Why I probably won’t sign your NDA

Spending money and time developing your new clothing line is a huge deal, and you want to protect your investment. I get it.

But here’s the deal about having contract designers, sewers, and pattern-makers sign a NDA: Most won’t do it. I actually don’t know of any who would.

Why?

It’s not because we want to steal or share your ideas with the world – if we did that, we would have a pretty terrible reputation and we wouldn’t get any business and we might as well just shut our doors right now.

You have to understand – there is little in this world that has NOT been done in terms of “fashion”. To be totally blunt, the T-shirt you designed is like thousands of other T-shirts, and no one needs to sign a NDA for that. No one is re-inventing the wheel (or jeans, or A-line dress, etc etc). If you truly have an idea so innovative that it requires legal protection, I would skip the lawyer and just go straight to the big guys and get your idea patented.

That aside, the very simple reason that if Casual Brand Creative will be patterning, sampling, and producing your line is that we have no control over who sees what during this process. We do not work in a bunker where no one is allowed in and out of our facility. Nor do we work with suppliers who work in an isolated camp. If your garment is laying on a table, and someone walks by and sees that garment, we cannot make them unsee it. The good news? Those eyes probably have a one-track mind when they are on site, and that is to check on their own goods. They usually aren’t trying to pull some undercover spy operation to steal others’ ideas.

Like I said – we don’t want to share your intel, but because chances are that we cannot 100% protect whose eyes fall upon your project, we don’t want the responsibility that your NDA requires of us.

If that doesn’t sit well with you, please know that the seasoned people who have been in the business years and years do not require NDA’s, because they know. It’s just not done. This should make you confident to know that successful brands do not practice this.

Disclaimer: If it’s not obvious, I am not a legal expert and you should probably ask a lawyer about your specific project needs, but honestly I just gave you some solid advice.