Manufacturing FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions on our knitwear Manufacturing Process.

We want to make sure you have a clear understanding of our hand knitting manufacturing process, so we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions. We hope this helps answer any questions you may have about our work and the materials we use. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send us an email.

We will regularly update this list with new information to ensure that you have the most up-to-date answers.

Questions Regarding our Company

Are you legally registered?

Yes, we are legally registered in Nepal under Department of Small Cottage Industry. We renew our registration every year and pay our taxes.

Is it possible to visit your office/factory?

Yes, ofcourse. Please schedule a meeting before you visit.

Are you a fair trade organization? Are you registered in FTO (Fair Trade Organization) group?

We highly believe in fair trade values. We believe working fairly and being paid living wage is a minimum standard of work for everyone. As for FTO group membership, we not not registered with the association yet. We are planning for our application on next fiscal year of 2024/25.

Did not receive reply?

This rarely happen. We always reply within 24 hours of email. Please check your spam or Junk folder. Also white-list our email address so that it does not goes to spam folder. In-case you do not receive reply withing 24hours, please feel free to give a call.

What NOT TO DO?

Please do not send us the image pulled from Internet and ask for sample & price. Those kinds of images can be used as reference but not to use for copy for production. We only want to work with genuine companies (big or small) that want to offer unique offering to their customers by using hand knitting technique.

What TO DO for better communication?

Please describe about your company and your planning on handknitting.
If possible send email via your company email address rather than personal email.
What if, you are just getting started?
No problem. Please provide your planning that resemble working with us with some reference to you or your prior work.
Have some research on hand knitting. This helps in understanding what you can & cannot expect.

Can the customer benefit from the Trade preference agreement?

Yes, The customer can benefit for the Trade preference agreement. There is facility of GSP which will allow the customer to import goods from Nepal with “No” or “less” custom duties. The generous donor countries for facilitation GSP facility to Nepal are Australia, Belarus, Canada, European Union, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Turkey, United States. There is also Trade preference program from United States to Nepal that allows Nepalese products with Duty-free access to United States till 31 December 2025.
Links for the GSP and US Trade Preference facility.
GSP Donors to Nepal
Nepal Trade Preference Program by USA

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Nepal Trade Preference Program (NTPP) offer valuable trade benefits for Nepalese exporters. The GSP provides duty-free entry for eligible goods, but its benefits have been on hold since its expiration on December 31, 2020, pending Congressional renewal. Despite this, importers are encouraged to flag GSP-eligible entries for potential duty refunds if the program is reinstated retroactively. Meanwhile, the NTPP, established under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, remains active and grants duty-free access to the U.S. for select Nepalese products, including handicrafts and travel goods. This program is valid until December 31, 2025, giving exporters a unique opportunity to expand their market presence in the U.S. while it lasts.

https://www.trade.gov/otexa-nepal-trade-preference-program

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/20/2016-30738/to-implement-the-nepal-preference-program-and-for-other-purposes

Basic Working Procedure?

First we discuss on your planning and how can we be help of.
Usually people have very vague idea of what they want but they want product to be made as per the photos seen in the Internet which usually do not work.
Following is general work process.
Discuss —> Create Samples —> Iterate & finalize —> Go for Production —> Ship
Then we talk about requirement of product category you want to make, yarns, ad-dons ( like embellishment, fleece lining) and see what is possible & what is available. We also go through on samples we have done before or make sample as per your requirement.
Based on the first sample, we discuss & see if it could be made better, reiterate on more samples or it is not the product to your requirement.
Once all the things are finalized, we proceed for production. This could take anywhere from 1 week to couple of months depending upon the qty. We also discuss on payment & delivery terms.
We setup quality control on every different step of the production, once ready the product is individually packed in polybags and boxed. And send for shipping.

Do you have a retail shop? Online shop?

Not currently. We used to have a shop at Thamel which we had to closed down after the 7.6 Richter Scale Earthquake of 2015.
We also do not have any online web shop.

Questions regarding our Knitters & Employees

How about working conditions for the workers?

We have good working environment setup in our office/factory. Our work rooms get full natural light through out days and we have backup power for lights. The entrance/exit path, working rooms are wide & easily to move around.

