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While fashion is a highly competitive multi-billion dollar industry, starting a clothing business, especially online, is more accessible than ever before.
Whether you want to design your own clothing line from scratch, customize readymade wholesale garments, start clothing dropshipping or launch a small T-shirt business with print-on-demand services, the number of resources available to new businesses like yours are at an all-time high. You can start a business, build an online store, establish your clothing brand, connect with potential customers and start selling online in no time.
In this 10 step guide, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about how to start your own clothing line—from conceptualization to selling.These steps don’t have to be completed one-by-one in a linear fashion. You can multitask and work on a few steps at the same time. For example, once you’ve decided on your brand identity (Step 2) you can start building your online store (Step 6). Use this guide as a checklist to keep you on track.
How to start a clothing business online in 10 steps
01. Research and choose your brand strategy
Before starting an online clothing business you need to ask yourself the following questions that will help to develop your brand strategy for this type of business:
What is your mission? Perhaps you dream of creating a clothing line, using your own bespoke fashion designs. Or it could be as simple as creating a fashion business, offering quality, on-trend clothes you love. You might prioritize selling garments at an affordable price, manufacturing locally or using sustainable materials. Consider what factors are important to you and your clothing business. This is about your brand’s values and your purpose. This is about the product you want to provide. Be inspired by these clothing business ideas, if you're not sure.
What makes your clothing business different? This is your unique selling proposition (USP), and it’s what ultimately tells customers why they should buy from you instead of your competition. This is largely about how you want your business to run. What is missing from the market that you can provide? Think about how you can set your clothing business apart.
What is your niche? Is there a gap you can fill? Find your niche and see how you can serve it. Everyone wants to buy clothes that fit well, look great, are within their budget, and serve a purpose where it’s fashionable or practical. If you’re able to figure out which part of the equation is missing from the current market (which can be quality, price, ethics, design, function, or fit), then you have an instant in.
Who is your target audience? Who are you creating your clothes for? Will you have direct communication with them by being a business-to-consumer (B2C) type of business? Do market research and get an idea of your main customer base. Deep dive into finding your ideal audience and considering ways to serve them. You may not have niched your new clothing line all the way down yet, but you should know upfront whether you’re planning to create politically-driven graphic tees for college students or comfortable slippers marketed to senior citizens. These factors are important, as they’ll shape your decisions moving forward, even if they shift slightly as you progress. Don’t worry, you can always adapt them as your clothing brand develops.
A good tactic for determining your target audience is creating buyer personas. Think about their pain points that you can solve.
Let’s say that you want to create a clothing line that offers expensive washable silk pajamas. The following might be examples of your audience buyer personas:
Professional women aged 24-35, with no children but who are high-income earners. They are looking for high-end pyjamas that look and feel great. They want something that will hold up well, while still feeling luxurious.
Mothers aged 30-45 in upper or middle-class families who have elementary-school-aged children. They love silk but need something practical. Silk would typically be out because dry-clean only doesn’t always work for busy schedules, but machine-washable silk opens doors to practicality and convenience.
You can learn a lot about your niche and target audience through social media. Join forums on Reddit, add yourself to Facebook Groups and follow relevant Instagram Pages and influencers to immerse yourself in the niche you are seeking to serve. You can also use social media analytics tools as well as Google Analytics to gain valuable insights into user behavior, engagement patterns and demographic information. This will help you find and create products or styles that uniquely fill a void in the market and create marketing campaigns that speak directly to your audience.
Who are your competitors? Before committing to a niche or establishing a business model for your clothing line, you want to take a look at the competition. You can learn a lot from what they’re doing well, plus find ways to outshine them or offer something new.
If you wanted to start a high-end sock business, for example, research might show that plenty of similar companies are using subscription packages to keep reengagement high and sales up long-term.
Learn more: How to start a subscription box business
You also want to take a look at your competitor’s pricing and promotions. You don’t necessarily need to beat their pricing; many customers, for example, will pay up to 25% more for sustainably-made items, and luxury brands can charge more than those opting for affordable selling points. That being said, market pricing does need to be taken into account, especially when you’re looking at direct competitors.
