Here are some links to manaufacturing organizations (I hope this does not violate the policies here - I have no affiliation with any of these):National Association of manufacturers (nam.org)NAM Manufacturing Buyer's Guide (nambuyersguide.com)Manufacturing Extension Partnership (mep.nist.gov)Here are some import/export links that could help you source goods from overseas:www.business.gov/expand/import-exportwww.exim.govU.S. Commercial Service (buyusa.gov/home/export.html)Also, you might want to do a web search for manufacturing representatives. Find out which manufacturer they work for or represent - might be a quick way to source a lot of goods at once as most reps represent more than one manufacturer.

Hi Krrush, I had similar questions when I started out my own business. I've found that World Wide Brands, Inc. is a great place to start off to look for genuine wholesalers.  Just google it and you would find more information on them.   Bests, Amy 

'krrush' Have you had a look at alibaba.com? They have a rating system for their supplier (gold, silver and bronze) and its free to use which is nice as well. When talking to wholesalers on the site, make sure you get them to make it clear whether they actually work for the manufacturing company or are just an agent. When my partner and I went to India last year, we found this happen to us. The guy we have been talking to ended up to be an agent seperate to the business. After meeting with our clothing manufacturer about this, she told us that since she is a small operator she always works through agents. The 'agent' had talked the whole time about his 'factories', I guess he was just a wanna be, he's word was right when it came to the quality of our new clothing manufacturer which was the most important part. -- This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices. Message Edited by NicoleD on 01-22-2010 01:09 PM

Krrush, One place to start could be with the Better Business Bureau. I did a quick search on their US site for business owners and you can locate nation-wide BBB accredited wholesalers.

Clothing is an extremely vast industry so it would help to first narrow down your search. Are you looking for particular brands? Are you looking to create your own brand basing yourself on unbranded clothing already available? The more defined your sourcing strategy becomes, the easier you will find your search for reliable partners. If your strategy is vague, so too will the results. I would recommend narrowing down what you are looking for. Approach the brands directly for a list of their authorised distributors (if in the case of branded goods) or localise your search within your local state to kick things off. International sourcing would be advisable, but perhaps dip your toes in sourcing local prior to taking that step. Best of luck, Chris.

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