can be a long way from tourist areas, sometimes several hours from the nearest major city, so plan the boring logistical stuff properly. Know who's collecting you, where you're going and how you're getting back.
Dress practically and with cultural awareness, keep loo roll and hand sanitiser in your bag, and take a layer, because factory showrooms have some of the most aggressive air conditioning known to mankind.
I've taken my husband on work trips a couple of times when I've been travelling alone. He particularly enjoyed Mauritius. I didn't really "need" him, but he insisted it was for my safety.
Right. You're alive, appropriately dressed and hopefully not freezing. Let's go and look at some jeans.
Phase 1: The showroom
You'll almost always be taken straight to the showroom. Drinks, snacks, small talk. Rails and rails of (hopefully) gorgeous samples.
Let them make a fuss of you. They're genuinely pleased you're there.
Having a flick through the rails is a great way to ease into the visit, but don't just look at the samples and say "ooh, nice". This is your chance to start understanding what this factory is really good at.
What weights are they working with?
Rigid or stretch?
What sort of washes and finishes are they achieving?
Have they made anything similar to the fit or construction you're trying to develop?
Ask to see fabrics, trims, washes, embellishments and finishing options. Pick things up, turn them inside out, look at the stitching, the pockets and the hardware.
Ask questions. You're not being annoying. Factories love talking about their product.
Phase 2: Get into the thick of it
Once you've relaxed, ask who can show you around the factory floor. Someone will usually appear pretty quickly to give you the grand tour.
Hopefully this will be the Production Manager, although you might be shown around by your usual contact, or both of them. None of that is right or wrong, but it's interesting to watch how everyone interacts.
In a good factory, the Production Manager is often absolutely buzzing to show off to the client. In my experience they love showing you all the machines and how brilliantly everything runs. That pride is a massive green flag. Befriend this person, because they're the one who'll look after your production.
Once you're on the factory floor, ask every question you can think of.
If this is your first factory visit, it's an incredible learning opportunity, so make the most of it and see everything. Even if you're only doing jeans right now, if they also make t-shirts, ask to see that too. Learn how screen printing works. Watch how they knit the fabric. It's all knowledge you can draw on in the future.
Look around, properly
Factories can be chaotic, but that doesn't automatically mean they're badly run. Factories supplying big brands are usually audited, which covers off the main issues, although the process isn't perfect. It's still worth keeping your eyes open while you're there.
Are the walkways clear?
Are the fire exits obvious?
Are garments stored neatly in labelled bundles, or piled up on the floor?
Can people explain what's happening at each stage?
Is work clearly identified?
Is there a system?
Look at how product moves around the building, not just how impressive the machines look.
Watch the people, not just the process
I always try to catch the eye of the people actually making the clothes, smile, wave and say hello, so I'm not just some weirdo standing over them staring at their (amazing) sewing skills.
Even without a shared language, you can pick up a surprising amount about the atmosphere of a factory by watching the people working there.
Do they seem relaxed?
Does the Production Manager know people?
How do managers speak to workers?
When factories are proud of their teams, they'll often talk openly about skilled operators, training, production targets and incentives.
Ask how long the garment currently being sewn takes to make, and follow it down the line. The speed and precision are something you really have to see to believe.
How many hands actually touch a pair of jeans?
Quite a lot.
Your jeans aren't being lovingly constructed from start to finish by one seamstress like it's Project Runway. It's more like a frantic, highly organised relay race.
First, there's the denim itself. Depending on the setup, the fabric might arrive from a separate denim mill or be produced within a larger vertical operation. See it all if you can. There'll be a million machines dyeing, weaving and stentering, and people laying up the fabric and cutting it out, all before you even get to sewing.
Then there are the belt loops, bartacks, buttonholes, rivets, buttons and labels. Then people checking everything along the way.
And we're still not finished, because now your jeans need to be washed.
If you're making jeans, I want to see the laundry
This is the bit I really want to know about.
Your jeans can leave the sewing line looking absolutely nothing like the product you're eventually going to sell. The wash is part of the product. It can affect the colour, handle, appearance, measurements and fit, so I want to understand what happens next.
Is the laundry on site?
If it isn't, where are the jeans going?
Who controls that process?
How are wash standards approved?
How do they manage shade variation?
How are measurements and shrinkage monitored?
What happens when something comes out of the wash wrong?
What finishing processes are actually being used to create the jean you've designed?
I once visited a denim factory with a Buyer who was shocked to discover that the ripped hole on a pair of jeans was being done by an actual human with sandpaper. She'd assumed there was some sort of machine doing it.
Nope, it's an actual person. Some factories are now doing great work with lasers, which is equally interesting to see and learn about.
Once you see how labour intensive some denim processes are, those conversations about shaving another 20 cents off the cost start to feel slightly different.
Is all of this actually happening here?
This is a really important question, because the place you're standing in isn't necessarily the only place involved in making your jeans.
It's not necessarily a problem if your jeans go somewhere else for part of the process. I once worked on a huge 20k production run where the embroidery was outsourced to a tiny factory with four employees, in a room about the size of my kitchen. They were fully audited and did an amazing job.
The point is that you should know where it's happening.
Ask what's done in-house and what's subcontracted. If something is subcontracted, ask where it goes, who manages it and how the quality is controlled.
Your supply chain doesn't stop existing just because you can't see it.
Go and find the sample room
The sample room is one of my favourite places in a factory. This is where you'll see one person working on an entire garment, rather than one tiny operation on a production line.
Depending on how the factory is set up, this is where patterns are being made or amended, samples are being sewn and technical problems are being spotted before they become production problems.
It's a great opportunity to talk about any miscommunications or problems you've been having with sampling.
How are they interpreting your tech pack?
What happens when something doesn't make sense?
Who makes the pattern?
Who checks your measurements?
Who comments on whether something is actually feasible for production?
Are your comments clear enough?
Do they have any feedback for you about working together?
If you've been emailing backwards and forwards about the same bizarre fit problem for three weeks, there's potentially somebody sitting in this room who knows exactly why it keeps happening.
Trust your gut
Your intuition is your brain's way of warning you about something, so if something feels a bit off, it probably is.
I've often said I know instantly when I've stepped into a bad factory. I appreciate I've got years of experience and have visited a lot of factories, so I'm picking up on things I probably don't consciously notice anymore.
If the relationship has been a bit strained, and you visit and something doesn't feel right, there are millions of other manufacturing partners out there. Don't ignore that feeling just because the price is good, you've already paid for samples, or backing out feels awkward.
The real goal: finding a partner
You don't need the biggest or fanciest factory that makes for the best brands. You just need one that's right for your product and your business.
Look for manufacturers who specialise in the thing you do. They might make denim, t-shirts and lingerie, but if their denim is basic stretch skinnies and you want oversized 100% cotton jeans, they might not be the right partner for you.
You also want to be able to build a relationship with them, so that when something does go wrong, you can pick up the phone and sort it out together.
What if you haven't found a factory yet?
I'm not a sourcing agent and factory sourcing isn't really what I do, but I do have some contacts. If you're developing jeans and completely stuck on where to start with a manufacturer, ask me. I might be able to point you in the right direction.
And if your factory keeps telling you everything is "no problem" while the fourth sample sitting in front of you suggests there is, in fact, quite a significant problem... get in touch.
Let's fix your fit.