How to Select a Business Clothing Supplier - The Process
When it comes to selecting a business clothing supplier, there is a lot of information that you need and should consider. Here we will look to break this down into 10 key areas and questions to help you make the best decision.
Questions to ask a workwear clothing supplier:
- Do you have a catalogue to look at?
Most workwear clothing suppliers will have a large selection of their business clothing ranges online so that is a great place to start looking for inspiration. Typically, it won’t be their full range so make sure you talk to them about your specific requirements as they should be able to send you other options outside of what is on their website. Most workwear clothing brands will have printed catalogues too so if you prefer to see something printed make sure you ask your uniform provider as to what brands they have physical catalogues for.
- Do you have a list of the best sellers to narrow it down?
Make sure you talk to prospective business clothing suppliers about their best sellers. This is always a quick way to narrow down some core parts of your new uniform. Our best sellers can be found at https://www.henryandgray.co.nz/collections/best-sellers.
- Would you recommend plain, patterned items or contrast details for business clothing?
Using plain items for your business clothing does make it very simple with adding logos and branding to. However, it can make it more difficult to differentiate your company uniforms from other businesses. Using patterned items like stripes, checks or prints definitely allow for more noticeable business clothing but you need to be careful when adding logos or branding as they can get lost in the detail of the fabric. Another option to add some individuality to your uniforms, is to put some sort of contrast detailing into it such as a contrast fabric inside the collar of a shirt or coloured button stitching to match your brand. This is a great way to look different without going too bold but is typically limited to custom uniform items.
- We are in the hospitality’ industry; do you have any suggestions of items suitable for our needs?
For the hospitality industry, we would recommend either a t-shirt or shirt for your front of house staff with either a bib or waist apron. For your kitchen staff, you could either have them in chef’s jackets or t-shirts with a larger bib apron. Our hospitality section is a great place to start if you are in the hospitality industry looking for uniform ideas, check it out here at https://www.henryandgray.co.nz/collections/hospitality.
- Advice on pros and cons of using 100% cotton, 100% man-made fibres or a blend?
Whilst 100% cotton is the most soft and comfortable fabric to wear, for uniforms a blend fabric is typically easier to care for and will look better with less maintenance required from your staff. Garments like t-shirts are well suited to 100% cotton but for items like shirts, we would recommend a polyester cotton blend fabric to ensure your staff look and feel great but don’t have to be an expert ironer to achieve this. We would definitely recommend talking to us about your specific requirements for your staff and we can help you decide on the best uniform fabrics for your specific business.
- Can you advise on the different regulations of the hi-visibility standard by law?
Hi-Visibility Workwear must meet relevant Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 4602.1:2011 for hi-visibility safety garments. AS/NZS 4602.1:2011 is a joint Australian and New Zealand standard covering high visibility safety garments. The Standard outlines the strict design requirements of such garments and also refers to another standard (AS/NZS 1906.4:2010) for the materials that are used in the garments. All hi-vis clothing in NZ is required to have at least 0.2 square metres of fluorescent material on the front of any hi-vis garment and the same on the back. The reflective hi-vis tape for clothing needs to be at least 5cm wide. Logos can be used on reflective parts of clothing as long as it still leaves enough reflective clothing visible and cannot be placed over reflective tape.
H3 < Worksafe NZ provides a useful guide for employers around protective hi-vis clothing requirements at the following link: > H3
- How do you manage your quality control process?
We take the quality of our products and service very seriously and see it as a key point of difference for us. For our custom products, we send independent quality controllers to any new factory to ensure they meet our quality standards. A number of our custom products are produced by factories we have worked with for over 10 years and with this experience we have been able to rely on their own quality control processes. All custom orders have a shipping sample sent prior to bulk shipment for approval by our product team. For local stock brands that we use, we only work with the highest quality brands and ensure their quality control processes are robust. As a final stage of quality control, we give all orders a final check before going out to customers.
- What is your reordering process?
Currently our customers reorder through a range of processes depending on their individual requirements. Some customers complete an ordering spreadsheet provided by us with sizes and garment details and some provide their own spreadsheet with purchase order number. We also have customers that just email or phone us with their reordering requirements. We keep a record of all customer orders so can easily identify repeat items requested by clients.
- Do you provide samples?
Yes, we can provide samples of most products featured on our website and a further range from this. We carry a range of samples in our Auckland office and any that we don’t have in stock can be accessed within a few days. We also have the ability to produce custom product samples from our factories.
- What volumes do I have to buy?
For stock items there are no minimums but branding costs will be higher for quantities less than 20 units. For custom items, the minimum quantity is normally 50 or 100 units but we are able to go as low as 20 units for a number of items. Please talk to us around your specific volume requirements and we will do our best to accommodate any quantity for you.