Apparel Departments
Apparel Departments
Apparel Departments
Before going in to the details of the garment industry we should know what is
garment, isn’t it? Any object which can be used to wear is termed as garment /
apparel / clothing. Such as shirt, pant, sweater etc. Garment can also be used to
achieve a specific function, for example fire resistance or cut resistance, etc.
Garments are a part of apparel, whereas apparel is a broad terminology. For
instance, shoes and hats are also included in apparel.
Garment industry is the final stage of textile manufacturing where cloth is cut
into different parts and sews to make various types of apparel. All the process of
garment manufacturing are done in different sections in garment industry. In
this article I will discuss different departments in garment manufacturing
industry.
Merchandising:
It is a vital process that involves planning, developing, executing and dispatching
the order (product) to the buyer. The merchandising process comprises
guiding and supervising for the successful processing of an order. The types of
merchandising done in a garment unit are marketing merchandising and product
merchandising.
Sampling department:
The sampling department coordinates with the merchandising and
production department. It is carried out to foresee finished product appearance
and fit when produced in bulk and to confirm whether there are any
inconsistencies in the pattern according to the buyer’s specification. It also aids to
determine the fabric consumption along with that of thread and
other accessories used.
Fabric sourcing:
Fabric sourcing is mainly engaged in deciding where and how the fabrics have
to be procured. It works in conjunction with the merchandising department and
looks after the delivery of the required garments within the scheduled time and
cost.
Purchasing department:
The main difference between the sourcing and purchasing department is that the
sourcing section works for sourcing the fabrics alone whereas the nature of the
work of the purchasing department comprises sourcing of accessories and trims
as well.
Laboratory department:
The laboratory or testing center in the industry should be equipped with all the
essential instruments that are mandatory for the testing of fabric and accessories.
If the facility for specific tests mentioned by the buyer is not available in the
industry, it should be sent to external laboratories that are authorized by the
buyers.
Machine maintenance:
Undesirable quality of garments mostly results from ill-maintained machines.
Breakdown and preventive maintenance is mainly aimed toward reducing the
downtime and increasing lifetime, respectively.
CAD section:
Normally, large-scale garment industries have their own designing department
for various garment styles. The CAD department is accountable for the following
functions:
Determining cutting average for costing
Making the most efficient cutting marker
Development and alteration of patterns
Development of size set pattern by grading
Digitizing the pattern
Cutting section:
The cutting department normally receives the order from the production
manager who has approved the cutting order to cut a given quantity of garment
styles. The cutting order sheet contains the following information:
Production department:
The production department will obtain the details like
After receipt of all of the above details, the production department sends a
request from the cutting section for the cut parts. After assembling of the
components, a line check has to be done where the shade matching and the
measurements are checked.
Embroidery department:
It comes into play only when the particular garment style demands. It receives
the garment panel, style and the embroidery details from the merchandisers and
they will also get a sample of the garment on which the embroidery has been
already done and it will be used as a reference sample.
Finishing department:
The finishing department is the last section in the garment production prior to
packing and dispatch and it plays a significant role in the final garment
appearance. It involves the following processes.
1. Trimming: It removes the extra threads from the garment at the stitched
areas.
2. Inspection: The inspection is done as per the AQL 2.5 system and mainly
depends on the buyer requirements.
3. Pressing: This is carried out after the garment has been inspected
completely and the garments are pressed or finished based on the method of
their folding during packing.
4. Tagging section: After the completion of fabric inspection and pressing,
they are sent for labelling, which includes the size labels, price tags and
miscellaneous labels if any are mentioned in the specification sheet.
5. Packing: The packing is done in the carton boxes. Individual packing of
garments in the poly bag and folding the garments and organizing them in
the carton boxes without placing them in the poly bag are the two types of
packing followed in the garment industry.