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I'm encountering roadblocks finding a company who provides bamboo shirts in sizes 3x-6x.
I've called 3 bamboo shirt providers, one who also does cutting/sewing. I talked with the latter company yesterday who advised that it would be quite expensive to make bamboo shirts in sizes over 2x. They also advised that they're not taking any small business cutting & sewing orders and said that sourcing for bamboo fabric to have the garments made myself is going to be very tough and costly.
Allow me to mention that I've seen S/M/L bamboo shirts for women just before posting this thread with a range of $26 - $64 (for the same shirt). It's my gut feeling that it's not going to be considerably more to make larger shirts until I see proof of this.
So, the $20 million dollar question is...
Does anyone know of a legitimate bamboo cutting & sewing factory who could make garments to my size requirements? Or, do you know of a company who already provides these shirts in the sizes I need? I have yet to come across such a company.
Does anyone know of a legitimate bamboo cutting & sewing factory who could make garments to my size requirements? Or, do you know of a company who already provides these shirts in the sizes I need? I have yet to come across such a company.
What quantities are you looking for? What companies have you tried so far?
I'm sure there are companies that do it, but they require large minimum orders.
The costs for it will probably have something to do with supply and demand.
I've been looking at bamboo shirts recently and the largest size I've seen anywhere is 2XL. I think that's because the demand for bamboo shirts in ANY size is pretty small right now (I think) so in the larger sizes above 2XL, the demand for that is even smaller.
If you are buying hundreds of shirts per size, I think the cut and sew companies would probably work with you, but on smaller orders, it might not make business sense for them (that's my guess at least).
What quantities are you looking for? What companies have you tried so far?
I'm sure there are companies that do it, but they require large minimum orders.
The costs for it will probably have something to do with supply and demand.
I've been looking at bamboo shirts recently and the largest size I've seen anywhere is 2XL. I think that's because the demand for bamboo shirts in ANY size is pretty small right now (I think) so in the larger sizes above 2XL, the demand for that is even smaller.
If you are buying hundreds of shirts per size, I think the cut and sew companies would probably work with you, but on smaller orders, it might not make business sense for them (that's my guess at least).
Hi Rodney!
On yesterday, I spoke to the following companies about this:
-Bamboosa in SC (Spoke with Morris who told me he is not taking orders from small business to do cutting/sewing. He was also the one who told me the info I posted above. It was a bit discouraging but I have to know that these companies realize there is a market for larger than 2x shirts. Morris agreed but said that he doesn't see this product serving this market any time soon.)
-Shirts of Bamboo in FL (A female rep there told me that their cutting and sewing shop is in SC, which, I'm strongly thinking they outsource to Bamboosa. She also advised that I must send an email to their wholesale team to find out about pricing/quantities, and was quick to add that she knew nothing of wholesale pricing for what I requested. This is one of the companies I emailed two weeks ago that never checked my first email, so I'm a bit leery about relying on email for this info.)
BambooClothes.com in CA (I've called them twice, left voicemails and emailed them once, two weeks ago; have not gotten any response as of yet.)
I've talked to the folks from Bamboosa and BambooClothes. Bamboosa is made in the USA, BambooClothes are made in China.
I just ordered some shirts from Bamboosa today.
What kind of quantities are you interested in buying? I think that may be what is causing the hold up.
I think like screen printing, there comes a point to where it's not economically feasible to do very small runs. Creating a couple dozen of a custom garment size might not be worth it for some companies, whereas if you are talking 100's per size, then they are more likely to work with you.
I know that Continental Clothing is coming out with a bamboo line. Maybe you could contact Jacqui to see if they can work with you.
What kind of quantities are you interested in buying? I think that may be what is causing the hold up.
I will contact Jacqui to find out about their forthcoming bamboo products, thanks!
As for the quanities, believe it or not, I never got to the point of discussing quantities with Bamboosa and did not share my quantity requirements in my email correspondence either. My initial questions were whether or not they do custome cutting/sewing and if so, I then asked for their quantity requirements.
Bamboosa ruled it out as soon as I asked about them doing cutting and sewing. I believe this is because their operation is small.
Did you tell them it was just for larger sizes of their existing styles?
It seems like there might be a miscommunication.
