Things to know when buying fabric from Japanese Manufacturers

I graduated from Kent State University with a BS in Fashion Merchandising so I learned a lot about the apparel industry and graduated with a good amount of knowledge and skills necessary for this industry. Fabrics class was one of the classes I remember being genuinely interested in. I even had the opportunity to intern at a major apparel manufacturing company in Seoul for the summer, in their fabric R&D department. My interest in fabric continued during my time at JOANN (RIP), working with a team to put together the fabric visual merchandising documents for the stores. But after moving to Japan and entering the Japanese apparel materials industry, I’ve learned so much more on the manufacturing side of fabric; and even working with a manufacturer in Portugal to create our Seacell Jersey. With the knowledge that I am armed with, I’m compiling this list of things-to-know before buying fabric from Japanese manufacturers.

Culture/Tradition

You may know the importance of knowing the cultures of the the country that you are working with but for those of you who may not know, let me give you the basics of working with Japanese people.

• Communication tends to be formal and careful. Japanese companies generally place a strong emphasis on politeness, professionalism, and avoiding misunderstandings. You may notice that emails are more formal than what you’re used to, even when you have an established business relationship.
  • Actually, in my experience, they tend to be more direct when you have an established relationship. The number of communication does not matter though so don’t get that confused with an “establish” relationship.
• “Difficult” means “no.” Japan is a high context culture so Japanese communication can be more indirect than what you may be accustomed to in the US (or other low context cultured countries). A company may directly say that something is not possible, but you may also hear phrases such as “that may be difficult” or “it would be difficult for us.” In majority of the situations, this is a polite way of declining a request rather than an invitation to negotiate further. (Read the between the lines)
• Some decisions may take a little longer. Depending on the company, your contact may need to confirm details with a manufacturer, sales team, manager, or another department before giving you a final answer. This can make the process feel slower than expected, but it often reflects an effort to provide accurate information rather than an unwillingness to help.
• When working with a Japanese supplier, a little patience and clear communication can go a long way. If you’re unsure whether a response means “maybe” or “no,” it’s perfectly fine to ask for clarification. Once you understand the communication style, the process becomes much easier to navigate—and you may find that the careful attention to detail is one of the benefits of working with Japanese suppliers.

When you’re communicating with us at ApparelX, since our global tema is comprised of people from different cultures, we have a more international way of communication when talking to our customers. We revert back to the “Japanese way” when talking with our suppliers and during internal discussions though~

Fabric – Need to Know

• Defect tags – the (often) red tags at the edge of the roll is indicating that there is a defect of some sort in the weft. A different color may indicate a defect in the warp.
  Japanese manufacturers typically only sell GRADE A rolls so these minor defects can remain in the roll and they roll it up as close to the standard as possible (The sample card may say the standard roll is 25m, 50m, etc.). Tags or roll labels will usually indicate the total length wrapped and the total usable length, you are of course, only charged for the usable length. You or you factory MUST do your due diligence in checking the fabric for any unusable parts, before productions. If the marked area is used, that is no basis for a claim/report as you/factory would be responsible for avoiding those areas. The less tags, the better quality the rolls is.

• face/back side – Either marked in English or Japanese. Two main characters are use: 裏: Back side; and 表: Front/Face side.

• Rolling/Folded – fabric rolls are typically randomly rolled. This means that even if the sample card says 50m roll, it’s not guaranteed to be exactly 50m. The length will be dependent on the quality check. Sometimes, the manufacturers will indicate the irregular rolling by having this kanji character at the end (乱) like “50m乱” but just because it doesn’t have it doesn’t mean it’s not. In our case, we will charge for any additional length, and refund for shorter lengths.
  ⚠️ Sometimes we get requests to fold the fabric to save on shipping but our shipping calculations are based on product weight, not volume weight.
• Cutting fees: are not just for cutting. It is the fee used to help cover warehouse storage and handling fees, shipping fees etc. The Cutting fees on ApparelX are set by the manufacturers and we have no control of them.
• Small lot fees: some manufacturers also charge a small lot fee. This is for sample lengths typically. Just the premium to be able to order from one meter.

Manufacturers/Suppliers

First, let me share the different types of manufacturers/suppliers you may find.

1. Old companies
   • Still use Fax
   • may or may not have a website
   • most likely does not ship internationally
2. Newer companies
   • has websites
   • may have an international “dept” or “team” (but their customer service/speed may be subpar) – could be someone that doesn’t speak English but is just using a translator.
   • may ship internationally – some only prepares the package for export but will require you to have your own forwarder.

Now, there are manufacturers and then there are suppliers. Some companies may seem like they manufacturers but they may not be. They can just be mills that get greige rolls from someplace and then have it dyed and stock those. Some will also take other manufacturers fabrics and maybe their own product number on it and call it a day. (If you use our website, you may notice some fabrics that have the same product number or they may be different product numbers but the colorway is the same, weight is the same, and the fabric has the same name.) We do not hide the manufacturer/supplier’s name on ApparelX so do what you will with that information.

Customs/import fees

Japanese fabric manufacturers ship EXW, DAP, etc. and do not pay for your customs import fees. They also do not typically register their products to get the Origin of Certificate as it is considered a hassle or some simply do not have the information needed to be able to apply for the COO.

We assist with submitting self-declaration of origin where acceptable (Canada’s CPTPP, Europe etc). Please let us know if you would like us to submit it. Consignee/Package receiver or importer will still have to pay for any additional import fees. Taxes may be less but it doesn’t mean that fees become zero.

We have a couple manufacturers/suppliers that want their international orders to go through us.
Essentially acting as a their official agent. Asahi Fastener Co., Ltd. of WALDES zippers and Koyama Co., Ltd.

Best Practice

• Check stock – When we check stock for you, we are not holding/keeping the stock for you as manufacturers all have so many other clients. Ask right before you’re planning to place an order. Don’t ask too early or too often (about the same product).
• Back ups or plan ahead – Going along with checking stock, having back ups is also a good idea in case the fabric or product is out of stock and you are unable to wait the lead time. Also while we do our best to keep all product pages updated, some products will slip through the cracks and they end up being discontinued.

Conclusion

I hope this is insightful and helpful on your journey on finding a manufacturers. Please let us know if you have any questions or are curious.

ApparelX is a BtoB ecommerce platform for brands, tailors and the like to order from small MOQs from a variety of manufacturers in one order. And we ship worldwide!
Check out our FAQ page, Youtube, and LinkedIn if you have basic questions or looking to stay connected.
Let ApparelX support your production needs through our apparel OEM service!
If you are looking to bulk order, custom order, or have any other questions, contact us through our contact form and a member on the Global Strategy Team will get back to you within the next business day. (Please understand that we are based in Japan and our office hours are 9am-6pm so we are only able to answer during that time).