A common mistake many of you make is assuming that suppliers want to work with you and your brand.
Many of you think your brand is unique, exclusive, and creative. In many cases, this is true, but this alone does not guarantee that manufacturing suppliers will want to work with you.
This is not as simple as it sounds. Our manufacturing partners tell us that they receive countless emails from new brands every day and, they don't have the interest or time to work with all of them.
What European Fashion Manufacturers are looking for?
What suppliers are looking for are reliable customers, whom they believe can succeed in the fashion world.
Sustainable fashion is a trend of the moment. Many fashion designers feel excited when they think about eco-fashion. And many of them really want to make a positive impact in the world. But the reality is that just a few designers really know what it takes to create a fashion brand from scratch and successfully run a sustainable business.
Slow Innovation Brands works as a bridge connecting fashion designers with sustainable fabric suppliers and European manufacturing partners. For the past 4 years, we have been helping sustainable fashion enthusiasts from different nationalities and from different backgrounds to develop fashion collections from scratch.
These years of experience provided us with an overview of both sides of production. From early-career fashion designers and from experienced manufacturing suppliers, who use to work with successful brands already in the market.
Our European Fashion Suppliers explain that, in many cases, they don't really understand what the designers are looking for when they first contact them.
European Sustainable Fashion Manufacturers are busy people! Most of the time their customer service and sales team is reduced, as the search for their services usually exceeds their offers. So when you contact them, you must be very specific about what you want from them.
Common mistakes when contacting sustainable fashion suppliers for the first time.
Below in this post, you can find some of the most common mistakes when contacting suppliers for the first time.
1. You assume suppliers want to work with you!
2. You ask for prices without asking first if the supplier is accepting new customers.
3. You don't introduce yourself, your brand, and your product.
4. You don't have a mood board or a digital design.
5. You don't know the composition, weight, and certification of the fabrics you want to use.
6. You don't have a technical sheet, a pattern, or a sample and have no idea how to do it.
7. You are lost and, the supplier can recognize it.
Have you been rejected by a supplier? Tell in the comments how was this experience.
And remember, if you need help developing your designs and technical sheets, please contact us. Our team is here to help you! We have 4+ years of experience helping sustainable fashion designs sourcing eco-friendly fabrics and ethical manufacturers in Europe. We started our project In Portugal and through our online platform we expanded our services around Europe. Visit the page of The Slow Fashion Innovation Program to learn more about our business incubator program for sustainable fashion designers and connect with suppliers all over Europe.