Only 9% prefer to buy apparel online

In this blog, I am sharing pictures of few that most won’t share or dare to share as they follow ‘what happens in vegas-stays there”
But I personally think that what happens, happens for a reason..
I see fashion and sense of humur in all these pictures.

All these participants were hanging but few caught there attention as they were mingled with cround and seen as

We met so many incredible new faces, new designers and felt as if ‘ God really has a plan’
We came back with so much to offer this industry that we won’t be able to finish..

Good going ..and we highly recommend budding stars/designers/and anyone who has anything to do with fashion/apparel trade to must visit once.

Costing is a very complex procedure, with set patterns and guidelines followed by the industry, and it is difficult to find out costs for every 

Introduction 

1. Costing includes all the activities like purchase of raw materials and accessories, knitting fabrics, processing and finishing of fabrics, sewing and packing of garments, transport and conveyance, shipping, over heads, banking charges and commissions, etc.
2. To do perfect garment costing, one must know about all these activities thoroughly about their costs, procedures, advantages and risk factors. Also he must know how to solve the problems when occurred and to take suitable alternate decision immediately in time.
3. We must be aware that there are always fluctuations in the costs of raw materials and accessories, charges of knitting, processing, finishing, sewing and packing, charges of transport and conveyance. Hence we must have update knowledge about the latest prices and charges, latest procedures, methods and quality systems, market prices and availability, transportation (road, sea, air) and freight charges, etc.
4. We must remember that the quality depends on price; price depends on quality. Each product will have different price according to its quality. We do not manufacture only one quality of garments. Also we manufacture the garments not only for one customer.While we do the garment costing, the customer’s price level, quality & quantity and payment terms, to be taken into consideration.
5. There are two types of garments, namely woven and knitted garments. Shirt, trouser, sarees, bedspreads, blankets, towels and made ups are woven. T-shirts, sweaters, undergarments, pyjamas andsocks are knits.Costing is the deciding factor for fixing of prices and the important thing to follow in all stages like purchase, production, marketing, sales, etc. Also update knowledge about everything related togarments, is essential to make perfect costing.Costing includes all the activities like purchase of fabrics and accessories, processing and finishingof fabrics, sewing and packing of garments, transport and conveyance, shipping, over heads, bankingcharges and commissions, etc.We must be aware that there are always fluctuations in the costs of raw materials and accessories,charges of knitting, processing, finishing, sewing and packing, charges of transport and conveyance.The method of making costing will vary from style to style. As there are many different styles in garments.

Costing Essentials
The method of making costing will vary from style to style. As there are many different styles in garments, it is not possible here to discuss about all the styles. Hence let us take some following styles as examples which are in regular use.

1. Men’s Basic T shirts,
2. Men’s Printed Polo shirts,
3. Ladies Night dress,
4. Men’s Pyjamas,
5. Men’s Solid Pique Polo shirts,
6. Ladies yarn striped T shirts (Feeder stripes)
7. Boys yarn striped T shirts (Engineering stripes)

Based on these methods, costings can be made for other styles too. Let us see them in detail now.

To make the garment costing, we have to find out following things.

1. Fabric consumption.
2. Gross weight of other components of garment.
3. Fabric cost per kg.
4. Fabric cost per garment.
5. Other charges (print, embroidery, etc.)
6. Cost of trims (labels, tags, badges, twill tapes, buttons, bows, etc.)
7. CMT charges
8. Cost of accessories (hangers, inner boards, polybags, cartons, etc)
9. Cost of a garment.
10. Price of a garment.

Costs to Consider

1. Direct cost: Cost of raw material — 66%. Cost of size and chemicals – 4%. Production cost comprising of running the machine, maintenance, power fuel, humidification and other utilities — 8 % and worker wages and salaries — 8% losses incurred due to shrinkage, wastage, grading, and also selling commissions.
2. Indirect cost : Interest on investment, loan, working capital, depreciation, etc. Above 7%, overheads and administrative expenses like travelling, telephone, couriers, legal issues, taxes comprising of 7%.
3. Profit: 10 – 20% depending on the order size. In some companies, 70% of the fabric cost will comprise of direct cost, but in corporate selling only 40% cost of the fabric is direct cost and 60% is overheads.