During your research, look at customer feedback, including reviews on competitors' product pages. You can learn a lot about what your target audience is looking for and where your competition is falling short.
Once you’ve answered these questions, nail it all down by creating your mission statement. Don’t overlook this step because it’ll help you stay focused as you move forward on this journey to starting your own clothing line.
02. Create your brand identity
Once you’ve determined your clothing line’s brand strategy, then you can work on creating your brand identity. When you’re getting your clothing business off the ground, you’ll need all the elements to fit together well to form a strong, cohesive brand that your audience will trust, love and want to continue purchasing from.
These are the four pillars to creating a successful brand:
Quality: What are you offering and who will be buying it? Lower-quality items can be more accessible and reach different markets than higher-end products. Keep all your products targeted toward the same market.
Price: Consider your product quality, materials, manufacturing costs, target audience and competition. Then create a price range that's suitable for your items. Charge more for higher quality or unique items that are currently in-demand.
Brand design and style: Put your unique flavor into your business. Make sure the overall look and feel is consistent across your product collection, clothing logo, eCommerce website, packaging, social media and marketing campaigns. The style you’re going for should also be in line with everything else on this list. If not, something will feel out of place and customers won’t purchase. Thankfully creating a brand identity for your clothing business is easier and faster than ever before, with AI-powered tools that help you create a logo and build a free website just by answering a few simple questions. It's also helpful to use an industry-specific logo maker to give you inspiration and help you fully represent your brand (in this case, a fashion logo maker).
Brand name: For clothing lines especially, your clothing brand name can be a powerful selling feature in and of itself, even if you aren’t a high-end designer label. Brand names can also include mission-focused associations that make your clothing business stand out, like using ethically sourced designers or high-quality materials. This will come into play as you build brand trust and brand recognition. If you’re struggling with a name, consider using our clothing line name generator for some ideas.
When considering how to start a clothing business, create a Pinterest board or build a list of businesses you love and admire. Study how they have created their brand identities. Look at their use of design—logo, typography, color palette and website—and see how it embodies their brand strategy.
Develop a compelling value proposition to establish your unique brand identity in the competitive fashion market. This will help you communicate the distinct benefits and value that your clothing brand offers to your target customers. Your value proposition can include factors such as the style and quality of the clothing, the brand's mission or story, ethical and sustainable practices, affordability, or a combination of these elements.
03. Decide what products to sell
You’ve analyzed the market, you’ve delved into your niche, so now it’s time to use this knowledge to choose what clothing products you will create and sell.
There are so many different directions you can go with a clothing line, including the following eCommerce business ideas:
Designing your own line of sustainable and ethically made wardrobe basics
Designing custom-made bridal or bridesmaids gowns
Customizing readymade wholesale sweaters with hand-embroidered designs
Starting a T-shirt business using print on demand services
Dropshipping cold weather items, like gloves and hats. Learn more about starting a dropshipping business and creating a dropshipping website to do this.
Personalizing items, like caps or mugs, with a customer’s dog on the front
Creating artisanal, hand-stitched accessories like scarves or hats
Manufacturing comfortable, high-quality athleisure wear
Hand-painting robes, pajamas, and kimonos
Based on your target audience and niche, choose a target style, which can include any of the following and more:
Classic
Modern
Preppy
Comfortable
Sporty
Gothic
Quirky
Funny
You also want to think about the materials you’re using to create your products, as this can ultimately be a defining feature of your brand just as much as style. These choices may include:
High-end luxury knits
Eco-friendly options, like organic or recycled materials
Affordable low-cost and widely-available materials like mass-produced cotton
Remember to start small, especially if you will be manufacturing the products and not using a dropshipper. Design a few products (or even just one) to get started with and then take it from there. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew.
04. Choose a business model and register your business
There are plenty of different business models you can choose from when it comes to starting your own clothing line. Let’s take a look at the most common business models used.
