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Long-form notes on sourcing, vetting factories, and running production with Portuguese clothing manufacturers.

10 Best Websites to Find Manufacturers for Your Product Brand
Matias Santos, Founder
A practical guide for brand owners looking to manufacture clothing, accessories, beauty products, and consumer goods. Most brand owners underestimate how difficult it is to find reliable manufacturers. After designing a product and validating demand, the next challenge is sourcing suppliers who can actually produce it. This guide walks through the ten websites founders turn to most often, what each one is genuinely good for, where they fall short, and what to check before trusting any supplier you find through them.
Apr 15, 2026
Sustainable Clothing Manufacturers in Europe: What the Certifications Actually Mean
Matias Santos, Founder
"Sustainable" is one of the most overused words in the fashion industry, and nowhere is it more abused than in supply chain claims. This guide is for brand founders who want to make credible sustainability claims, not just marketing ones, and who need to understand what certifications, production practices, and sourcing decisions actually matter. It breaks down GOTS, OEKO-TEX, and SA8000 in plain terms, and explains how to verify a factory's claims before you commit to an order.
Apr 15, 2026

How to Find Clothing Manufacturers in Europe: A Practical Guide for Independent Brands

Matias Santos, Founder

Finding a clothing manufacturer in Europe is one of the most commonly searched topics among independent brand founders, and also one of the most poorly covered. Most advice online is either too generic ("attend trade shows! search Google!") or too focused on sourcing from Asia. This guide breaks down the methods that actually work for independent brands, what to prepare before reaching out, and how to build a direct relationship with a factory instead of going through a middleman.

Apr 15, 2026

Footwear Manufacturers in Portugal: What Shoe Brands Need to Know

Matias Santos, Founder

Portugal makes roughly 80 million pairs of shoes a year and exports the vast majority of them. It's the fourth-largest shoe exporter in Europe by value, and the country's footwear industry, concentrated in a small triangle in the northwest, has been producing premium leather goods for over 150 years. This guide covers what shoe brands need to know before reaching out: production types, realistic minimum order quantities, lead times, and how to tell a genuine manufacturer from a trading company.

Apr 15, 2026

Clothing Manufacturers in Portugal: A Practical Guide for DTC Brands

Matias Santos, Founder

Portugal has become the go-to sourcing destination for independent clothing brands that want European quality without Italian price tags. In the last decade, brands like A-Cold-Wall, Castore, and dozens of smaller DTC labels have shifted production to the north of Portugal, and the results have been strong enough that the word has spread quietly through the founder community. This guide covers what makes the region different, which towns specialise in what, and how to start a conversation with a factory directly.

Apr 15, 2026

10 Best Websites to Find Manufacturers for Your Product Brand

Sustainable Clothing Manufacturers in Europe: What the Certifications Actually Mean

How to Find Clothing Manufacturers in Europe: A Practical Guide for Independent Brands

Footwear Manufacturers in Portugal: What Shoe Brands Need to Know

Clothing Manufacturers in Portugal: A Practical Guide for DTC Brands