Conclusion
There are set patterns and guidelines followed by the industry. It is difficult to find out costs for every process as there are some inbuilt costs while costing. A larger picture has been taken into account while quoting the cost. Costing depends a lot on quantity and order received. Indirect cost is about 15 – 20%. On top of the cost a profit of 15 – 20% is added. It is not only the cost of the final product that matters, for exports the cost is generally given as FAS, FOB, CIF and LDP.

• FAS (Free along Side) means: It is the cost of finished goods plus it includes the delivery of the goods to port, dock, etc. The price does not include loading into the ship, etc, or the shipping or any other charges incurred from that point on.
• FOB (Free on Board): It is the cost of finished goods, cost of delivery of the goods to port and loading onto the ship, plane, etc. The cost does not include the shipping or any other costs incurred from that point on.
• CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight): It includes the cost of finished goods plus it includes the delivery of the goods to the port, loading on the ship, shipping charges, all applicable insurance fees along the way. The price does not include going through customs or any duties or other costs incurred from that point.
• LDP (Landed & Duty Paid): It is the cost of the finished goods, plus it includes the delivery of the goods to port, loading on the ship, shipping charges and the goods brought through the customs with all applicable duties and taxes paid.
• Lead time plays an important part in the domestic and export market. Generally for production of greige fabric the lead time is 30 days. Processing time for grey fabric is 15 – 20 days but when the buyer needs something urgently then the above costing parameters sometimes are not significant; It depends on demand and supply.

Garment Product costing
How much does it cost to make a garment is something you have to know before you get too far in the process?

It goes without saying, the simplest garments cost less to make. As styling details are added; pockets, fancy seaming, linings and trims etc, the cost of the finished garment will increase labor cost in production. If you have chosen an expensive fabric for one of your designs, it would be wise to keep the details to a minimum. Using expensive fabric and many styling details often makes the finished cost of the garment too high for the market which has been targeted.

Now keep in mind, the cost the garment is information you will need from the factory. A simple formula is used to calculate the cost of the garment and looks like this:

Costs of fabric + trims + labor + business overhead + profit = Garment Cost

This is how a factory will calculate the cost of manufacturing each garment. For you as the small business, your overhead and all of your expenses such as design research, markdown sales losses, brand advertising, promotions, rent, and everything else that goes along with owning and running a business are deducted from the total revenue you generate per garment. After you deduct all of the expenses of running your business from the revenue you generate from the garments you make and sell, you are left with your profit.

The cost of piece goods (fabric) is generally about one-third the initial production cost of a garment. For the small company, the margin and mark-up will be higher than for bigger mass-producing companies that have a lower margin and mark-up percentages due to the volume they manufacture.

Ultimately, the final figures may be a subjective call of what the market will bear.

