Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
56 Fashion Marketing & Merchandising
The Soft Goods Chain
The soft goods chain is the channel of distribution for
apparel and home decorating textiles. Another name
for it is the textile/apparel pipeline. As shown on the
left side of Figure 4.1, the chain starts with the textile
segment, moves through the apparel segment, goes to
the retail segment, and finishes with end users who fi
use the products.
Elements that make up a garment evolve toward
a fi nished product as they move through the chain. fi
There are companies that operate at every level—each
segment buying products from the previous one and
selling to the next one. For companies at the beginning
and middle of the pipeline, customers are not end-use
consumers. For them, customers are businesses posi-
tioned at the next step of the overall chain.
The Textile Segment
As shown on the right side of Figure 4.1, the textile
segment of the soft goods chain starts with fiber pro- fi
duction. Fibers are very thin, hair-like strands that can
be quite short or very long. They are the beginning,
basic units in making textile products and originate
either from naturally grown sources, such as wool
from sheep, or from chemical mixtures, such as in
polyester.
The next step in the textile segment is yarn
production. Yarns are continuous strands of textile
fi bers in a form suitable for processing into fabrics. They form by spinning, or fi
twisting, fi bers together at yarn mills. (You will more thoroughly learn about fi
fi bers and yarns in Chapter 6.) fi
Next, fabric manufacturing occurs at textile mills. The mills weave, knit, g
or otherwise join the yarns into fabrics, which are long pieces of cloth. At
this point, the fabrics, or yard goods in an unfinished state, are called fi greige
(gray) goods.
The fi nal step in textile production is fi fabric finishing. fi Fabric fi nishes fi
include bleaching, dyeing, printing, or special coatings. These processes
impart color, texture, pattern, ease of care, and other characteristics to fab-
rics. They change the appearance, feel, and/or performance of each fabric to
suit various end uses. (See Chapter 7 for in-depth details on the making and
fi nishing of fabrics.) fi
The Apparel Segment
The apparel segment produces fi nished garments and accessories. The right fi
side of Figure 4.1 shows the main sections of the apparel segment.
Mary G. Wolfe
Figure 4.1
Th e textile/apparel pipeline, or soft goods Th
chain, has three main segments that feed products from
beginning raw materials to fi nished items for consumers,
who are the end users.
The Soft Goods Chain
Fiber production
Yarn production
Fabric manufacturing
Fabric finishing
Apparel designing
Apparel manufacturing
Apparel sales
Quantity buying
Single-item selling
Consumers
Textile segment
Apparel segment
Retail segment
End users