Guide · Sourcing
How to evaluate a garment sourcing partner
Choosing who makes and manages your order overseas is the single biggest risk decision in sourcing. Here's the due diligence to run before you commit — whether you're assessing a factory, an agent or a buying house.
1. Verify the business is real and accountable
Confirm the legal entity and registration, how long it has operated, and a verifiable address and bank details. Ask who is accountable for your order and who you'll actually deal with day to day. A credible partner is transparent about its structure and its role.
2. Separate "the factory" from "the manager"
A buying house or agent usually works through partner factories rather than owning them. That's normal and often an advantage — the right factory is matched to each product. What matters is that someone owns the result end to end, not whether they physically run the machines.
3. Check compliance and audits
Ask which social and environmental standards the partner factories hold and whether certificates are current. Common ones in apparel include GOTS (organic), OEKO-TEX Standard 100, amfori BSCI, Sedex/SMETA and WRAP. Always ask for the certificate numbers and expiry dates and verify them — buyers' due-diligence teams will.
4. Interrogate the quality process
Quality is a process, not a promise. Ask how they inspect — in-line as well as final, to what AQL, who the inspectors are, and whether you get photo reports. Ask how they handle a failed inspection. Vague answers here are the clearest red flag.
5. Test communication and samples
Response time, clarity and proactive updates during sampling predict how the bulk order will run. Judge the sample quality against your spec, and ask for references or examples of comparable work you can verify.
6. Confirm capacity, costing and terms
Check that real capacity matches your quantities and timeline, that costing is transparent (what's included, and the commercial basis), and that payment terms, Incoterms and lead times are clear in writing.
Due-diligence checklist
| Area | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Legitimacy | Legal entity, operating history, verifiable address & bank details |
| Accountability | A named point of contact who owns the order end to end |
| Compliance | Current certificates with numbers & expiry you can verify |
| Quality | In-line + final inspection, agreed AQL, photo reports, failure handling |
| Samples | Sample quality vs spec; verifiable references |
| Commercials | Transparent costing, capacity fit, clear terms & Incoterms |
Related
Want a partner that owns the result?
Tell us about your programme and see how KnitScout works before you commit.
Request a quote