Why Are Custom Clothing Labels and Clothing Tags So Expensive? What Clothing Designers Should Know

You finally make the order for your custom clothingthe process repeats itself..
labels---the labels that advertise your brand logo, andThere is also the customer service labor. A customer
display size, and care instructions. When you finallyservice rep is very important for educating the client
submit your clothing tag art and technical specifications,as to what type of clothing label is appropriate for the
you are shocked by the pricing---hundreds of dollarsclient. Oftentimes, a client may consult with the
for just a few hundred pieces of fabric tags!customer service rep regarding the technical aspects
How can such a small piece of cloth cost so much?or cost packages 6-12 times. There is much ado over
And why do clothes label sourcing firms requiring 500,manufacturing custom labels for clothing!
1000 or more in minimums pieces? You think toNext is production. Depending on the type of custom
yourself, "These are just squares of cloth! How canclothing tag ordered, the manufacturing may have to
this be?"be outsourced. This means that very likely, language
Unfortunately, there is tremendous engineering andtranslations of the technical specifications must be
precision that goes into the design of each label. It isdone. The custom clothes tags then must be woven
not the cost of the cloth---it is the cost of the laboror printed, cut, folded, and packed.
needed to produce a clothing tag that is exactly theIf production is indeed overseas, there may be
correct height, width, resolution, and color---all in theexpensive parcel service and customs. This is why in
space a few inches or less.many case custom clothes labels take 2-4 weeks.
First there is the design of the clothing label through aHowever, new technologies were recently developed
graphic interface such as Photoshop. Measurementsin the US to drastically bring down production costs.
must be very precise, and the matching of the client'sThese steps are why custom clothing label suppliers
artwork to what the woven looms or fabric printersrequire considerable minimums and cost so much.
are actually capable of doing. When a proof (blue print)Much fuss goes into producing your "billboard" to the
is presented to a customer, she may realize that theclothing world. The key for reducing costs is to order
clothes label must be changed---such as being madeenough clothing tags to last you for some time, as
larger, smaller, centered differently, or a foldingvolume order drastically reduce costs.
preference changed. New proofs are made up and