In my ten years of doing business in Africa one thing that pops up often is is my fabric real?
So HOW can you check?
What do you look for on the fabric if you want to be sure that it came straight from Africa and not from Asia or anywhere else?
How can you have an authentic African print?
- First check the handle of the fabric if quality is cotton or cotton/poly mix - the later is a cheaper quality and African factories and print houses are known to use higher quality being 100% cotton.
- Then secondly check the edge of the fabric known as the selvedge - there is a code there. It often says there the brand of the fabric - which company, and where it’s made - for example the company hitarget is a Chinese brand
- Third the sticker details will or should say again where it is from, how much the yardage is and what the quality and composition of the fabric is.
- Fourth check if the print is only on the front or the back too. The better quality prints will show the print all the way through.
A few more checks such as price may also determine too, the authenticity of your print.
