What is garment finishing?

Garment finishing is undeniably important when producing a collection. Custom swing tags, woven labels, re-labelling (if it's white label) and individually poly-bagging items all fall under what we'd consider "garment finishing"

What we've seen and tends to happen quite a lot with brands and owners is that they're so caught up in the process of ensuring the physical garment is amazing- focusing on minor details within the garment's construction, or logo placement which is all great but then they tend to overlook the very small details that consist of what's listed above.

“I wouldn't say every single element is paramount”

Why is garment finishing important

My personal view on this is if you're planning on building a long-term sportswear brand, then garment finishing is crucial from the start. I wouldn't say every single aspect is paramount (as some people have a restricted budget) but generally- custom swing tags and potentially polybagging each garment (dependent on your position on the single-use of plastics) are pretty important in the perception you give to consumers from their first purchase.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to see if it was only me who thought this, so I completed a questionnaire on individuals; both male and female who personally consider themselves avid online-shoppers and presented the following scenario:

"You are looking for some new gym wear and you come across a brands website that you've never seen before. Impressed with the look of their sportswear and the website, you decide to purchase some products. A few days later the products turn up in the post and you open them, check out the quality of the garment and are impressed with how it fits, feels and is constructed"

Whose opinion does it affect?

Considering all of the above, would it affect your opinion of the brand if the products turned up without swing tags and weren't packaged in a clear see-through bag within the parcel?

Granted, I've really misled this question because I've already assumed that the person would be really happy with the fundamental aspects of the product. At the end of the day, some might argue that if the product fits, is of good quality and can perform in the manner it's intended to be used in- i.e. sporting environment , or the gym then what's the issue.

“”56% of people said it would affect their opinion”

You'd therefore be quite surprised to learn that given how misleading that introductory paragraph was, that 56% of people said it would affect their opinion. That's potentially losing more than half of the first-time buyers from your brand; all down to what might seem like a minor detail/ infringement. The truth of the matter is, there has never been more competition in the sportswear market than there is right now and when every brand is manufacturing good quality products, then it tends to be the ones that just go a little further that make the lasting impression, which could positively affect your customer retention rates.

If that interests you, then you'd be quite intrigued to hear that the lack of individual poly-bagging actually caused more of the negative impact, as opposed to the swing-tags.

Our advice

So, as a sportswear manufacturer what can we advise? If it's a viable option for you, then consider adding the garment finishing options to your brand. We can facilitate all of the above, in both our bespoke and white label services; so regardless of what service you decide to use, we can get these additional extras added on, which should in turn improve your brand's perception!

If you have any queries relating to the services, or products that we offer; then don't hesitate to drop your contact information on our website and one of the team will be in touch.

white2labelmanufacturing.com