NONO has been working successfully together with their Chinese supplier: “Mr. Tea understands our handwriting as no one can”

Being authentic and creating sustainable products as a fashion brand starts with a mindset, but this all falls and stands with a good supplier. NONO kidswear has been standing side by side with its Chinese supplier for almost a decade and is proud of the relationship they have built during these years. Fashion United interviewed brand manager Charlene Chin and design manager Karlijn Kragting and asked what this successful collaboration looks like.

You are quite close with your supplier: How did this relationship start?

About 9,5 years ago, NONO was taken over by another company. At such a point, we had to reinvent ourselves as a brand and this took quite a while. Our supplier-we call him ‘Mr. Tea’- understands our handwriting like no one can and they are happy with what we deliver to them. They surprise us every time again with the devotion and love they put into the product. It is really beautiful to see how this evolved over the years and to see the results.

What is important if you want to build up a good and long-term relationship with your

supplier? Mutual respect. ‘Mr.Tea’ really makes a beautiful product and they always produce in time, but we always react and respond appropriately. We are always accurate when we talk about sending out style-sheets, comment-sheets, and orders. Planning wise this is super, so they can start up with NONO early in the season and have enough time later to make other collections for other brands. This way, you get a: we do this for each other’s feelings and this is crucial. If there are issues during a bulk season or any stage in this process, we always try to find a suitable solution. We all have one goal: creating beautiful products.

When did you know as NONO: yes this is it!

At a certain point, the numbers went up, and results improved! And of course, a supplier notices this as well. We all needed this to proceed and grow further.

That is nice. What is the role of Mr. Tea and his team in this design process?

Of course, he receives all the needed information completely and in detail and he will take care that the product is made extremely well. Sometimes you need to make decisions fast and there is no time to see everything in real life. At such a point, he is our eyes and ears. He likes to give advice as well. Last season, we picked out a jersey color and Mr. Tea noticed that the jersey didn’t match well with the woven fabric. At this point, we did not listen to him, but he was right! The longer you know each other, the more you feel it’s just a suggestion or mandatory advice.

Are there any challenges you face along the way?

Circularity is a challenge in our road ahead. You first need to think this through and have a plan: this is how we are going to do it and then the supplier can step in and help to unroll this plan. NONO already has sustainable ideas, such as making separate collections to finish old leftover fabrics. But if they actually will join us in this journey with this entire recycling process, then we are tapping into a completely new area.

Sustainability is important for NONO. Does your supplier share this mindset?

10 years ago, this was not a topic. During the years, having this mindset grew along with us and is a part of who we are nowadays. We are very happy that 40% of our total collection is made of recycled polyester. The road to recyclable pieces is one we will walk, but then you need to keep your products in the chain, and that is a challenge. We have started a collaboration with a platform that helps us be transparent. We have selected this supplier as a pilot. Every garment will get a hangtag with a QR code on it. The end-consumer can scan this and can see the complete journey of this product. You would think that it would be a bit exciting for the Chinese, but they have no problem disclosing this information and we think it’s very nice that they can show what they do for the final product. How often do they get this chance?