Who makes our clothes?

[smartyiak]

Just generally, who is making all the bibs and jerseys?

It seems like every day, on my FB feed, there's a new ad for a company I've never heard of. Some are kinda like Neo Pro ("no reason to spend $XXXX for a jersey...ours is just as good")...but, just as often, there's the >$150 jersey and >$200 bib.

I got to think, like the frames or rims, there's 2 or 3 HUDGE factories producing all this clothing and then just adding a label, per the "owner's instruction."

Also, who are the people behind the brands? Ther can't be that big of a market for all these brands...or can there?

So: who are these companies? Are there any that should be avoided (whether for quality, human rights, pollution...or any other concerns)?

I'm mostly just curious...but also: I like new kit!

[facelessfools]

Can't say I know much about where the stuff is coming from but I did look at my labels...
Odd3, doesn't have a label in it.
Plant athletic, I cut them out so they were probably bothersome.
Atout, says it is made by another company called rasowear. They are both polish sites and atout has better deals on their designs.

I'm happy with the quality of them all. My girlfriend has neopro and bicycle booth. The neopro I can't say I'd be willing to buy some for myself. And the bicycle booth one came in so poorly sized it was thrown away.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[micky]

Having worked for a clothing brand in the past, the source are usually divided in 2; 1. well known companies and 2. minor local companies.

Your questions are a bit "wide" so it's difficult to answer correctly.
The people behind are normally cycling fans like us; after my own experience I had a friend who was thinking to create a clothing brand but I advised against it cause it's difficult to make a product for so tight market right now.
Yes there was a boom years ago and as you mentioned there isn't market for everyone; some survive, some dissapear or re-brand.

My main focus would be personally to find a good value for the money, brand; nowdays even among well known brand it's difficult to find clothing that fit the same as they source as well from many suppliers.

[TobinHatesYou]

Just an FYI, there's not 2-3 "huge" factories making bike frames. Giant has factories in four countries. It apparently has five factories in China alone. The total number of large scale bicycle factories around the world is in the hundreds.

If you look at your labels, you'll see a whole lot of origins. My Castelli pieces have come from El Salvador, Romania and the US/Portland (for custom.)

There are also many well known component brands that go into cycling garments. YKK zippers, Elastic Interface pads, various Italian fabrics, silicone grippers, etc.

[spud]

I'd expect there to be a multitude of manufacturers, since fixed costs are relatively low, certainly compared to carbon frame mfg or component mfg. Just need some material, a couple good sewing machines and good seamstresses to mfg clothing.

[smartyiak]

Just an FYI, there's not 2-3 "huge" factories making bike frames. Giant has factories in four countries. It apparently has five factories in China alone. The total number of large scale bicycle factories around the world is in the hundreds.

If you look at your labels, you'll see a whole lot of origins. My Castelli pieces have come from El Salvador, Romania and the US/Portland (for custom.)

There are also many well known component brands that go into cycling garments. YKK zippers, Elastic Interface pads, various Italian fabrics, silicone grippers, etc.

I incorrectly typed...I meant to type: companies/manufactureres...not factories. Apologies.

[tymon_tm]

you can be sure unknown online brands are the easiest way to buy "blood clothes". in clothing, most companies outsource - and even if the tag says "made in country X", it doesn't mean it's been made there. euro folks started to check where their clothes come from, and many brands addapted by working with middle-men who take care of all this procedure of importing stuff from 3rd world and putting "made in EU" labels for our peace of mind. I know that for a fact - personally know a guy who "makes" suits; they're all supposedly made in Bulgaria (at least that's what tags state) but infact they come from Birma, or whatever is this county called these days.

[Andrew69]

Ive been buying some Rapha gear lately and it seems to be made all over the place.
Anywhere from China to Vietnam to Portugal...so I guess at least it is labelled correctly