Private label
If you want to design and create your own unique clothing line and have it manufactured to your specifications, then this is the business model for you.
You’ll need to consider various factors. What will your first collection be? This is how you announce your clothing line to the world. It should reflect your brand’s unique identity. Will you make the clothes yourself? If you don’t have the technical skills to design a garment you could work with a fashion designer to bring your ideas to life. What fabrics will you use? You will need to source the right fabric, in the right amount, to keep your costs down. Do you want to hand sew each item or will you outsource the work and find manufacturers?
If using a manufacturer, once you’ve created your designs and placed an order for a set number of products, you will receive the inventory and keep it on hand to ship out as it’s ordered. Sometimes, this means you end up with left-over inventory that doesn’t sell, which can cut into your profits, so take that into account when you set out.
You’ll also need to manage your inventory, which means storing it yourself, renting warehouse space or using a 3PL. Take time to do your research and find the right answers for your business as each factor will impact your pricing and profits. Starting this type of clothing line gives you full creative control, and makes it easier to scale once the right processes are in place.
Check out how Ashco created a unique brand that’s trendy, comfortable and serves a specific niche in the market.
Custom wholesale
Custom wholesale businesses purchase premade wholesale clothing and then customize each garment by hand. Whether you decide to purchase contemporary or vintage wholesale clothing, this type of clothing line is a great way to stand out from the crowd. But remember that hand customizing can take time and labor. You’ll need ample space to work as well as somewhere to pack and store inventory.
Custom clothing lines
If you want to offer made-to-order items, a couture custom clothing line may be an excellent choice. You can specialize in event clothing, tuxedos or custom made suits for prom, wedding dresses or red carpet gowns, and create bespoke pieces made to fit each client.
Custom clothing also includes made-to-order branded products such as dress shirts with a customer’s brand logo printed on them, and even aprons with a customer’s name embroidered across the top.
Custom clothing lines allow you to create something truly unique for your clients as needed, giving you an advantage in the market, but it can be much more difficult to scale than other small medium business models as creating custom items can take time to execute, which can create a backlog overtime if the demand is high.
Dropshipping
If you are interested in curating products from sellers that align with your brand instead of manufacturing them yourself, dropshipping can be a good option. It’s low-cost with low overhead, because you don’t need to manufacture, store, manage, or ship any inventory. Instead, when the customer places an order, the third-party seller will ship it directly to the customer.
To start dropshipping, just integrate your eCommerce website with a dropshipping company, find great products and start selling. Explore eCommerce website templates to help you figure out what's best.
Dropshipping has some downsides, especially considering the overall lack of control. You can’t control who else is selling the products you are, which can drive up competition levels. You also have very little quality control or influence on inventory availability on your end, aside from delivering customer service.
Print on demand
Print on demand is another low-investment option that lets you customize clothing from print on demand companies like Printful of Printify’s robust catalogs. The print-on-demand company makes and fulfills your orders. All you need to do is create designs that you can market and sell directly to consumers.
This option, sometimes referred to as “white labeling,” is all about quickly customizing and producing products to create something unique while streamlining the process. And if you choose to integrate with a print-on-demand service, it operates within dropshipping parameters; you market the item and process the sale, and then the printing company creates the product and ships it straight to the consumer.
This can work well for items that are quickly produced, like graphic tees, and it prevents you from needing to have an enormous stock of inventory in terms of finished products that might not sell. This can reduce your potential profit loss.
Worst Year Ever is expertly using this method to design and sell 2020-themed clothing. While the store focuses on tees, they also make use of other customizable products from the print-on-demand catalog.
Chosen a business model? Now you'll need to register your business. You'll need to choose the business entity you want to start - sole proprietorship, LLC or a corporation. Every business owner must apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) in order to pay all relevant business taxes owed. Not sure how to go about registering a business in your state? It's best to consult with an attorney or local chamber of commerce.
