When quality control runs amok

Over half of today’s consumers consider quality a more important factor than price when making purchasing decisions, according to a report released by First Insight this year.

This opens more opportunities for fashion brands and clothing retailers to attain greater sales value through higher-grade garments, but are shoppers really getting their monies worth?

A recent study of denim price and perceived quality shows that dollar amount doesn’t always meet shoppers’ expectations. Researchers compared jeans at the $129, $69, and $9.95 price range for colour fastness, seam strength, fabric strength and dimensional change. Despite their premium price tag, the most expensive jeans did not perform well in many categories tested, including durability. In fact, their results for fabric and seam breaking strength were often worse than the cheapest jeans.¹ If purchases are found to be sub-par it can leave companies vulnerable to consumer backlash, decreasing brand integrity and value.

There are many factors that can impact proper quality control during the assembly process. The market demand for faster clothing production, pressure to reduce costs and difficulty maintaining transparency throughout numerous suppliers and manufacturers can cause a lot of faulty garments.²

The Sourcing Journal compiled 380 survey responses in their State of Quality Inspections in the Global Supply Chain: 2018 Edition, and found that 55% of people in the apparel, footwear and accessories industries felt corrective action plans needed the most innovation out of all areas of quality inspections.² Thankfully, more technological advancements are becoming available that can monitor quality specifications and reduce the risk of garment defects and RTMs (Return to Manufacturers).

One example of a product used to achieve this is Coats Epic Verifi. As a leading global innovator and manufacturer of industrial sewing thread, we developed a solution for fashion brands when their garments were frequently being returned due to faulty seams despite higher-grade threads specified for use in production.

Built with the same strength and sewing performance as Coats Epic polyester corespun thread, we’ve integrated a security system that provides on-the-spot validation using a handheld reader. Incentivized by the fact they can be easily monitored for compliance, manufacturers are more likely to follow the brand’s thread specifications rather than face factory returns. Since Epic Verifi is scannable throughout the garment life cycle, brand reputation can be protected from start to finish.

Get in touch with a Coats technical expert to find out how Epic Verifi can improve your business.

Find out more about Coats Epic Verifi.

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