An important topic frequently asked by my readers is working with manufacturers that will sign an NDA. This is a delicate topic and I have a very particular option about it. A lot of production managers will tell you that working with a manufacturer that will not sign an NDA is fine, but I don’t agree with that. Your work is your work! Your designs are not only your creations, but they are part of your brand’s personality. Yes, once you launch your collection everyone will see it and the chances of copy will always exist, but you should do everything you can to protect your designs, and working with a factory that doesn't agree with that is a red flag.
We live in times of authenticity and acceptance. Recycled materials and sustainable production rule the industry and are in constant growth. Quality over quantity is the new shopping mentality and fashion brands are more and more focused on developing what people want: sustainable brands and gender-neutral garments. But we also live in times of recreating. Can you think about something that has not been invented yet? A design that is not out there already with a bunch of different adaptations and new features? Want a good example? Take a look at the below designers
This is one of the main reasons why I understand the designer's point of view, and I believe that we should be able to do everything we can to protect our work. Even in times of recreating and adapting, each one of us has a certain vision to create our designs. When starting a brand, you want to prove that your business is authentic, even though most designs we see nowadays are not something completely new. So it is important to protect your creations and your ideas when developing your collection.
I have been on all sides of the fashion industry and I have to admit that production management is one of the most complicated ones, but also one of the most interesting ones. When doing production management you get to work directly with the manufacturers, which makes it easy to understand why a lot of manufacturers don’t want to sign an NDA. But if I can give you a suggestion, I would recommend not working with any manufacturer that refuses to do so.
As I said, I have done everything in the fashion industry. My current job works with manufacturers overseas and we don’t produce small quantities. We are wholesalers, we sell our products to the most well-known retail stores within the US and, we don't start production without an NDA. So, if offshore manufacturers, producing a way higher quantity with a way higher margin risk than you, can sign an NDA why your local manufacturer cannot sign one for you? Signing a document like this can put the factory in a very tight situation and, most importantly, put them out of business so they have their reasons why not signing an NDA works best for them.
After being in and out of different factories for so long, I can’t deny that I do understand the manufacturers' point of view and why they might not agree with signing an NDA. If the factory signs this document, it pretty much means that nobody else, besides factory workers, is allowed to see or touch your garments. In reality, this is impossible. A manufacturer works in a production line. People are cutting the fabrics, people sewing the garments, people putting the trims, people pressing and packing… a garment starts on one side of the factory, to finish on the other, so keeping a garment under “one eye” is actually an impossible job. Regardless, manufacturers don’t deal with their employees only. There are production managers constantly in-and-out doing quality checks, designers checking on their samples, testing laboratories picking up production samples, etc.
In reality, it is impossible to make sure your garments will never be seen by anyone else. Only if the manufacturer creates a whole space with an entire production line for each client - which we all know is an impossible mission. So it is understandable why factories don’t like to sign NDAs but, at the same time, the manufacturer should be accountable for who comes to their space, their suppliers, and clients. If the manufacturer has nothing to fear, then why not sign an NDA for you or every client? A lot of factories are great in terms of quality and reliability, even if they are not signing an NDA, but you have to watch out for any red flags you can find.
There are a couple of things you need to look at when you decide to move forward with a manufacturer that will not sign an NDA. Let’s look at them one by one.
1. The manufacturer's legal name
How are you paying your factory? Credit card? Checks? Wire transfer? It is important to make sure you know who you are paying and if the factory is legit. A lot of companies use popular names and different legal names, but each company has an EIN (or whatever it is called in other countries) and this number needs to reflect the company's legal name. Same for the trademark (which is something you can google, find a trademark and the kind of business provided under the company’s name/logo).
2. The manufacturer's location and work conditions
If you cannot visit the factory in person, ask for pictures and videos. No, the factory doesn’t need to provide these showing employees' faces. The manufacturer can get sued for that, but they should be able to provide pictures of the space layout - and of the workers in case they agree with that.
3. Workload and quantity of employees
The factory will never tell you exactly how many clients they are currently holding, but they can give you an estimate and also let you know how many people they have working.
If your manufacturer does everything, from cut & sew to packaging, they should distribute the workload accordingly and make sure there are specialized people in each step of the production.
This is something to always watch out for! How the factory treats the employees directly reflects on the manufacturer's ethical standards. So, if the factory has nothing to hide, they should be able to openly tell you how many employees they have and an estimate of how much production they can hold.
4. The manufacturer suppliers
Ok, this is an important thing to think about if you are planning on producing offshore. Otherwise, if producing locally, you and your production manager will most likely source with local suppliers and know exactly where everything comes from - even if the materials are imported from somewhere else, you would know where they are coming from.
When doing development and sourcing materials with offshore factories, things tend to happen a little differently, since the factory will be the one sourcing everything and coordinating with you/ your production manager. Even though everything will pass by you and nothing moves forward without your approval, it is common that offshore factories will not bother to tell you where their materials are coming from.
So, to make sure you are not only working with an ethical factory, you also need to know who the factory suppliers are. A legit manufacturer should not deny this information. Once you know who the suppliers are, a simple google search should be able to direct you to their website/contact information/company information.
Which factory you should move forward with or if you should require an NDA or not will always be your decision. As I mentioned before, this is a delicate subject and I have a very particular opinion about it. I believe that we should be able to do everything we can to protect our work. We live in times of adaptation and, even if your design looks similar to somebody else's, your creations are yours and I am sure your idea or inspiration is unique and different from anyone else's even though your garments look similar. That is why it is important to protect your work in any way you can.
* All pictures above were taken from google and the designers were not credited.
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