4829 Global Sourcing Full Semester Review Pre production Production and Quality Assurance Upon completion of the purchase order the supplier starts preparing raw materials and production techniques for main production Most sourcers in today s marketplace are heavily involved in pre production stages with extensive approval processes The sourcer would arrange quality assurance and inspection procedures prior to any shipments Pre production Approval The objective of pre production approvals is to prepare all the necessary and correct components for garment production in a timely manner The supplier produces or obtains all necessary components and raw materials for garment production following the purchase order The sourcer s team would approve all of these components from colors to size construction and qualities determining whether or not they are acceptable for actual production During the pre production approval stage many samples will be exchanged between the sourcer and the supplier including color lab dips pattern strike offs fabric swatches representing the bulk production samples of necessary buttons shanks other notions and so on PPSs are the samples made with all approved components by the supplier s sample department Once all components are produced and PPSs are approved the entire garment production takes place Finally upon completion of production the supplier proceeds to packing floor ready packing Label Preparation and Approvals During the pre production stage or even before the sourcer also needs to provide correct label information to the supplier Currently in the United States most textile products and apparel must display four key pieces of information at the point of sales U S Federal Trade Commission 2005 fiber content country of origin identity of the manufacturer or another responsible party and Currently in the United States most textile products and apparel must display four key pieces of information at the point of sales U S Federal Trade Commission 2005 care instruction Some products such as upholstery stuffing materials linings backing bandages shoes headwear and textiles used in handbags and luggage are not covered by the current FTC label rules The location of this information or labels must be carefully selected to comply with the rules must be easily found without jeopardizing the esthetics of the finished goods and comfort of the wearers Fiber Content FTC has 3 tolerance of fiber content for multi fiber fabrics Any fibers making up less than 5 of the total weight can be listed as other fibers under the 5 rule This 5 rule does not apply to wool or recycled wool fibers All wool must be declared at the point of sale even if it is only used in a small amount Allergy issues Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 Dog or cat fur are not allowed Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 Country of Origin After the First World War the U S government required any products imported from Germany to carry the words Made in Germany in order to punish German industries Morello 1984 For natural fibers the country in which fibers are grown is considered a country of origin For synthetic fibers the country in which fiber extrusion was conducted is the place of origin The location of knitting and weaving processes are important in determining country of origin for fabrics For apparel significant apparel assembly processes sewing or manufacturing operations are conducted in the country of origin Researchers have suggested declaring country of manufacturing COM country of parts COP country of design COD and or country of brand COB would help clarify true contributions of different countries for products Bilkey Nes 1982 Ha Brookshire 2012 If products are made in the United States with imported fabrics the country of origin must say Made in U S A of imported fabric or Assembled in U S A of imported components without much detail of the origin of the fabric or components When products are advertised in catalogs mail order materials or on the Internet the description must include made in U S A if the products are made in the United States with all U S components and parts imported if the products are sourced from overseas or when products are advertised in catalogs mail order materials or on the Internet the description must include made in U S A and or imported Identity of Manufacturer or Responsible Party All textile and apparel products must identify either the company name or the registered identification number RN of the manufacturer importer or another company responsible for the products Any businesses that manufactures imports markets distributes or handles textile and apparel products in the United States can register through FTC and receive an RN Consumers could use RNs to find contact information of any textile and apparel products about which they may have complaints or questions Care Labeling Rule All textile and apparel products except shoes gloves hats handkerchiefs belts neckties disposal items and some piece goods sold for making apparel at home are subject to the Care Labeling Rule For products requiring normal care care instructions must include five basic elements a washing b bleaching c drying d ironing and e other warnings U S Federal Trade Commission 2001 Labels Preparation and Approval In addition to FTC s requirements the sourcer s company may also use the label to indicate the size of the garment fit or other information It is the sourcer s responsibility to gather all of the necessary label information and placements of such labels and share them with the supplier The sourcer must be an expert in labeling rules and requirements and provide correct information to the supplier to avoid any problems Care Label Material Placement To be printed on the cotton woven label in the size of 1 width X 2 5 length Center back under the waist seam must be sewn in Content in the appropriate order Production Monitoring Through a Time and Action Calendar Sourcing personnel should know the status of every purchase order and be responsible for on time delivery of each sourcing project To help this process sourcing personnel may create a Time Action T A calendar or a pre production and production monitoring plan Once this calendar is issued for each purchase order all people involved in this particular purchase order must be aware of the deadlines for each step and sourcing personnel must ensure everyone else including the supplier follows this calendar Table 9 1 Example of a