Well … you made it to the end of our series.  Mazel Tov!  But, as you are probably aware, this isn’t the end, it’s the beginning because it all truly gets started from here.  Your collection is about to ship, you’re on to the next season, your head is probably spinning and yes, you got it, this is all going to happen again and again … Oy, it’s a vicious (but fabulous) cycle!

While testing doesn’t really belong in any particular part of the process because it happens on the sidelines, like a waterboy, it can’t be overlooked.  Bypassing this step can make or break your product and your production timeline.

Testing every component on your garment is especially important if you are considering starting a childrenswear or high performance, function-driven clothing line. You’ve gone through all the trouble of sourcing, sampling and fitting, but now need to make sure that your garment passes all necessary requirements that have been set in place by the federal govt or your brand (i.e. lead and flammability for childrenswear or waterproofness for a rain coat). We build testing into your TNA early on into your sourcing process to give you enough time to re-source materials if necessary. This step must also be built into your development budget since oftentimes fabric mills and trim vendors will require you to pay for a 3^rd party lab to conduct your testing.

But tests don’t always have to be done in a lab…there are wear tests, market tests…so many tests! Just make sure you time yourself appropriately and don’t forget that #2 pencil!