For example, learn how to start an LLC in New York, How to start an LLC in Massachusetts
05. Connect with reliable partners
Building relationships with third-party vendors who can help you create the products, styles and business you envision, is a key part of creating a clothing business. When looking to partner with another company, do everything you can to make sure they are reliable, professional, and responsible. If you’ll need someone to send you 200 yards of delicate white lace every month to make wedding dresses, for example, you’re going to want to make sure you can count on it.
As a start-up clothing line you might need to convince some of these third-party vendors, such as manufacturers, to work with you. Be prepared to answer their questions and understand their production process.
Here are some things to look out for before partnering with a company:
Look for reviews online
Request samples
Use social media to ask if anyone has experience working with them
Seek out recommendations, including businesses you can verify yourself
Ask the company about previous work
Ask to visit their premises and see their process (In person or via video call)
06. Review costs and business expenses
Before you make any decisions, the first thing you should do is crunch some numbers. Knowing your expenses at the outset will help you to prepare, monitor expenses with an expense report and even secure proper funding if needed when you create your clothing line business plan.
Remember that while starting your own clothing line or online clothing business will always involve some financial investment, it can absolutely pay off.
The following are common costs associated with starting an online clothing business:
Design: These may include any costs of hiring a third-party designer, paying for design software, and any materials you’re using to create designs yourself.
Manufacturing: While you might choose to source your own materials and make your own prototype, most clothing lines will find manufacturers to create a prototype and then produce the inventory. The cost of the raw materials is usually included in the price of the manufacturing. With many manufacturers, the larger the order quantity, the lower the cost per unit. This is because they have set up costs for each design. However this option is not always ideal for a small business on a tight budget with limited space for inventory.
Inventory storage and management: If you aren’t dropshipping, you’ll have a large chunk of inventory that you need to store and manage somewhere. Storage space (which may include a staffed warehouse as you grow) is an essential part of this, but inventory management software can help you keep track of your products.
Packaging: Many clothing lines opt for custom packaging in order to enhance their store’s branding and to create an unboxing experience. This can include branded boxes, tape, and tissue paper. You’ll also want to think about price and brand tags for your different products.
Shipping: Consider the costs to get the inventory to your warehouse as well as the costs to ship it to your customers. You’ll need to make sure you’re charging the customer accordingly so it doesn’t eat into your net profit margins.
Legal contracts: You may have legal contracts with a manufacturer, third-party marketing company, rental space, or storage space. It’s best to have a lawyer review these contracts first before signing them, so you’ll want to account for legal fees.
Necessary licenses and permits: You’ll likely need a business license, and you may need special permitting depending on where you live and where your business will operate. If you’re in the US, note that these requirements vary by state. You should check your state’s requirements and review the standard licenses you may need.
Website: You can get site hosting and a custom domain, and choosing a platform with strong eCommerce features like Wix can help you do all this at once. Beautiful product photography is key, so invest in a quality camera and some lighting or hire a photographer for a professional look. If you hire someone for site design, SEO work, or site copywriting, this should be factored into your costs, too.
Marketing: Once you’re ready to promote your brand, you’ll need to budget for marketing, which can include paid ad spend, referral fees, affiliate fees, sponsored posts and more.
Taxes: All businesses will need to pay taxes. You can talk to a qualified accountant to determine exactly how much you’ll want to set aside, whether or not you are eligible for certain corporate tax benefits, and find out how often you need to pay. Some businesses may need to pay quarterly instead of annually depending on your business structure.
07. Start building your online clothing store
Once you’ve refined your brand strategy and identity you can start working on creating a professional website for your new clothing line. Your online store should embody the spirit of your brand.
When setting out to start your online store, you’ll want to choose an eCommerce-focused platform that has plenty of features. This’ll make it easier to build your business and offer exceptional customer service.
A platform like Wix eCommerce offers a large number of key eCommerce features you’ll need to create and grow your business. Use a free designer-made template or build your site from scratch and customize it to fit your brand identity by changing details like color palette, font, and layout.
Once you choose the right platform, make sure your site includes the following.