Garment Inspection
All garment retailers expect to sell high quality products from manufactures. The quality of the garments any vary depends on the price market they are being made for so therefore buyers expect manufacturers expect manufacturers to follow various methods of inspection techniques all through the production and prior to shipment release from factory. Following correct inspection procedures, inspection systems and eventually shipment release gives the clear judgment of the quality of the garment.
Under quality assurance process, the bulk production is inspected before delivery to the customer to examine if it meets the specifications. The consumers want to get quality products and the products should reach the consumers with right quality.
Quality assurance covers all the processes within a factory that contributes to the production of quality garment products and is conducted right from where housing, manufacturing, finishing and packing process until shipment is released. The final inspection is carved out by buyer representative or independent auditors free from any pressure from vendor or factory representative. Air of final inspection is to visually inspect articles at random from fully or 80-90% packed purchase order to verify their general conformity and appearance with instruction/description and/or reference tagged sample received from buyer. Result is documented and recorded as reference but still vendor/manufacturer is always responsible for claims if any arising due to any defective goods found packed and inspected at buyers warehouse.
Types of Inspections
Pre-Production Inspection: This is done before production starts. It is done to crosscheck for final verification of Bulk fabric and trims materials, styling cutting way, manufacturing details and workmanship of the garment or pre-production sample as per the customer requirement.
1st inline production inspection: This inspection is done at the start of production when first production output of particular style of garments is inspected; to distinguish possible discrepancies or variation and to do necessary corrections to be made bulk production. This type of inspection is done at preliminary stage of manufacturing of a style covering mainly style detail, general appearance, workmanship, measurements, fabric quality, Trims and components, Lot color, printing, embellishments and washing quality.
2nd line Production Inspection: This inspection is done during production to ensure initial discrepancies have been corrected and rectified. This inspection is a follow-up of the 1 st inline production inspection and is generally carried out after 1st line inspection when discrepancies have been detected at that time.
Final Random Inspection: This inspection is carried out when the production of the total quantity of an order or partial delivery is completed. A sample lot will be selected from the order and a percentage of the garments will be inspected, this percentage usually being stipulated by the buyer. The AQL sampling inspection system as specified by the buyer.
Garment Defects Classification
Once the samples are selected, each article is to be individually inspected. Defects detected during an inspection are buyer specific so therefore vary from one buyer to another. Defects are classified within the following categories:
Critical Defect: A serious defect that can cause harm or injury to the user and/or result in a hazardous condition.
Major defects: A defect that falls to meet the mandatory regulations directly affecting the usability, salability, safety and value of the merchandise or as specified by customer buyer are considered as major defects and are generally non repairable for example fabric hole, shading among panel, wrong measurement, foreign yarn, dye patches etc. The measurement tolerate level may vary from customer to customer.
Minor Defects: A defect that does not adversely affect the usability of the product but does consists of a deviation from the original sample, and may affect the sale of the product. Some of these defects are due to workmanship and some can be repairable but still can deteriorate the serviceability of the merchandise for example stain, skip stitch, wavy bottom hem etc.
AQL Random Sampling inspection
AQL stands for Acceptable Quality level. The AQL determines the maximum amount of admitted defective units in a sample. AQL, for purposes of sampling inspection, can be considered satisfactory as a process average. The most commonly used AQL is a major 2.5 Minor 4.0.
The AQL random sampling inspection is derived from the mathematical theory of probability and is based on the sampling these defined in military standard 105D (MIL – STD – 105D). Some defectives are considered acceptable.
This method constitutes taking random sample from a lot of merchandise, inspecting them and depending on the quality of the sample inspected determining whether the entire lot is acceptable or not. The MIS – STD – 105D (also BS 6001, ISO 2859, DIN 40080) provides the sampling plans; and these determine the number of samples of be inspected in lot size, in addition to indicating and the acceptable quality level (AQL) which represents the maximum number of defects per hundred units that, for the purpose of the sampling inspection can be considered satisfactory as a process average.

In general cases the buyer will determine which sampling plan and what AQL to adopt. The AQL 1.5 is applied when severe inspection conditions are required for expensive items like up market or Boutiques. The AQL 2.5 is applied when textiles or normal/good quality are involved. There are three types of sampling plans. Each sampling plan can be performed at three levels, i.e. normal tightened and reduced, depending on inspection requirements and quality of the products. In the garments industry generally single and double normal sampling plans are applied. The sample size code letter table shows various lot sizes corresponding to a series of code letters. There are seven inspection levels, four for general inspection (already mentioned) and three for special inspection. For garment inspection, general inspection level II (normal II) is normally applied.
Inspection Methods

Single sampling plan - Normal inspection
Assurance as AQL 2.5% and a lot of 1,200 garments and the sample size is 80 garments. If the number of defective garments found are 5 the total lot is “Acceptable” suppose if the garments found is 6, the total lot is “Reject/Re-Check”.

Double sampling plan - normal inspection
Assurance an AQL 4.0% and lot size is 1,200 garments and the sample size is 80 garments. If the number of defective garments found is 7, the total lot is “Acceptable” suppose if the defective garments found are 8, the total lot is “Reject/Re-check”. Today most of the customer demand for high quality products in low prices. So we should maintain the quality from the beginning stage of the production then only the final product with reach the consumer with right quality and we can get the order continuously from our customers. The garment manufacturers inspect their products continuously by designated responsible inspectors then only the right quality product will reach the consumers.
Inspection-shipment carton selection
For pre-final inspection, selection of cartons from total cartons packed can be done based as shown table:
No. Total cartons in Shipment Carton Selected