What does it mean that the fabric was "selected through an importer"?

When making clothing, there are largely two ways to decide on fabric: choosing from what is already available on the market, or separately ordering and bringing in what is desired.

RYOO chose the second route for the stripes of this jacket. Among the fabrics in circulation, there was no satisfying stripe, so they brought in sunwell stripes through an importer^[1].

The method of bringing in fabric through an importer generally has a set minimum order quantity, and it takes time for the goods to arrive after ordering. Unlike the method of purchasing only as much as needed each time, the production schedule must be aligned with the timing of the fabric's arrival.

hmmm, stripes are a pattern where even a slight difference in the width of the lines, the spacing, or the contrast between the two colors changes the impression of the entire garment, making it difficult to switch to "something similar." Explicitly stating the origin of the fabric in a single line reads close to a record of choosing the cumbersome route in order not to compromise on that difference.