Fashiondex: Apparel Fabrics, Services & Trims Sourcebook Directory

Who the Sourcebook Serves

Sourcing is where a garment becomes real: the fabric, the trim, the notions and the services behind a design all have to be found, priced and ordered before a factory can sew. The sourcebook is built for the people who do that work — apparel manufacturers, designers and production sourcing departments — across the men's, women's and children's clothing and accessories industries. A designer developing a first line and a production manager at an established manufacturer use the same book for the same reason: the supplier market is wide, specialized and hard to hold in memory, and a categorized directory puts it in order.

What Each Listing Gives

The sourcebook includes the following information, if it is available: company address; telephone and fax numbers; email address; sales managers' names; the products they sell, manufacture or the services they provide; whether goods are domestic or imported, and where they import from; minimum quantities for production; price points; the market they cater to; and more. Two of those fields do heavy practical work. Minimum quantities for production decide whether a supplier can serve a small line at all, and the domestic-or-imported note, with the country goods are imported from, shapes lead time and costing before a single sample is ordered. Price points and the market catered to complete the picture, so a sourcing department can shortlist suppliers that fit the line's level.

Over 65 Categories of Suppliers

Fabric and trim manufacturers, converters, jobbers, agents, mills and reps are all listed, in over 65 categories serving all industry sourcing needs. That spread matters because each kind of supplier sells differently. A mill weaves or knits the fabric; a converter finishes and distributes it; a jobber carries stock; an agent or rep presents lines from several sources. Notions — the zippers, buttons, threads and closures no garment ships without — sit alongside the fabrics. Around the materials stand the services: forecast services for trend direction, swatch studios for sample presentation, and CAD services for pattern and design work. A sourcebook that holds all of them in one category system lets a production department build a complete supply list for a line from a single reference.

Using the Sourcebook in Production

In practice, the sourcebook is opened at three moments. At development, it finds candidate suppliers for each fabric and trim on a line sheet. At costing, its price points, minimums and import information let a department compare like with like. At reorder or rescue — a supplier fails, a fabric is discontinued — it finds the alternative quickly, in the same category. Keeping the current edition at the production desk, rather than relying on accumulated business cards and past orders, is what keeps those three moments short. Learn more about Fashiondex through the publisher link in the navigation on this page.

Checking Directory Data

Apparel Search does not maintain or own the directories described on this page; the information is provided so viewers can research and purchase fashion industry guides and directories more easily. Reliance on directory data should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness.

Photos