I’m trying something new over here: every few weeks, I’ll answer questions from my paid subscribers publicly, because if one person has a question, I bet a lot of you have the exact same one.
It happened while I was in fast fashion, and it was a company-wide scandal.
While stuff like this is, shockingly, relatively common in the industry (I’ll get to why in a minute), thankfully, knock on wood, I’ve never had this happen to any of my personal clients.
So here’s the tea.
The team was working on a product for The House of Mouse for a major retailer. The style we had designed and sampled was a white T-shirt with turquoise fabric at the neck and armbands. It also had a screen-hit (what we industry folks call a silkscreen print) on the center-front chest.
But when a team member showed up at the factory for a final inspection, they found the reverse of what we ordered - a turquoise shirt with white trim.
While this might not sound like a big deal, it was a huge issue; my boss literally opened a company-wide investigation.
And to understand why what seemed like a small mix-up was treated with the sensitivity of leaked nuclear codes. You need to understand how the entire fashion system operates.
The first thing you need to understand about working with big accounts like Walmart, Target, and Burlington Coat Factory is that with big money comes big risk - they are looking for any reason not to pay you the full agreed-upon amount.
One day late? They can cancel your million-unit order with no questions asked. If the color is even slightly off from what they originally approved, they’ll push for a discount.
If this fabric switch-a-roo had shipped, at best, the retailer would have asked for a discount, and at worst, they would have canceled the whole order at our expense, with us still needing to pay the manufacturer.
Now, this is a little off-topic, but I want to share it because it gives you an inside look at the real costs of operating a business. Not just the invoice from the factory.
Let’s talk about late orders.
If we were just one day late, our customers could cancel their entire order.
As a result of this contract loophole, we often shipped our goods one to three months before the retailer required them (sometimes fast fashion isn’t really that fast). But here’s the thing: retailers would never agree to take early shipments, because warehousing is extremely expensive. So we ended up paying for U.S. warehousing for months, and when it was time, we transported the goods to the final customer.
Paying tens of thousands of dollars for three months of storage was worth it because it eliminated any chance that we wouldn’t meet the arrival deadline because of international shipping and customs delays.
This is why, when people say, “Oh, this shirt only costs $3 to make,” It shows that they really don’t understand what’s involved in running a clothing company. Because there are so many other operational expenses, beyond the obvious marketing budgets, retail rents, and product itself.
So back to this shirt mixup, here’s what happened…
During product development, a perfect white shirt with turquoise trim was sent to our office.
Then, during production, swatches of the production fabric (white and turquoise) were sent.
But the production team skipped reviewing the PP sample and missed the switch.
They were short on time (remember I just explained how important being on time is, and the financial penalties that come with being late), so they had to skip the PP sample approval (if you don’t know what a PP sample is, I will get to that in a moment).
They made a call to save time, assuming that if the fabrics were right, everything else would fall into place. And, you know what? Ninety-nine times out of a hundred it would have, but this time it didn’t.
Here’s the problem for small and startup brands: you often lack clarity on the proper procedures to keep your brand safe. Because when you ask ChatGPT, you’ll find incorrect information.
For example, I just read an article claiming you need 14 samples per style. That’s crazy, and it would bankrupt a small brand trying to follow those guidelines.
The trick isn’t knowing everything you should technically do, but knowing which steps you can skip to save money.
Lucky for you, you’ve got me to help.
I’m going to be real: And hit you with a few quick numbers - because as you should already know, good business decisions are always made on data; whether it’s what product to start with or where to invest your time and efforts.
There are over 44,000 subscribers to this Substack
On average, 37% read it each week, that’s about 16,000 readers.
The craziest part: only 600 have become clients (hardly over 1%).
So, when I look at the data, I’m left wondering what I’m doing?
Could I be spending my time better for people who value it?
I set my monthly Substack rate at only $5, which is 16 cents a day. Because I want to see who really values all the time I dedicate to this, and if I should keep doing it.
My ask is fair: if you’ve learned something from me, want to keep learning, or appreciate the time I invest, please subscribe.
Subscribing unlocks the best part of this article, the part where I tell you exactly what you need (and don’t need) for a successful production run!
TL;DR - “PS- In case you are curious…” and “Lastly, before I go, a few cool things…” will always be FREE. But the guides, how-tos, and true industry knowledge will now be $5 a month.
We spent last week in the Maldives - enjoying this beach… Like, it doesn’t even look real - this has zero editing or filter.
In July, I turn 39, and in a year, I’ll be 40.
Wow.
And already the midlife crisis is starting to kick in. These past few months, I’ve started re-prioritizing how I spend my time.
I’ve worked hard for as long as I can remember. Even while I was finishing my dual degree at FIT, I worked full-time in PR and event planning.
And, while my life might look glamorous here, Will and I have been very conscious about saving and investing.
It’s not that I’m retiring; I’m not, because I truly enjoy helping people make clothing. I think that passion is quite obvious to everyone. I mean, I can’t even go on vacation without visiting an artisan or a factory.
But I do want to be more mindful about how I invest my time, especially when I could be enjoying moments like this…
Instead of being holed up in my hotel room, churning out endless free “value” to strangers.
By the way, this is a much bigger trend with creators than just me, and I wonder if you are already feeling it? A lot of creators I’ve followed over the years are also stepping back and choosing to live their lives more in the moment.
Fast fashion horror stories - Part 12
Is Lululemon overpriced? Let’s break down a running short!
Let’s discuss what the final bow at a runway show represents…
Ultrasonic sewing - this one went viral!
How brands legally steal designs.
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If you’re a free subscriber, I’ll see you next week. If you’re paid… enjoy the rest of this sampling guide!
Melanie
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