Alternatives to China Clothing Supply Chain Posted: October 5, 2022 @ 7:45 am

Sourcing clothing from China has become borderline impossible ever since the pandemic struck in 2020. The situation in Ukraine isn't helping and the potential strained relations with Taiwan might make matters worse.

It's the perfect time for you to embrace a more sustainable sourcing model by working manufacturers near your target market – Europe.

There are three factors that make sourcing from China a logistical nightmare:

China still enforces strong COVID-19 policies that reduce availability of ports
Freight transport is ten times more expensive than it was pre-pandemic
Power restrictions in industrial provinces in China still happen

China's COVID-19 policies

Because there's practically zero tolerance rule for COVID-19 in China, cities will completely shut down as soon as a small number of infections appear. This means that port cities will either close or drastically reduce the workforce of their piers, which will cause severe shipping delays.

Freight transport 1000% price increase

Because of the disrupted balance of supply and demand, mostly because of the pandemic-related reasons, freight transport price hike is still very much alive and isn't going away any time soon. China's low manufacturing price is dwarfed by incredibly high transport costs that don't make this country a sourcing heaven that it once was.

In fact, this goes for the entire south-eastern Asia countries. Shipping from everywhere has become overly expensive.

Power restrictions cause further delays

China included power restrictions in its overall plan to fight climate change. This summer, when heatwaves were scorching cities in China, the government had to impose power restrictions due to its citizens had to overuse their ACs to avoid getting sick from the heat.

For you, who would have placed an order during that time, this would mean the manufacturer wouldn't meet the deadline.

What's the alternative?

The alternative is nearshoring – a sourcing model based on working only with clothing manufacturers near your target market.

Since Europe is one of the major markets for the clothing industry, we advise you switch your supply chain to the old continent sooner rather than later.

Even though manufacturing will never be as cheap as in China or south-eastern Asia, the transport is so cheap that it's worth investigating for european clothing manufacturers.

Befenits of European supply chain

When you source from Europe, it's easier to inspect the factory
Communication will be much easier because there's a higher chance your supplier speaks decent English so nothing gets lost in translation
Transport is faster and cheaper

At FUSH as a European clothing manufacturer, all these benefits stand, plus we offer excellent customization services to make your new collection stand out and sell out.

Author:

Nebojša Durmanovic

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