At Saero Collective, we pride ourselves on being fully 'Made In Korea'. But what does 'Made In Korea' actually mean, and why does it matter?
A 'Made In Korea' mark is a Country of Origin label affixed to homegrown, Korean-made products that indicates "all or virtually all" of the product is domestically produced, manufactured and assembled in South Korea.
While certain countries like the United States require all apparel to have a Country of Origin label affixed, other countries like South Korea and Singapore do not have specific clothing labelling regulations. As we ship worldwide, all Saero Collective items have the 'Made In Korea' origin tag, but what is more important is the work and meaning that goes behind the words written on this tag.
At Saero Collective, we are obsessed with ensuring everything is made in Korea.
Just as the definition suggests, at Saero Collective everything is domestically produced, manufactured and assembled in South Korea. We do this for a variety of reasons, but most importantly to give our customers the confidence and assurance in the design and quality of our pieces.
So how do we ensure everything is made in Korea?
Our first mission is always to ensure that the raw material / textile fabric is 100% domestically produced.
This means making sure the material is 100% 국내산, which means the material itself (whether it's cotton, linen, lyocell, brass, etc) originated from South Korea. While manufacturing apparel in South Korea, brands always have the choice to use fabric from other big textile producers such as China or Vietnam. Thus, some brands then choose to use fabric sourced from outside of South Korea instead. However, Saero Collective always only uses fabric originating from South Korea.
Next, we ensure the production process is entirely done in South Korea. This entails visiting our manufacturers and their factories in Seoul regularly to oversee the entire process. Lots of communication between various parties and quality control happens during this creation process, from start to finish. Beginning with initial meetings to discuss design and go through fabric, deciding details such as size, cut and stitching, all the way to examining the finished goods when they are fresh out of the factory for any possible defects.
Often, there could be instances in other brands where the manufacturing process is outsourced to other countries despite bearing the 'Made In Korea' label. This is never the case at Saero Collective.
Lastly, the finishing touches, such as brand collateral are also made in South Korea, down to the hang-tags accompanying your items, and even the hang-tag strings themselves.
Made in Korea, Shipped Internationally from Singapore
After checking the final goods, all items are sent to Singapore where Saero Collective is stocked. Singapore, a regional hub for global logistics, is where Saero Collective items are packed and dispatched worldwide.
We bring Korea closer to you - currently, Saero Collective offers complimentary courier service within Singapore for orders above SGD 50, free shipping to all South East Asian countries above SGD 60, and within South Korea for orders above 60,000 won. We also ship internationally to all over the world.
'Made In Korea' - At Saero Collective, it's more than just a tag. It's a belief, philosophy and promise.
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Next time on our Journal:
How is 'Made In Korea' different you may ask?
It's all about precision, uniquely Korean design details, aesthetic and quality. But we'll cover more of that in Made In Korea Part 2.