How are workers paid?

Our employees working with us are paid monthly based on their attendance. Our home based workers are paid based on unit they complete, they are also paid on monthly basis. Most of the payments are paid to their respective bank account. We strive to provide fair wages to both our in-house employees & home based workers.

Other facilities

We abide by the Nepal’s labor standard.
We also offer the regular staff with credit facility of approx USD 900/- to be paid back from their salary/wages. These are interest free credit facility that helps to meet their immediate financial needs.

Questions regarding our Samples & Production

Do you have any samples or catalog to provide?

As we do not carry our own designs and mostly work with private label designs, we have not created any catalog. And since we do not share the designs of our customers, we cannot include their design as our work. Though we have created a stock catalog of the goods we have with us. If you are interested in this, let us know.

Are you able to sample as per custom designs?

Yes we can. Most of our manufacturing is based on making custom designs for private labels, so yes we are able to work on such. Making a custom sample takes time to understand & do it right, so please provide complete details of your designs. Initially we request to use the available yarn or color in stock with us to get started quickly. We do not charge for a sample if you can provide your good business information, but we do charge for the shipping cost. If you have account with courier you can also point them to our office for the pickup.

How do you maintain Quality on Production?

We maintain the quality of production by auditing each unit by a person. We study all the important aspect of the product & compare the production pcs with the specifications. Each knitters have slightly different approach to knitting. We analyze the results of individual knitters & give feedback to make improvement upon. We also arrange a discussion on techniques & improvement of the product. Since everything is hand knitted, there could be maximum of a centimeter tolerance in small items and maximum up to two centimeters tolerance of large items.
Please check out our manufacturing process of a hat, it may give you some idea on how we take the production.

What materials do you work with?

We work with every materials that is possible to knit with. We work with Wool, Cotton, Hemp, Mohair, Merino, Cashmere etc. We stock Merino, Mohair, Cotton 4/4, 2/6, 2/10 and ordinary yarn. The Merino yarn we stock is 100% single Merino of 21 Microns.
Please check our journal for more details on it.

More About Wool yarn

There are few types of yarn that are available in market. Most suppliers only stock certain quality of wool yarn.
Most common wool blends are 100% wool and it blends with nylon or acrylic.
The softness of these wool are usually varies from 28 micron and above. Which is a usually considered coarse yarn.
Most common thickness of yarn is from 1/2 Nm to 1/2.5 Nm. Though thickness of yarn can be customized if ordered in bulk. Some suppliers sells soft Merino yarn.
Please check our journal for more details on it.

What would be Preliminary Cost Or Sampling cost?

We have not placed fixed sampling cost as it depends upon the product, yarn used, design complexity etc. We do promise that we will provide you with fair factory price.

How much do you charge for the sample?

As of now, we have not charged extra for the sample. Depending upon the complexity involve, we may request additional surcharge. This would all happen before we start the work, so you will be made well aware of it. To avoid casual request we could also request for 100USD as refundable earnest payment. So please make request with genuine details.

Questions regarding our Shipment & Payment

Do you have any samples or catalog to provide? What kind of shipment method do you use?

We have options to ship via different cargo & courier. FedEx, DHL, Aramex, EMS are popular courier services. Please note shipment cost varies on Dimensional weight of the product. Usually it is (Length multiply Breadth multiply Height) divide by 5000.
The more the dimensional weight the lower the per kg charge. Usually the price is drastically lower after 20kg of dimensional weight. So it might be beneficial if you plan to consolidate the products & meet the minimum of 20kg.

How much does the shipment cost?

The shipment cost depends upon few factors, Dimensional weight, Express/Economy, location.
Usually for cargo services, the price breaks after 20kgs – 50kgs (depending upon company) which will give the economy rates per kg.

What are your payment terms?

We would require advance payment before the qty order and require full payment before the shipment.

How can we send the payment?

We accept Bank transfer which is a compulsory requirement if large shipment is to be sent. For small shipment with value lower than USD 150, we can receive payments Transferwise or VISA debit/credit card or western union.
We know the bank charge could cost up-to USD 45 per transaction. There is also a charge from our local bank when we receive the payment.