Tech pack in garment industry is like blueprint in architecture. But why do some manufacturers in Bali work without using a garment tech pack?

Most Clothing Manufacturers in Bali Don’t Use Tech Pack

Only a professional clothing manufacturer Bali would strongly suggest the use of tech pack.

What is tech pack in garment industry? It is a document containing all technical information about a specific product (style) belongs to a specific customer. It is also known as Tech Pack Fashion.

And, what’s included in a tech pack? Basically all information on how to produce a certain piece of garment that is identical to the approved sample(s). For example: bill of materials, sizing charts, cutting instructions, sewing instructions, colourways, etc.

Having a complete tech pack is beneficial for both the customer and the manufacturer. It ensures that the clothing manufacturer could manufacture clothes that look exactly like how they were designed to look like (like the approved samples). Experience can also teach anyone about how much money a tech pack can save customer.

In the actual garment production process, a customer could provide their own existing tech pack examples to be used by the clothing manufacturer. This existing tech pack is most probably made by a clothing manufacturer which was formerly hired by the customer.

But if the customer does not possess a tech pack already, then it is strongly recommended that the customer asks the clothing manufacturer to produce one.

It’s true that the customer would then required to spend some extra money for the tech pack. But in the long run, such additional small fee could actually saves a lot of money by significantly reducing the number of rejects.

On the other hand, producing a tech pack prior to the sampling process is actually beneficial for the clothing manufacturer too.

Tech pack in garment industry ensures that manufacturers get compensated fairly for their efforts in the sample making (making the patterns and the gradings, sourcing the fabrics, cutting, sewing, etc). So, they wouldn’t get paid ONLY for the costs of sewing the samples.

And yet, despite the obvious importance of tech pack in garment industry, not every clothing manufacturer Bali uses tech packs

4 Reasons clothing manufacturers in Bali don’t create a tech pack before making samples

1. Not Thinking Ahead

Some clothing manufacturers in Bali think that the shorter a production process, the sooner they can receive their payments. They think that making a tech pack prior to sampling process is just prolonging the production process. And out of desperation to get new customers, the manufacturers immediately accept orders from potential new customers who (sadly) do not understand the importance of the complete tech pack.

The clothing manufacturers don’t anticipate any repeat order because there is no guarantee that the customer would return with any repeat order anyway. They just do whatever they could and hope for the best. If a customer doesn’t return with a repeat order, there are a lot of other potential new customers out there. Or so they think.

So, when the customer doesn’t provide a tech pack, they don’t offer the customer to make one. To be fair, they do make notes about some technical details, though. But the notes are very likely based on what they understood or memorized from the communications with the customers. The notes are not based on what was agreed between the manufacturers and the customers.

2. Bad Habit

It is a common habit in the garment industry in Bali that some customers and the clothing manufacturers agree to immediately proceed to make samples without making the tech pack first.

This could happen because a lot of clothing manufacturers in Bali started out as stitchers. They don’t do mass production, so making a tech pack is unnecessary. And when the dressmakers start to operate as clothing manufacturers (i.e. start doing mass production), this habit stays.

3. Lack of Knowledge of What is a tech pack

Tech pack in garment industry is more than just patterns and gradings. It also contains technical details about the required fabrics and trimmings, work instructions, etc. It requires an advanced knowledge in clothing manufacturing technique to make them easily understandable by the production team.

So, even if the clothing manufacturers acknowledge the importance of tech pack in garment industry, their limited skill prevented them from making any tech pack template at all.

4. Making Tech Pack Fashion is Not Part of Manufacturing Process

As practitioners in the garment industry, most professional clothing manufacturers in Bali must have enjoyed the benefits of using a complete tech packs in their production process.

However, making a tech pack in garment industry is actually NOT part of the manufacturing process itself. Instead, it is one part of the product development process, and a fashion designer should be the one responsible for it. It requires a lot of works and very time consuming.

So, unless the customer is willing to compensate their valuable time and efforts in making a complete tech pack, a clothing manufacturer would rather not make the complete tech pack. Not for free, at least.

Recommendations for Startup Label Owners

When you are looking for a clothing manufacturer for startup in Bali, you need to understand “Why do we need tech pack?”

• As the party who would foot the bills, you can avoid paying unnecessary costs of repeatedly making new samples for the same design. For example; In the sampling process, clothing manufacturers normally allows 2 revisions. But, what if in reality it takes the manufacturer 5 revisions until you approve the sample? Obviously someone has to pay for the costs, and the clothing manufacturers aren’t giving the 3rd, 4th and 5th revisions for free!
• Tech pack in garment industry gives you the power to switch between clothing manufacturers in Bali. When you aren’t happy with the one you have been using, you could bring the tech pack to another clothing manufacturer, and keep on doing that until you find a reliable clothing manufacturer. It is completely ethical to do that because you paid for the tech pack so it belongs to you and you can do whatever you see fit for it. And doing that is actually part of being a business savvy clothing brand owner.
• Having a tech pack fashion template is something that sustainable clothing manufacturers in Bali would do. It is because the purpose of a tech pack in garment industry is to avoid mistakes in production run, hence reducing wastes. No matter how eco-friendly the fabrics you are using, you can’t claim to be “sustainable” if the production process of your brand leaves a lot of waste. And, having a complete tech pack also speeds up the completion of the production process. The sooner you receive the finished products, the sooner you can start making money.
• If you are planning to produce just a single style but with different colourway, it is completely OK to request the clothing manufacturer to make just one complete garment tech pack pdf. But you need to make sure beforehand that all the colourways are produced using the same technique, lest they all look different.