The Creative J has a personal contact in Hong Kong for importing promotional products. We can bypass the middle man and help save you even more on your large quantity orders.
Importing with The Creative J
Hi Everyone, Last November I traveled to Hong Kong to visit Matrix Source--our promotional products importer.
Importing promotional products is a great way of saving money. More importantly, importing enables your company to customize items to your exact specifications. Whether it be changing the color of a jotter or adding a specific feature to a cooler or padfolio, it's your choice! Matrix Source helps by finding the right factory to deliver your product as you need it.
Here's a few tips to remember when importing:
1) Depending on the item, the quantity required to get started will vary from 3000-5000 units.
2) You will need to allow for at least 60-90 days production time – this will allow for a pre-production sample and shipping from overseas by boat.
3) All products are tested for any unsafe chemicals by a 3rd party company. So you can be assured that your products are safe.
4) Think Creatively! Buying merchandise from an overseas factory gives your company the ability to have special features and colors added. Why have your branded merchanise look the same as everyone else's? Have Fun! Think outside the box!
5) Lastly, by purchasing overseas you will save upwards of 30% or more.
Now lets go on a tour of some of the factories:
Padfolio/ Bag Factory
Lets first talk China geography.
I visited the Guangdong Province which is situated in the southern part of China mainland. Shenzhen-- the city where the factories were located is located in the southern portion of the Guangdong Province, on the eastern shore of the Pearl River Delta. Neighboring the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong (located just south of Shenzhen), Shenzhen's location gives it a geographical advantage for economic development.
In 1980, the first Special Economic Zone of China was built in Shenzhen. From then on, Shenzhen become a highlighted city of China, one known for its rapid economic growth.
One of the factories i visited made padfolios, jotters and tote bags.
As you can see from the picture, they made assortment of items.
That's one big roll of material!
The day I visited they were making a tote bag. The roll of material is the inside lining to a tote bag.
Metal Tooling Cuts The Material
A razor-sharp metal template is placed on thick layers of material. Then the template is placed on a press and Ta-Da-- in a matter of seconds 100s of pieces of material are cut in to shape.
Sewing the Lining into the Totebag
Once the lining was cut, it was sewn into the tote bag. There were at least 25 people to a row and probably 10 rows of workers working on this project. It wasn't cramped or dirty but the lighting wasn't the best. The average worker was a young twenty-something girl.
Custom Made Bags
Take a look at the inside lining! Beautifully stitched and ready to be boxed up and sent back to the US. This order was being boxed and sent to the States to be screenprinted by one of many bag companies.
Just Stitched Jotters
This factory also does padfolios and jotters. These lime green jotters were just stitched.
You can see the outside of the jotter is debossed with the ArtWrap logo.
The inside denier material will hold a paper jotter. Sewn together-- it gives you a stylish jotter.
Trimming the Threads Away
And you thought your job was boring! This gal's job was to trim the stitching threads. We might think this is no job for us but the amazing thing is all over China young adults are moving from the inland farmland to the urban areas seeking employment from this very sort of factory.
Now, the challenge is up to you. Do you want a your next promo to be a bit different than what you can find in a catalog?
Give The Creative J a call. We'll help you place your first import order and guide you through the whole process.
