We’re a business to business (B2B) online marketplace connecting designers and apparel brands to leading sustainable material suppliers around the world.

Our mission is to make sustainable design possible by giving every designer the opportunity to connect and transact with the leading sustainable suppliers across the globe.

Source4Style is the gateway connecting you directly with the world’s leading sustainable material suppliers and cutting-edge design trends from around the world.

Register for free to browse the materials marketplace, order swatches and samples and view our Trends section – featuring cutting-edge global design inspiration..

Users can upgrade to a Premium Level Membership and gain access to direct-from-supplier pricing, our proprietary technology for booking production orders through our payment processing system, RFQ and customization tools to source exactly what you want from our growing supplier network and quite a bit more.

Source4Style is not a showroom but we do inventory samples of all the materials on our growing marketplace — giving you easy and efficient access to material samples from all over the world. Samples are just $4 each, ship out within 1-3 business days, and shipping within the United States is free.

Our goal is to make your sourcing experience as seamless as possible. Join our community and try us out. We’d love the hear what you think.

We have five categories of materials: Fabrics, Yarns, Buttons, Zippers, and Lace & Trim. From there you can source by types of material – like linen, cottons, silks, bast fibers and more.

As of December 2011, we have over 40 suppliers from 23 countries and 1600+ materials available on our site. Check back often because we’ll be revealing at least one new supplier every week.

All sampling and production yardage and orders ship directly from the supplier. Our suppliers come from over 23 countries around the world and you can easily see where products ship from on every product page.

Source4Style only inventories swatches and samples, which ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. This ensures that you are able to get easy, efficient and guaranteed access to the leading material samples from all over the world. No more tracking down suppliers to get that swatch.

As a rapidly growing sourcing platform that offers direct pricing with no commissions, Source4Style cannot provide the traditional brokerage services of overseeing production, ensuring orders are delivered on time and quality control.

When you book an order, you are engaging in a direct transaction with the supplier of that material. As such, all prices are direct-from-supplier. – a benefit to all of our members.

That said, all Premium Level Members who book through Source4Style are protected by our basic Terms of Use. If an order ships later than 14 days beyond the quoted delivery date with no prior notice from the supplier or an order arrives damaged and that damage did not take place in transit, designers are entitled to a full refund. Click here to read more.

When you book an order on Source4Style that is for production (and not for samples), the supplier of that material immediately receives an email notifying them that they have received an order on Source4Style. The supplier then confirms the following details 1) whether the material is in stock and ready to ship, 2) if the material is not in stock, when the product will be ready to ship, 3) final cost of the material and 4) estimated cost of shipping.

You then receive an email informing you of those details and asking if you would like to proceed with the order.

Yes. Source4Style is a supplier-generated site, meaning that the suppliers quote their own prices, lead times and available inventory. We work very closely with all of our suppliers to encourage them to update their prices, lead times and availability promptly. However, if the cost of cotton increases for example, the supplier may not have updated their prices on Source4Style.

The prices quoted on Source4Style serve as a guideline, but they may increase or decrease slightly due to currency fluctuations, cost of raw materials and other factors.

When you complete the initial step of booking an order, your credit card information is being held while your order is being confirmed by the supplier. Your card is only charged after you confirm that you would like to proceed with the order and have approved the suppliers’ final quoted price, ship date and estimated cost of shipping.

No, you are only paying for the cost of the material – again with no commissions and no fees. Your card is not charged for shipping at that time because the supplier only knows the exact cost of transport when your order is ready to ship.

When your order is ready to ship, you’ll receive a final email with the exact cost of shipping. Upon paying for shipping through our Paypal payment processor, your order is on its way to you!

Good question – when the supplier sends you the final shipping details, they send the exact cost of shipping, carrier, tracking details and whether the cost of shipping includes customs and duties.If the cost of shipping does not include customs or duties, you may receive an invoice from the carrier upon delivery asking to remit payment.If your order is being sent via an air carrier rather than a traditional courier service (i.e. FedEx, UPs, DHL), you may have to arrange for customs clearance at the port of arrival. If the supplier has indicated an airline carrier, use our in-site messaging to get the invoice and airway bill so you can do the appropriate clearances.

If you have any questions about customs and duties specific to your order, please email us and we always do our very best to reply within 24 hours. You can also call us at 347.338.1150.

 

Most definitely, YES. It is not uncommon to experience delays, so we suggest buffering anywhere from 3-10 days more with international shipments. Especially with increased security measures, international holidays and general backlog, do allot for buffer time that is not due to the delay of the supplier – but just the general delay of moving goods across the globe.Please note samples are usually not subject to the same customs criteria and can be delivered by mail. 

We will process your swatch or sample order within 1-3 business days of its receipt. From there we send your order via USPS and you should expect to receive your order in 3-5 business days if you are in the continental U.S. If you are one of our many international customers,it may take a bit longer for our package to reach you,. Our designers in Europe usually get their sample orders within 7 business days and those in Asia receive theirs within 10-12 business days.

If you are ordering within the continental United States, S&H for swatches is absolutely FREE. If you are ordering internationally, we charge $16 flat rate shipping anywhere in the globe – from France to the Philippines!

As much as we’d love to see you, we unfortunately cannot accommodate individual buyers at our headquarters. Instead, we work on bringing the most fabulous materials directly to you – through our online marketplace and easy sample ordering system. With all samples at just $4 and delivered direct to your doorstep, we can save you a lot of precious time so you can focus on the important things.

We designed Source4Style so that it is as useful for apparel brands as it is for the emerging designer. We’re passionate about promoting independent design and want to give you the tools to take your collection to the next level!

First, we would recommend searching for In Stock materials rather than Made to Order materials. In-Stock materials usually have smaller minimums and ship immediately.

Second, make sure you take a close look at where the product is shipping from as that will affect the final cost of your material. Prices for production materials are Free on Board (FOB) prices which means they do not include taxes, duties or shipping charges. Source4Style suppliers are located in over 23 countries, and each material page has a clear map showing where that material ships from. So keep that in mind as you’re sourcing.

Third, be sure to read through all of these FAQs to get the most comprehensive view of how Source4Style works.

Yes! Source4Style is a carefully-curated marketplace. We curate for quality, sustainability and the ability of a supplier to successfully do business across borders.

We do showcase a number of artisan suppliers – so do take a close look at the lead times to see if those suppliers can work on your timelines.

And if you have any questions, feel free to use the in-site messaging or email us with specific questions regarding a supplier.

In Stock materials are in the suppliers’ warehouse and ready to ship. Made to Order or custom materials are materials that are not currently in inventory in the supplier’s warehouse and therefore need to go into production to fulfill your order. This is where lead times come in, which is the length of time it generally takes to create a production order.

If you are a new or emerging designer who cannot meet the larger minimums required with made to order materials, we suggest that you search for material that is listed as in stock. If you are an experienced designer and brand, feel free to peruse fabrics that are both in stock and made to order.

We pride ourselves on growing a community of designers committed to cutting-edge, quality design. Join the conversation by being part of our growing Facebook community, follow us on Twitter, keep up-to-date with our Tumblr, and sign up for our newsletter which you can do right on the Source4Style homepage.

For greater access to the latest trends through our trend reports – chock full of global design inspiration – and webinars, upgrade to a Premium Level Member.