A strong homepage
Here you should feature your key products, and include a tagline that highlights why potential customers should purchase from you. Your tagline should be short and sweet, no more than a single line, while still being clear about what value you can offer your customers.
No products yet? No problem. Make an impact with a ‘Coming Soon’ landing page. Add a Subscribe form and use it to build a contact list. When you’re ready to launch, send out an email marketing campaign letting customers know when your first collection will drop.
Once you have stock you can make your online store visible and add a clear CTA that directs your customers immediately to the product catalog. Use banners to showcase limited time offers or coupon codes.
An “About Us” page
Your “About Us” page is where you can stress your mission and your USP to continue to highlight what makes your clothing brand different. It’s also a great place to share the faces behind your brand to build rapport.
Cherry and Mint uses its about page to highlight the person and values behind the brand. "After creating my brand and being more into things, i [sic] started realising the negative impact fast fashion has to the environment," writes Zoey, founder of Cherry and Mint. "Therefore I try to practice ethical & sustainable views as much as possible."
High-converting product pages
These are some of the criteria to include on your product pages:
Copy that aligns with your brand voice and explains the value of your product
A detailed product description, including materials used, sizing information, and care instructions
Multiple high-quality images and potentially a video to show the item from multiple views (or on multiple models)
Customer reviews
A customer service or help page
Make it easy for customers to review your store policies, including your return policies, estimated shipping times, and terms and conditions. It can also be helpful to include frequently asked questions, so that customers can find the answers themselves without needing to reach out to you.
Regardless, make sure you make it easy for shoppers to receive personalized customer service if needed. High-quality customer service will increase customers’ confidence in your brand and can drive sales.
Include easy-pay options at checkout
Your checkout process must be simple, fast, and easy for customers. If it’s not, you have a much higher chance of ending up with abandoned carts and lost sales.
Incorporate easy-pay options like PayPal or Apple Pay on your checkout page to offer multiple fast and secure payments for customers. By reducing clicks in the checkout funnel and by offering different payment options, you make it that much less likely a shopper will abandon their cart.
Stalf makes it easy for customers to check out with an additional option to pay with PayPal.
08. Write a business plan
Now it’s time to write a business plan for your clothing line. This plan will be the roadmap for your business. It can add structure and help to streamline your goals for the future. It should contain:
Company description: Include details like the name of your clothing business, your background, your mission statement, information on core products, your company’s goals and how you will achieve them. Include an estimated timeline for meeting these goals.
Company products: List detailed descriptions of the products you will be selling. Add images, or sketches if these are available, and be sure to include information on production costs and expected pricing.
Market analysis: Include your research on current market trends, your competitors and your target audience. Add your conclusions as to how your business will fit into the market.
Marketing and operations plan: This section should contain details of your brand identity, your business model and your plans to market your new clothing line.
Management and organization: Show how your business will be structured. Perhaps it’s just you, for now, but as your clothing line grows you might gain more stakeholders who will need to be included.
Financial projections: Show how you expect to sustain your business financially. Consider start-up costs, whether or not you might seek funding, and how long you think it will take before you turn a profit.
Appendices: Add any other information that helps to create a full picture of your new clothing business. Don’t forget to include additional business documents such as contracts, licenses and insurance here too.
09. Gather funding
After you’ve chosen a business model for your clothing line and started to put together basic cost projections in your business plan, you’ll want to raise money for your business.
First, assess how much cash you’ll need upfront to get everything up and running. Use that market research from early on and apply it now.
Break all your projected costs down, line-by-line, and try to estimate at least 5% over what you think you’ll need. This will allow you to be prepared for unexpected costs that arise. Your business will need to be covering everything from transaction fees, manufacturing costs, marketing spend, and loss of profit from returns.
Try to minimize your initial costs as much as possible. Store inventory in your garage instead of a warehouse, for example, and manage it using the Wix app. There’s also the option to handle customer inquiries yourself using social media or through the live chat function on your site instead of outsourcing to an agency. You can scale when you’re ready, but it’s best to do so once your profit is up. Remember that you yourself likely won’t make a large profit or be able to take a salary right away.
