9b PRIVATE LABEL MANUAL TO SAMPLE MAKING AND MANUFACTURING Dear Private Label Customer (PLC), We appreciate that you have chosen to work with 9b Apparel to meet your manufacturing needs. This pamphlet was created to familiarize you with the sample making and production process. PLEASE COMPLETE THE CUSTOMER INFORMATION AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION. INTRODUCTION 9b Apparel is a full service apparel manufacturer located in the heart of the garment district in downtown Los Angeles and offers a variety of services to private label customers. We provide custom production work for designers, specialty boutiques, on-line retailers and chain stores. We help develop your product, make patterns and samples, and manufacture your entire production. Our minimums are among the lowest in the industry at 200 pieces per style and at least two dozen per style and color (There is a $100 surcharge for orders below the minimum.). All products are manufactured one hundred percent in the United States. GETTING STARTED - PATTERN AND SAMPLE MAKING The process starts with making a first pattern and sample. The best situation is when a client has a finished pattern and a tech pack. If you only have a concept or a sketch, it will take longer. Having a sample or similar garment on hand is a good start. A. Pattern Making 3 to 10 business days If you don’t have a pattern, we must make a pattern of your garment before we can make your first sample. Additionally, every time you adjust or alter your garment, the pattern has to be adjusted. B. Making and Adjusting your Samples 6 to 10 business days When we make your first sample, we are primarily concerned with the fit. We send you the sample, you notify us of your adjustments, and we make another sample until we nail the fit down. Pinning, cutting, taping and otherwise marking your sample and returning it to us is a good method of communicating your adjustments. Include as many notes and sketches as necessary. Minor revisions may be made without the need for re-sampling. Once the sample is finalized, we do final fabric selection and make a production sample. The production sample is exactly what your production will look like, and becomes the benchmark and standard. Please note that on first samples we often use substitute fabrics in order to keep your costs down. For example, this would be true if you were intending to use a custom knitted fabric, a particularly expensive fabric, or a special order fabric. DEPOSIT AND PAYMENT   A deposit of 60% of your gross order is required before production begins. The remaining 40% is due prior to shipping. We accept check, credit card, and wire transfers. All credit card payments incur an additional 3% to cover bank fees. A deposit will be required to begin pre-production pattern and sample making. The deposit amount will be determined after we provide you with an initial estimate. Once your production deposit is received we will contact you with your production completion date. Please note that if we are special ordering or having a mill knit your fabric, the completion date may vary. PREPRODUCTION A. Production Approval Production approval is provided in the form of a Purchase Order, which is called a PO for short. Production cannot proceed until we receive your written, faxed, or emailed PO and orders to proceed. Your PO should include... *The style number *Sizes and Quantities *Fabrics and Colors *Any special instructions Cancellations cannot be accepted after a PO has been submitted and production has begun. B. Labels and Hangtags Labels are a custom item that the client needs to provide since it involves artwork and requires several approvals. We are happy to provide referrals. C. Care Labels and Size Tags We use generic size labels and hang tags. If you want woven or custom care labels, please have it done by the same source as your brand labels and hang tags. We provide referrals. PRODUCTION A. Delivery, Turnaround, and Lead Times A guideline for turnaround and delivery is 4 to 8 weeks, if you have a basic production with few embellishments and are using stock fabric. Embellishments, dyeing and milling fabric adds 2 to 4 more weeks to your production. B. Grading, Sizing and Marking 1 to 3 business days After having reviewed and approved the sample, we grade the pattern according to your grade rules. We can assist you with deciding what size and grading scale to use. After deciding what grading scale and size range are to be produced, we proceed with getting your marker printed. The marker is the template used to cut your fabric. Many customers ask, “What size was the sample you sent?” A first sample will be sized “self” from the pattern, meaning it will not be graded for size. But more importantly, it is up to the client to decide the size of a garment. What one person considers a medium, another could think of as small or large. You need to let us know what size you would like it to be. Of course, we are happy to provide assistance with sizing your garment. C. Cutting 1 to 3 business days Once you have made your deposit and submitted a PO, we will purchase your fabric, print your marker, and begin