On 14th July George at ASDA visited the Factory for the Factory Uncovered workshop
The 10 participants across merchandising, buying and sourcing at George joined the course to learn how an ethical factory in the UK operates day to day, and to help improve their relationships with suppliers.
The four-hour workshop took place on site with Production Director Caroline Ash leading and CEO Jenny Holloway and Senior Pattern Cutter Claire Solley also offering their industry expertise.
The session began with a review of the garment making industry and the complete garment life cycle. Discussions took place on how we are an ethical factory, what policies and procedures we have in place to make us compliant and our SMETA and FAST Forward audits.
Caroline took the group onto the factory floor and explained each operation in detail from the cutting detail to the different machine operations right through to pressing, finishing and packing.
Claire hosted a session on the design process to production and talked about the design considerations from both a cost and a manufacturing perspective.
At the end of the workshop the group were then taken to Unit 4 where the latest technologies including the Kornit digital printer and Zund master cutter are based, and given a quick insight into the micro factory concept at Fashion-Enter. This will be the next workshop available – The Sustainable Micro Factory Uncovered!
Feedback from the workshop was fantastic, we really enjoyed the session with the participants from George today –
‘I have learnt the cycle of a garment and the view from a supplier’s side. Amazing company and a really great day’ Megan, Merchandising Assistant
‘Amazing. Learnt loads. I couldn’t think of anything missed!’ Ellie, Merchandising Advocate
‘I have learnt how a factory operates on a day-to-day basis. Things a factory needs to consider from an ethics and compliance point of view. How manufacturing may develop in the future. Very informative day that kept me engaged.’ Udit, Ethical Advocate
If you would like more information please email jenni@fashion-enter.com