Before reaching out for funding, create a detailed business plan. Outline your expenses and why they’re essential, your profit margins, and how you plan to promote your business. Account for everything, because this will help investors feel more confident in investing.
If you need assistance with funding, there are plenty of options to consider.
If you belong to a credit union, ask about business financing: Credit unions often have competitive financing with low interest rates, and may be able to approve you quickly.
Check out online lenders: Kabbage and Lending Tree are two excellent examples, as they’ll typically respond quickly and may offer more competitive rates than large banks.
Look for investors: Investors may offer financing in the form of a loan, or they may want a certain percentage of equity in your company in exchange for the financing. Consider what options work best for you, and know that someone who wants equity may be more interested in a collaborative venture.
Regardless of where you go, there are a few key business financing options to consider:
Business loans: Business loans offer a one-time, lump-sum payment upfront. You’ll have a set period of time to pay it off (with interest), and have pre-determined monthly payments. Some business loans have penalties for early payment.
Business lines of credit. Business lines of credit are a type of open, revolving financing. You’re approved for a set amount (like $20,000), and you can draw from any available funds as needed, like a credit card. The draw period will be for periods like five, ten, or even 15 years, and you only pay interest on the funds you’re actively borrowing. This is often more appealing to businesses in early stages, as they can use what they need when they need it without paying interest on the rest.
Business credit cards. These are open lines of credit, and work exactly like personal credit cards but they’re in your business’s name. Be careful not to go too deep into debt here, as the interest rates are often much higher.
09. Design and create prototypes
If you’re creating your own clothing line, you’ll need to get started on designing your clothes. Sketch out your designs, and create your prototypes. This can be done with the help of a designer or manufacturer, but can also be done in your bedroom alone with just your sewing machine.
If you’re creating the prototype yourself, you may want to provide the manufacturer with a tech pack. This is essentially a blueprint for your design and should contain every single detail about your product, such as fabric, measurements, stitching, labelling and packaging guidelines.
If you aren’t a designer, rest assured, as many manufacturers will include creating a prototype in their cost. This gives you a chance to see and feel the quality of the product before you commit to ordering a large amount. It can also help you determine their speed, adherence to your design instructions and ultimately if you have chosen a manufacturer that is right for your clothing business. It’s worth noting that if your clothing line contains different garments, for example, you sell both knitwear and jeans, then you might need to use a different manufacturer for each item.
Whatever you do, make sure you love what you create. You want to be absolutely certain that you’re happy with every product you’re creating before you order massive quantities of them—whether it’s a scarf or the packaging that the scarf will ship in.
Test the items yourself for quality, if possible. You could wash clothing multiple times according to care instructions to make sure they hold up well, and even wear them to see if they stretch, fade, fray, or bleed onto anything. This is your brand reputation on the line, so you can’t be too sure.
If you’re dropshipping items or selling with print on demand, you should always order the items that you plan on selling in your own store to ensure that they’re exactly what you think they’ll be.
Make sure that your products are up to the standard that you expect, and that they’re consistently high quality. After you’re confident, you can start ordering your inventory.
10. Get your marketing campaigns up and running
It’s time to start creating a marketing plan to promote your business. After all, customers can’t buy from you if they don’t know that you exist.
Here are some options for promoting your new clothing business online:
Search engine optimization (SEO): Wix sites that complete SEO setup receive two times more visitors and 1.3 times higher turnover.
Organic social media marketing: Choose the best social platforms to reach your target audience. Create branded profiles and curate your content to attract and engage followers, building brand and product awareness.
Pay-per-click ads: Create Facebook Ads and Google Ads to create and capture customer demand. Hundreds of Wix Stores owners have seen over 1,000% return on their ad spend with Facebook and Instagram through the integrated Facebook Ads marketing tool.
