Q: What is the minimum quantity for a trade discount?

A: 10 items of the same style

Q: What is the maximum quantity we can produce?

A: Around 200 pieces of the same style

Q: How does the price point apply?

A: Price depends on:

• Quantity purchased
• Yarn used
• Structure and complexity of product

NB: There are different prices for quantities 10-25, 26-50, 51-200

Q: What is the lead time for delivery?

A: 2-4 weeks after first sample agreed

Q: What are the benefits of using EKOPASSPORT hangtag?

A: EKOPASSPORT is a hangtag which provides a certification to the buyer of the source and provenance of the alpaca fibre used in their product. It assures the buyer that their product is:

• Eco-friendly
• Meets organic standards for the yarn used
• Ensures animal welfare and is cruelty-free
• Sustainably sourced
• Ethically produced

Q: What is the knitwear made on?

A: On our state-of-the-art machines – Shima Seiki 7gg and 12gg

Q: What gauges do we knit?

A: 7–14 Gauge knitting. We specialize in fine and medium-weight knitwear.

Q: What yarn counts do we use?

A: We use Nm 2/9, Nm 28/2, and Nm 16/2, but we can also knit with yarn counts as fine as Nm 70/2.

Q: How do you finish the knitwear?

A: We link all our garments. If you want us to “overlock” finish, please let us know.

Q: Do you wash the garments after you finish?

A: Yes, all garments made from natural fibres are always washed and pressed before delivery. This is necessary as natural fibre knitted garments often shrink after washing.

Q: What other fibres do we use for our knitwear?

A: We are happy to work with all natural fibres:

• Merino
• Alpaca
• Cashmere
• British Wool
• Cotton
• Silk
• Mohair
• Tencel Viscose and other plant-based fibres

Bespoke Products

Q: Will we make bespoke products for designers, shops, or students?

A: Yes, we do make bespoke products for customers. We can work from a photograph or a sketch.

We will discuss yarns, programming, knitting, and finishing costs before starting.

NB: We do offer discounts to students.

It is best if the customer provides a full technical specification. If not, we will prepare the technical specification and program for knitting the sample product.

• We will provide a swatch for handle quality and color reference.
• If the swatch is acceptable, we will proceed to make the first sample.

Development work takes time. If you want a bespoke product developed, you need to allow plenty of time for programming and the testing of yarns.

As an average for a standard product, please allow:

• 2-3 weeks to make the program and swatch
• 2-3 weeks for the first sample

There is no need to adhere to minimum orders when making bespoke knitwear, as you have to start with the first sample. However, the first sample is not always perfect since it is a prototype and often requires improvement.

Please note that some development work takes longer if we have to work with yarns supplied by you. All yarns are different, and the machine has to be calibrated accordingly.

If you have time constraints, please advise us so we can confirm if we can work within your timeframe in your order form.

Q: Please tell us about the Intellectual Property Rights in the designs you make?

A: Unless the customer provides both the design and the program for our Shima Seiki machine, all design and programming rights remain at all times the property of Ekoknitwear Limited. If the customer wishes to retain the rights to the design program, they must notify us at the outset so that we do not publish any images of development work and samples produced.

Photographs

We are proud of what we do and like to show off our work. If you don’t want us to, please let us know. We charge a fee of £50 + VAT to reserve the photographs of what we make for you. However, this must not be something already in our portfolio of programs.