On 10th November MA International Fashion Marketing students from Regents University attended a virtual tour of the Factory lead by Production Director Caroline Ash.
Usually taken place in the live factory environment the factory tours have now been adapted to allow students to experience the site visit from the comfort of their own homes, and although they cannot be there in person the level of information and visual tour of the factory enables them to gain a deep understanding of how an ethical factory operates in the UK.
Caroline began the session by explaining what makes us compliant, how we are audited by retailers, and what to look out for when visiting a factory to ensure they are operating ethically. She went on to discuss who we manufacture for and explained how we recently adapted to COVID and moved very quickly to produce PPE.
Following the overview and introduction, Caroline then took the session onto the Factory floor where she was filmed talking through each stage of the garment production process. The students were able to see the cutting table and how the fabric is laid onto the table and then a cutting machine is used, how the bundles are taken to the machines and the different machine operations such as cover stitch and over locker and then pressing, packing and finishing with quality control throughout the whole process. Caroline explained that although we manufacture fast fashion for ASOS we are extremely compliant and execute a strict quality control system with fabric and garments checked at every stage.
The tour was then taken to the Fashion Studio so the students could see where sampling and short production runs for high end and independent designers take place. Caroline explained the sampling process from the initial consultation to patterns, samples and production. She was also able to showcase the digital design tools such as Gerber and Optitex used in the studio.
Following the tour Caroline ended the session by answering any questions the students had.
Overall it was fantastically received with students commenting that they had learnt so much in such a short space of time and how it would benefit their studies and understanding of the fashion industry
We look forward to welcoming Regents University students again next year, hopefully in person!