But you still haven't mentioned here what kind of quantities you're interested in so we can keep an eye out for someone that can meet your needs
What kind of numbers *are* you looking at getting done?
Whoops! Sorry I left that info out. Starting out and starting small, I'm looking for 250-1000 at most because this is truly a test market for me.
To answer your other question, I shared with Bamboosa that I'm looking for larger sizes of what he already offers. This is where he (Morris) shared how this product is just not currently available and would be costly to create and sell (he's thinking twice the cost of current shirts). In addition, he said that sourcing of the fabric and having a company sew it to desired sizes would be a big feat.
However, he mentioned that he would email info on a bamboo fabric source company in NY that he uses so I may get quotes on putting large sized bamboo shirts together.
Also, like yourself, I will be ordering 2 shirts from Bamboosa - one men's (XXL) and one women's (L) so that myself and business partner can try this fabric for ourselves.
I have to wear the men's shirt because the women's shirts do not come in a large enough size for me. My partner is slim and can wear the women's available sizes. This may explain the strong desire to offer them in larger sizes and eventually, different cuts/styles in larger sizes for men and women. I want "now" to be the time for this market but reality may say, it's not yet.
If they won't do it and you really want the material, do it yourself!
Source some material. It might be expensive for a single bolt, but it can probably be done. Keep working up the food chain. Talk to people in the factory in china if you have to.
Start hitting the phones to local garment shops. SC should be chock-full of them. Take your sample shirt or specify exactly how you want the shirts made. They should be able to customize the fit however you like. If you can't find anybody local, start branching out. Most big cities have a garment district.
It's a heck of a lot easier to just buy the stuff and resell it but if there's a market for it and you have the time and energy to do it...
Moo Spot Prints - thanks for the encouragement! I'm quite curious to know the costs involved in getting this done myself to see if it's feasible now or later.
Whoops! Sorry I left that info out. Starting out and starting small, I'm looking for 250-1000 at most because this is truly a test market for me.
I remember something last night that might help. Greg (comingoutswinging) knows a company in Georgia (I think) that will do cut and sew for as little as 300 pieces. You just have to source the fabric.
I remember something last night that might help. Greg (comingoutswinging) knows a company in Georgia (I think) that will do cut and sew for as little as 300 pieces. You just have to source the fabric.
Mo from Bamboosa here. I'd like to comment on these posts and to clarify some of what I said in my phone conversation w/Ms. Blue.
1) Our company, Bamboosa, makes bamboo fiber apparel and baby products under the Bamboosa label and also the BambooBaby label. Our business is not fabric sales, contract cut and sew, custom spec-private label apparel or anything else outside of our core business.
We did not 'rule out' servicing Ms. Blue's needs because our business is small, or because hers is small. We ruled it out because it is not what we do. As I explained on the phone to Ms. Blue, the most we could do at this point would be to put a 'private label' in product that we currently make, in the styles and colors and sizes that we make it in, assuming the minimum requirements can be met or successfully negotiated.
2) When Ms. Blue called my office I took 20-30 minutes of my time to talk on our 800 number about something that we don't do. I did this in an effort to be as helpful as I could be. I also tried to be as realistic as I could be. There are a substantial number of roadblocks to what Ms. Blue wants to do and I did my best to advise her of those, without the sugar coating.
The insinuation that we don't want to get involved with 'small businesses' could not be further from the truth. Our business is built entirely on small businesses and the people who own them.
3) We realize that there is a substantial market for 3x-6x product in bamboo. There is also a substantial market in bamboo for t-shirts with pockets, adult sized towels, printed baby clothes, Men's boxer shorts, maternity clothes (that's a big one, no pun intended), Women's panties, leggings, baseball hats, diabetic socks, robes, kitchen towels, etc., etc. We don't make any of these either, at this point in time.
4) Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Blue and Rodney for your interest in bamboo and for your support of our company through your purchases.
As the demand for bamboo fiber apparel products continues to grow so will the available product range and the sources for manufacturing them.
A source for bamboo fabric would be Colortex in NY. You can reach them at 212.564.2009. They only work in dye lot sizes of 800-1000 lbs which would be around 1000-2500 yds, depending on the type fabric.
Large Sized Bamboo Shirt Roadblocks 
I want "now" to be the time for this market but reality may say, it's not yet.
