8 Things Our Factory Partners Must Have

Our ability to produce high-quality apparel on time wouldn’t be possible without the strong relationships we’ve built with the factories we work with – so we’ve put together a list of 8 things our factory partners must have.

Over the years we’ve gone above and beyond to travel off the beaten track and hand pick the best factories in China. In one case we invested 3 days with our factory family, working with them to train their key personnel.

And it wasn’t just because they had the right machinery – we wouldn’t have done that if there wasn’t something special about the staff and management too.

At Red Oak we know long-term business partners build and grow together, that’s why we nurture the relationships that matter.

And it’s because of these partnerships that we can produce repeatable products that can meet the same superior quality each year – in fact we supply over 450,000 units per year with a reject rate less than 0.1%.

The 8 Criteria our Factory Partners must meet

We have customers who’ve purchased the same product year on year over 10 years and that wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t develop strong long-term factory partnerships.

Here’s the criteria our partners must meet:

1. Core Values:

The owners and management must have strong family values, integrity, the ability to laugh, be good people and have resolute commitment to making and supplying products as per specification.

They must have a willingness to set-up Red Oak manufacturing systems and must develop systems to ensure production lead times are industry best and on time.

2. Minimum Order Quantities:

The factory must have the capability to manufacturer low Minimum Order Quantities.

3. Colour Consistency:

Colour management and consistency is key – therefore our factory partner must be able to match Red Oak colour specifications.

4. Performance fabrics:

They must source and supply performance fabrics for all teamwear, uniforms and headwear.

5. Day to day workflow:

They must be able to handle orders placed daily.

6. Weekly Orders:

They must also be able to consolidate weekly orders.

7. Pricing:

They must be able to provide fair and commercially viable pricing.

8. Food Experience:

When the Red Oak team go to China, it’s a must for the factory partners to take us on an unforgettable culinary experience.