Plain and simple: the problem with outsourcing is that you don’t always get what you are asking for. I have been dealing with a manufacture in Costa Rica for the past 2 months and they have been great. They are very professional and have been really easy to work with, even saving me thousands in development costs. There is one outstanding issue that has retarded the launch of my product for about a month and a half now, which is the fabric. I chose to use a full package manufacture (they do everything from A to Z) which is something that I suggest for any new entrepreneur. The only resounding problem with this specific manufacture thus far has been that it seems to have trouble giving me the exact fabric that I am asking for. I have provided them on three separate occasions with fabric samples of the type of fabric I would like to use in the production of my first line of clothing. They have promised me every time that they would easily be able to replicate the fabric and everytime the results they have sent me were not even close.

The last sample I sent them two weeks ago was significantly closer to one of the previous production samples they had sent me so that it would be easier for them to replicate. As a result the sample fabric I received back today was even further off the mark that the previous attempts at fabric replication have been. What I have noticed is that they keep sending me what ever is closest in their fabric catalog and don’t even try to replicate the fabrics that I ask for. These kind of manufactures are specifically tailored to replicate any type of fabric, and as I saw on my tour of the factory, they have all the required equipment to do so. The second to last sample they sent me was suppose to contain a blend of 90% polyester and 10% cotton with a weave that would make the fabric resemble cotton but have the wicking properties of polyester. After I ran a couple tests on the sample they sent me, I noticed that the fabric retained water just like you would expect in 100% cotton. I decided to put it to the ultimate test: a flame. Sure enough it did not melt like it should have if it were 90% poly, but it rather disintegrated which is characteristic of 100% cotton. This lie was very troublesome and I am getting increasingly weary of the company I have been dealing with. Even though they had won an immense amount of loyalty through their other services, their failure to provide me with what they promised has nearly crushed their loyalty advantage. They obviously have a significant weakness in the production of fabric and this needs to be rectified if they plan on competing in this global market. Here is a marketing and customer relations rule that every company will want to follow: Never promise your customers something you cannot deliver on, because one lie will erase countless favors in the past. Thus it is better to be honest and lose a customer for one contract, than to lie and to lose him for life.