I have been lucky in this role to work with a wide range of products including children’s costumes and apparel (0-14yrs) and more recently adult’s costumes, for own brand, customer-direct and licensed product. This role has extended my knowledge of safety requirements of children’s garments as it involves a strong understanding of EN71 Toy standards, the General Product Safety Directive, British Standards such as EN 14682 Cords and Drawstrings and REACH regulations. I have been responsible for managing the fit and product compliance of our products throughout the whole sealing process. This includes risk assessing designs and initial concept samples, liaising with the factories and laboratories regarding test requirements, completing fit sessions and communicating comments to the factory, maintaining technical files, confirming and approving packaging requirements and managing the critical path to ensure key dates and deliveries are met. The role has given me opportunities to travel to China and Madagascar for factory visits, which has provided new experience and understanding when managing factory compliance and reviewing factory audits and corrective action plans. My role also includes reviewing customer complaints and returns and liaising with factories to rectify recurring issues.Customers: Disneyland Paris, The Disney Store Global, Disney Licensed product, Own Brand product, John Lewis, Next. Plus own-brand children’s fancy dress and apparel, adult fancy dress,

This role allowed me to work with a range of customers and develop my skills further as a garment technologist. I took the skills I developed at CWI and applied these to a different range of customers and garments. My responsibilities ranged from checking and measuring samples from first fit to production samples, ensuring fit comments were understood and followed by our factories worldwide; reading and assessing test reports; assessing AQL reports for goods to ship and ensuring the critical path is adhered to. I had more opportunities to attend fit sessions and build better relationships with the technologists and buyers at each of the customer’s I work with. Throughout my time at TFG I worked with factories in Turkey, Bangladesh, China, India and Cambodia and communicated with these through email, over the phone and Skype/video conferencing. My main responsibilities were working with the Tesco Babieswear account and running the technical side to this on a day to day business. This role helped me to develop my childrenswear, babieswear and nightwear safety knowledge as well as ensuring the customer’s high-quality standards are met whilst working to a critical path. I have also had opportunities to assist in measuring and fitting samples for other divisions within the company including menswear and womenswear for the brand Bolongaro Trevor and BHS menswear. Although I haven’t had main responsibilities in working with these brands, it allows me to work with a wider range of garments.Customers:Childrenswear – Tesco, BHS, JD Williams, Raging Bull (Debenhams); Womenswear – Kardashian Kollection (Dorothy Perkins)

I completed a one-year placement at CWI as part of my Fashion Design university course to not only gain experience within the clothing industry but to also try a possible career path that I could pursue upon completion of my degree. I became more aware of my skills and natural abilities in garment construction and found passion within the quality assurance role. I developed my communication skills, within the office and with global contacts, and working within a critical path helped me to develop my time management and organisation skills in the best way for me. Over the course of my placement I worked with a range of customers as listed above in children’s outerwear and leisurewear, and gained experience in measuring and fitting garments, checking garments for design features and faults, as well as organising test reports and ensuring garments are commercially acceptable in both safety and quality aspects.Customers:Childrenswear – TU@Sainsburys, Littlewoods Shop Direct, M&S, John Lewis, Debenhams