Why do we travel to China?

The team headed back west from Shanghai, inland by high-speed train for the first of more than a dozen meetings during the 12-day trip. This followed by a short plane ride back to the coast in the industrial southeast of China where the weather is generally warm or simply just hot year-round interspersed with the annual monsoon season. The number one priority of the 2023 trip was putting the final touches and signing off our eagerly awaited new range ‘Kinetic’. Kinetic has taken more than 2 ½ years to develop, which is twice as long as other ranges historically. Kinetic is collectively the most premium and technical range we have developed to date, the combination of new performance fabrics, prints and specialised trims utilised in this range has really taken Kinetic to a new level.

This trip has highlighted you really can’t replace being in front of suppliers, building knowledge and ensuring you have your finger on the pulse. The partnerships we have built with our trusted suppliers prior to the covid period has been invaluable – for Chadwick’s as a business the importance of always working directly with specialised factories is vital to our success.

Quality assured 

At Chadwick, we pride ourselves on the quality and consistency of our products. Our proven quality procedures is integral to delivering garments with the correct fit and function according to their intended use to give our customers confidence when offering Chadwick Teamwear over more famous name brands.

Quality is rigorously controlled at every stage of manufacturing with the help of our own full time ‘Chadwick’ QCs (not third parties) employees based in our China office. 1 or more of our 8 strong team will visit the factories on an almost weekly basis reporting back to the UK regularly. This enables us to make informed decisions quickly or solve an issue much faster than just waiting for samples to arrive at our UK office to make a decision. Travelling to China and spending time with our staff allows us to offer them invaluable training, product updates, problem solving sessions and continue to build their awareness of our expectations and business operations. It’s hard for us to imagine that many Chinese have never travelled outside China, their perception of ‘The Western world’ is a little different from the reality and helping them to understand why we insist on high quality is an education. That said, Chinese people are without doubt some of the most hardworking, honest, and clever people you will find in the world, their naturally respectful and gentle culture means they are happy to listen and learn.

Environmental impact and sustainability

Environmental impact and sustainability factors are now becoming just as important to china as it is in Europe and the rest of the world and in some respects, China has overtaken us in terms of implementation. A key part of our development here at Chadwick’s is to ensure we and our suppliers follow a sustainable code of practice, this was a key discussion point whilst in China with all suppliers. OEKOTEX is an independent testing certification for fabrics and trims is specified by Chadwick’s wherever possible and we have recently carried out full independent factory assessments in conjunction with ITS Intertek. In addition, all our vendors adhere to the Amfori / BSCI (business social compliance initiative) and we encourage all suppliers to follow a positive working culture for all workers and seek to continuously improve.

The addition of recycled packaging has recently been achieved and we are seeking to convert fabrics to recycled polyester step by step as long as the science is telling us this is the right thing to do. There is still much to do, but, we have already planned the next trip later this year by which time many of our new exciting new products will have arrived into UK stock. We are already looking at what next as well as looking forward to sampling yet more of that famous Chinese cuisine.

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As an established importer, ensuring a reliable high quality supply chain and manufacturing process has been key to our success, especially given these turbulent times globally. All products are designed and developed in-house at our 40,000 sq. ft UK warehouse, office and showroom site based in Altrincham. We listen carefully to our wide customer base and seek to develop highly functional multi-purpose teamwear products of premium quality. Our complete development and production process is fully managed by a dedicated and highly knowledgeable team in the UK and supported by our experienced and very own Chadwick team in China.

Chadwick’s China Team

Established in 2005, our China office directly employs a dedicated team based locally to our main supply base. Overseeing, checking, and helping to manage the production process from start to finish – We do not work through third parties which helps to guarantee a consistent level of quality time after time and means we can react quickly to our customers’ needs. Having our own dedicated and specialised quality control team on the ground has many benefits. It enables quick decision-making during time-critical production while also ensuring that bulk production accurately replicates the original approved garment samples and specifications time after time.

Manufacturers associated with the production of Chadwick’s products subscribe to a range of recognised ethical trading initiatives and understand their social and corporate responsibilities to their employees, buyers, and end-users.

All manufacturers are also visited regularly by our UK team. We have recently introduced the first stage of our sustainable development programme with the help of an international and independent accreditation provider which will help to ensure that all employers within the factories continue to meet our key principles relating to employees’ working hours and rights combined with a suitable working environment overall.

Quality Management – What We Do

All Chadwick products are quality checked at every key production stage. Pre-production, inline and final inspections are undertaken by one of our QC managers following the international AQL level 2.5. Our regular inspections are performed in addition to any in house factory inspection process making sure we maintain a premium quality. Before any bulk production commences all fabrics, trims and packaging are signed off in the UK. Once approved all main bulk fabrics are independently tested with ITS INTERTEK to ensure all the fabrics’ physical properties meet international standards.    Garments are continuously checked for size conformity, stitch quality, overall trim application, and general appearance.

Continued Growth

As our range of products continues to grow and our stock levels increase, we also continue to build our team of sportswear specialists in China. With their help, we seek to forge stronger relationships and understanding with our established and trusted supply chain; benefiting enormously from their local knowledge and experience to both problems solve and develop communication overall. This keystone in our organisation has allowed us to confidently go head-to-head with other more famed sportswear brands in the UK and grow our business and our reputation as a market leader in premium ‘unbranded’ team and training wear.

The post Working globally to place quality first-CWB Magazine first appeared on Chadwick Teamwear.

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