cutting. Generally, no changes to your PO can be made after cutting begins. This is the deadline to submit your labels and hangtags, or you risk delaying production. D. Sewing 10 to 17 business days Sewing follows cutting unless you garments are receiving special treatments such as dyeing or embroidery. E. Finishing This step involves trimming, tagging, steaming and ironing, folding or hanging, and a final quality control check to ready your garments for delivery. Most garments are put on hangers and covered, and bottoms are normally folded and bagged. Please provide any special instructions on how you would like your product finished. F. Quality Control Our staff monitors each process for conformity to standards and specifications. Quality control audits are conducted after every step of the manufacturing process. G. Working Loss and Over Cuts Each stage of production may result in some loss and substandard work that must be culled during quality control. In anticipation of this, we will cut and sew a few extra pieces. You can expect your final production to be within 4%, plus or minus, of your expected count. In the event that we manufacture a slight overage, it is expected that the customer will accept it. SHIPPING A. Terms and Carriers We recommend that you provide us with a UPS or Fed Ex account number. This way you may track your packages and costs more readily. All merchandise is shipped directly from Los Angeles. 9b Apparel will not be responsible for loss or damages during shipment. All freight claims for damaged, lost, and/or missing merchandise must be filed with the appropriate carrier. B. Notice of Claims Notice of Claims such as shortages or quality problems must be submitted within 5 days of receipt of the goods. Claims may not be submitted if the client has altered the goods. Examples of these alterations include dyeing, printing, embellishing, cutting and sewing. All claims must be submitted in writing. C. Returns and Credit After evaluating a claim, 9b Apparel may authorize a return by issuing a Return Authorization (“RA”). Returns are not accepted without an authorization. We will not accept any merchandise claims if additional processing has altered the garments. Credit may be issued upon receipt of goods and inspection by the 9b Apparel quality control staff. SERVICES A. Fabric Sourcing and Custom Milling There are two options in terms of how we buy your fabric. The first option is buying “Grade A” fabrics that are readily available in the open market. This option works best with smaller quantities since it is one of the quickest and least expensive methods. Your second option is to have the fabric you want custom knit and dyed. The minimum is generally 500 yards, and that yardage can be dyed two or three colors. This option is best when a specific blend, weight, and texture are desired. B. Dye House Services 4 to 10 business days Piece dyeing, garment dyeing, and a variety of washes and rinses are available to our private label customers. Color matches are achieved through dyeing to match and lab dipping. Piece dyeing is dyeing the fabric before sewing. Garment dyeing takes place after the garment is sewn. Lab dipping is how an exact match and custom color is accomplished. Dyeing to match is quicker but less precise. Colors are matched to swatches, samples, or Pantone Colors provided by you. (Swatch cards from the paint department of your favorite hardware store work well.) The dye house is also an industrial laundry that uses rinses and washes to give your garment a distinctive look and feel. Just like jeans, many fabrics can be stone washed, mineral rinsed, and enzyme rinsed to make them softer and more distinctive. Lace, ribbon, cord, tape and various trims can all be dyed to match your garments. C. Buttons, Snaps, Rivets, Zippers, Lace, Ribbon, Trim, Tape, and Notions The customer can specify these, or we can suggest sizes and styles and incorporate them in your samples. Keep in mind that certain niche and specific items can be difficult to find, and you may have to provide the item or source.  D. Embroidery, Silk Screening, and Additional Services Embroidery, silk screening, laser engraving, embossing, and other embellishments are all available. Please keep in mind that artwork involves numerous approvals and will lengthen your time lines. A FEW EXTRA POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND * All Purchase Orders, adjustments, and other directives for both sample making and production, must be received by mail, email, or fax and in explicit terms. * Precise quotes can be difficult to provide during the initial phases of pre-production, especially if many variables remain undetermined. Some of the variables that will determine production costs include fabric, cost of sewing, trims and notions, and other inputs. Early quotes are often ballpark figures until the details have been determined. The accuracy of our quotes increases as the inputs of your garment are finalized. * Each time you make an alteration to your production sample, your delivery date will likely be delayed. * Production takes from 4 to 10 weeks. We know we mentioned this earlier. Please keep it in mind.