TEXTILE SOURCING

CSLO 7 Project Guidelines
7.2 Textile Sourcing
Students will source fabrics containing their focus fiber. The purpose of this project is to
learn about different vendors one can obtain fabrics from and learn how to communicate
with them. There will be a lesson on textile sourcing during the course.

Part I: Fabric Sourcing
1. Students need to source at least 10 different fabrics that will be used in the third
project- Marketing and Capsule Collection. Fabrics can be knit, woven, or a minor
fabrication (neither knit nor woven), but each fabric MUST be different. Your swatch
book will be an invaluable reference for this project.
• For example: satin, twill, jersey, raschel lace, felt, etc. would all be
considered different fabrics. A red cotton sateen and a black cotton sateen
does not count as 2 different fabrics.
2. Fabrics MUST contain your focus fiber from project 7.1. Blends are okay if the focus
fiber is the majority of the blend. (Spandex and some other exotic fibers are
exceptions. If you are unsure, ask.)
3. Students must source their 10 fabrics from a variety of different retailers. Fabrics
must be sourced from each of these types of vendors: manufacturer, retailer, and
wholesaler (see definitions below). Students can source from vendors online or in
store.

The 10 fabrics need to be sourced from 1 retailer, 1 or 2 wholesalers, and 1 or 2
manufacturers for a total of 4 vendors. Use this opportunity to find companies that you
would be interested in working with. For example, if you are interested in sustainability,
find vendors who sell sustainable fabrics. Each fabric you find must be presented in a
paper with the following information:
a. Name of vendor that sells the fabric
b. Type of vendor (as categorized by table above)
c. Picture of the fabrics- please make it big enough to be clearly visible and use
high quality pictures. You may use pictures from the Internet or your own
camera.
d. Technical name of fabric (ex: jersey, brocade, velour, etc.)
i. Refer to your book for examples of technical names
e. Fiber content with percent (ex: 100% cotton, 80% cotton 20% polyester,
etc.) If no fiber percentages are included, please indicate that on your
project or contact your vendor to obtain that information.
f. Link to product (if you sourced the fabric online)

Part II: Summary of Experience
At the end of the fabric section, answer these questions. You may need to contact the
companies to have some of these questions answered.
1. How easy was it to buy from each vendor? Elaborate on why you found some
vendors easier to buy from or harder to buy from.
2. Comparing vendors, how well were the products described? Were the vendors
transparent about the quality of their products and the way they do business?
3. How did pricing of products differ between vendors? Were there any minimums in
quantity that needed to be purchased with certain vendors?
4. Overall which vendor would you prefer buying from and why?

Bonus:
As mentioned above, you may need to contact the vendors directly to get more information
about ordering or the product. This is commonplace when buying direct from a
manufacturer or wholesaler. During the week’s lesson, we will show you how to
communicate with a vendor in the most professional manner.
• Earn bonus points by directly contacting a vendor using our guidelines in the lecture.
You need to show evidence that you at least attempted to contact these vendors
inquiring about the product and/or ordering information (you do not actually have to
place an order). Include documentation of the conversation, like a screen shot of the
email sent, in your project. If you do not use our guidelines, you will not get the
points!

Grading Rubric for 7.2
60pts:
10 Different Fabrics
• Picture
• Technical name
• Fiber content
• Name of vendor
• Type of vendor
• Link to product

20pts:
Summary of experience

Vendor Contact Bonus:
(limit 4 vendors)
Additional 2 points per vendor contacted
Additional 4 points per vendor contacted
AND the vendor replied

Total Points Possible 96pts

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