Sell on multiple sales channels: Set up Facebook and Instagram Shop and start selling on social media. You can also integrate other marketplaces like eBay, Amazon and Etsy to your online store. By adding an additional sales channel to your online store you can increase your sales by up to 12%.
Influencer marketing: Partner with clothing brand influencers who have an engaged following from your target audience and who can help you expand your reach quickly.
Brand ambassadors: Find and create fans of your products. Then encourage them to provide recommendations and site reviews.
Partner with another brand: Work with more-established brands that sell to your target audience but aren’t a direct competitor to increase your reach quickly.
Content marketing: Write blogs or create resources, like styling videos, to provide value to your audience.
Ready to start your own clothing line? Create your online store today.
Why start a clothing business?
Starting a clothing business can be a rewarding venture for multiple reasons. If you're a designer already, or looking to get started with a clothing business, some of the following benefits might inspire you further:
Creative expression: Designing unique styles and creating fashion trends can be fulfilling for those with a passion for creativity and design. If you have a genuine interest and passion for fashion, starting a clothing business provides an avenue to turn that passion into a profession, allowing you to work in an industry you love.
Entrepreneurial opportunities: The clothing industry offers numerous entrepreneurial opportunities, from designing and manufacturing to retail and online sales. It allows individuals to be their own boss and take control of their business. Starting a clothing business can contribute to job creation, whether by hiring employees for design, manufacturing, marketing, or retail positions. This can have a positive impact on the local economy.
Diverse market: The clothing market is vast and diverse, catering to various demographics, styles, and niches. Whether it's casual wear, activewear or niche markets like sustainable fashion, there are opportunities to find a unique position in the market. On top of that, if you have a knack for spotting trends in fashion, you can capitalize on changing consumer preferences. Staying ahead of trends can set your clothing business apart and attract a fashion-forward audience. There is also huge growth potential with selling clothes online — online sales of clothing, footwear and accessories in the US are expected to reach nearly $160 billion by 2025.
Brand building and customization: Building a clothing brand allows you to establish a distinct identity in the market. A strong brand can create customer loyalty and recognition, contributing to long-term success. The clothing industry also lends itself well to customization and personalization. Creating personalized or custom-designed clothing items allows you to cater to specific customer preferences.
Global reach: With the continuing rise and popularity of eCommerce, starting a clothing business provides the potential for a global customer base. The clothing business is expected to reach $770 billion in revenue in 2024. Within this the US and China are the leading clothing markets — with the US accounting for 20% of it.
Challenges to be aware of when starting a clothing business
Starting any type of business involves risks and challenges that can impact your profitability and how long it takes to achieve.
Some of the biggest challenges associated with clothing businesses are:
Environmental impact and sustainability
There are a few key issues and concerns here — the manufacturing of clothes contributes to carbon emissions, uses a lot of water and can also be responsible for chemical pollution. The other concern is mass produced, cheap clothing not only makes these worse but also leads to massive textile waste and a surplus of unused clothing.
Dependence on global supply chains
With much of the manufacturing of clothing happening far away from where the finished products are sold, supply chain disruptions can be a major challenge. War, natural disasters can all impact the shipping of clothing around the world. These disruptions then lead to delays, increased costs and inventory disruption.
Rising production costs
Clothing businesses are very susceptible to the impact of rising costs of raw materials, labor and transportation. These increased costs then reduce profitability. If at the same time clothing businesses want to be more environmentally conscious and sustainable, this can also raise costs and squeeze profits further.
Economic uncertainty and changing consumer preferences
Running a clothing business often means being able to respond fast to changing consumer trends and needs. At the same time economic changes, especially those downwards, can lead to reduced spending by consumers, or mean clothing businesses have to reduce their prices to tempt consumers.
Looking to start a clothing business in a specific state?
How to start a clothing brand FAQ
Do I need a license to start a clothing line?
The requirements for licensing vary depending on your location. In some jurisdictions, you may need a business license, a permit to sell clothing and a tax ID number. You may also need to comply with certain labeling and safety regulations in order to license your business.