Welcome to our BLOG!
First things first, who is HRP Textile Agency?
As you probably already understood by browsing through our website, we are a Textile Agency based in Barcelos that aims to support international brands placing their production in Portugal. Our role in the process of apparel production is to be an intermediary between our clients and the clothing manufacturers in Portugal. Being strategically based in Barcelos, allows HRP to have a wide range of options regarding suppliers, since we are near a great number of clothing manufacturers.
At HRP we count with a team composed of 8 enthusiastic and strong-willed members. Not only they are specialists experienced in the industry, but also share the passion for textiles and fashion. We see each other as family, and this feeling extends to our partners. We are genuinely committed in building long and trustworthy business relationships with our partners. In fact, throughout his career our CEO has built several partnerships with both suppliers and clients, which in many cases have been going on non-stop for more than 30 years.
In other words, you could say HRP Textile Agency provides consulting expertise in apparel sourcing and manufacturing in Portugal, while advising our clients throughout the whole apparel production process. We have the goal of presenting a personalized experience based on the requirements of each client, so they can make the most of their investment in Portugal.
Why should you care?
This is the million-dollar question. What differentiate us from others? Why us? We could start reflecting and giving a huge and complex answer full of examples why you should care about us, but let’s keep this simple. We have detected 2 core problems which give brands several headaches, namely the search for suitable manufacturers adjusted to their needs, and the quality control.
Choosing the right clothing manufacturer is one of the most important and difficult elements in your business. A brand can have the best designers and marketing, but if it does not have a good product it will not sell. Some of the problems you may face, when looking blindly for suppliers abroad, can be the following:
- Poor quality;
- Faulty Goods;
- Shipment delays.
Consequently, this approach will most likely result in poor sales, plus a vast amount of expenses and time wasted. Time is money, these are expenses that can dictate the difference between you best and worst year. So why not diminishing the risks? We have developed a service that aims to solve our clients most concerning problems regarding a suited choice of suppliers and quality control. Wouldn’t it be better to have a trustworthy partner in Portugal to watch your back and attending to your brand’ specific needs, even when you are thousands of kilometres away? I am predicting the answer will be a strong “Hell yeah!”.
So, What’s our key to success?
As a Textile Agency, we proud ourselves of providing a service which adapts to the requirements and standards of each client. Since we act as an intermediary between brands and suited clothing manufacturers in Portugal, we are not limited to work with only certain types of garments. Consequently, HRP can be very flexible when attending to your requests. Nevertheless, we do have some conditions that must be met for us to be able to work with our clients, and we are straightforward about them. Brands who wants to start a partnership with HRP must understand we have our processes oriented for mid/large international brands, so we have a MOQ per style and colour of 300 pieces.
So, what’s in store for brands who want to start a partnership with HRP? This: we have developed a complete service to simplify our clients’ journey in Portugal. HRP stands by your side from the moment you first start the development of your collection, until the final shipment of your production order. Throughout this process we carefully monitor all stages and assure a perfect flow of information. In other words, you could say that we handle the production management of your brand and allow you to focus more on your marketing and sales efforts.
As we said previously, we can be very flexible regarding the type of products that we deal with. Our clothing manufacturers in Portugal can produce all types of garments for Sportswear, Active Sportswear, Fitness wear, Leisurewear, Outdoor, Cycling, Fashion, Casual, Workwear and Underwear. Moreover, as we aim to provide a personalized experience to each brand, there is a possibility to produce other fashion products by request (e.g. shoes), since HRP will find the right manufacturer for your product specifications. All of this is just one tech pack away!
Sustainability, are we in or out?
We receive daily inquiries of clients who want to move towards a more sustainable production. Even though there is no such thing as a complete sustainable production yet, there are several choices throughout the development of your collection that can help it to be greener. Following all concerns about the environment, HRP Textile Agency is becoming increasingly aware of the planet and the need to make a change. We are striving to be, at every step, more accountable and transparent regarding the environmental impact of our operations. Our clothing manufacturers have an important role in how we tackle the urge to reduce our environmental impact. Over the years, they have been shifting their practices to hold a more ethical and sustainable production:
- Compliance with the BCI (Better Cotton Initiative);
- Usage of sustainable materials such as organic and recycled fibers;
- Certifications (GOTS, Oeko-tex 100, SA8000, GRS, OCS 100, SMETA);
- Recycling and reducing the usage of plastics;
- Knits leftovers are used as raw material by other industries.
Today we are better than yesterday, but not as good as we will be tomorrow. In a joint effort with our suppliers, and as our clients demands for a more sustainable production increases, we are moving towards a more environmentally friendly supply chain.
The Blog
Finally, now that you understand who we are and what we do, it is time for a small intro of what our objectives with the creation of this blog are. As you could understand throughout this article, we are fascinated by this industry so, with the expectation you feel the same, we have decided to start sharing our expertise, knowledge and experiences. Here, you will find in the future several articles covering all kinds of topics regarding textiles and fashion. For instance, information about trends, fashion trade shows, reflections about current events and how it affects our industry, textile knowledge, and much more.
We are looking forward to sharing with you all this knowledge and hope you enjoy it!
by Rui Oliveira
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