Imagine this scenario: Black Friday is just a few weeks away. A critical shipment of garments you’re promoting has arrived on time, however, the units do not meet specifications. Now you’re faced with a looming deadline and many thousands of dollars at risk.

This issue throws a big wrench in the works. You strive to create a smooth-running e-commerce operation. After all, profits are realized only when there is speed and efficiency in every step of the process. That’s why receiving a problematic shipment of apparel that does not meet specs, has broken buttons or smells musty is an urgent situation that must be resolved quickly.

Darn It was a lifesaver

When you partner with a US-based third-party apparel refurbisher, you add a critical member to your virtual team.

As a third-party apparel refurbisher, our goal is to get garments into first-quality condition as quickly as possible. Often, thousands of dollars are at stake, sometimes millions. The issue needs to be remediated quickly to get garments to first-quality condition and stocked in your warehouse or distribution center. Additionally, we want to minimize fall-out rate and avoid consumer returns.

Mini case studies: Beyond broken buttons, apparel problems come in all shapes and sizes.

  • Apparel repair: Stuck zippers put $2 million in sales at risk– Our customer’s featured item for their autumn launch was a fashionable sweatshirt. Unfortunately, the 43,000 items had zippers with the wrong slider. We were able to repair the zipper and provide first-quality product in time for the launch.
  • Mold and mildew removal: Cartons of clothing had soaked in salt water!– A shipping container with 20,000 pairs of pants was submerged in salt water at the port. We conducted an ozone shock treatment to kill festering mold and then pressed, re-ticketed and repackaged the pants, all in time for their big promotion.
  • Apparel relabeling: 40,000 mislabeled bras– After completing an inspection with precise measurements, we discovered that a customer’s entire shipment of bras had labels that were three sizes too large. We applied new heat transfer labels in 12 colors over the factory’s silkscreen label. The heat transfer label stated the correct size and fully covered the incorrect labels.
  • Reticket and repackage: The devil is in the details – An apparel manufacturer asked us to re-ticket 27,000 garments that had arrived with incorrect price tickets. Additionally, we received 4,000 packages of assorted tank tops in various colors to sort and repack. The factory had mistakenly placed multiple sizes in every assortment pack. If this error hadn’t been remedied, returns would soar.
  • Garment inspection: Actual measurements don’t match specifications – We repaired 42,000 sweaters with neck holes that were too small as well as 16,000 lady’s wool pants with inseams that were randomly too long or too short.
  • Sewing repairs: A surprising number of issues can be quickly remediated – Here are just a few examples in which sewing returned apparel to first-quality condition: We replaced all buttons on 6,000 shirts due to lead content issues. We removed and replaced a red drawcord on 8,000 pajama bottoms (customers complained that the red dye was bleeding and staining the pajamas). We repaired and reinforced improperly sewn arm holes on 5,000 men’s sleeveless shirts. We added the missing buttonhole on the shape-keeper for 1,000 baseball caps.

In the apparel industry, a quality-control and refurbishment company is a key member of your virtual team.

You operate in a highly competitive market. Issues that arise with apparel, accessories or related merchandise – ballcaps, backpacks, tents or totes – need to be remediated quickly. You need first-quality condition garments stocked in your warehouse or distribution center, particularly in advance of a large promotion. The key is teaming with a third-party refurbisher like Darn It! to deliver the expertise, skilled workforce and track record to remediate your apparel issues accurately and quickly.

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