Realistic MOQ for Custom Clothing: China Factory Guide

If you are sourcing custom clothing from China for the first time, the number you want most is the minimum order quantity. Ours is 100 pieces per style, per colour. That is a fixed figure rather than a starting point for negotiation, and it is worth knowing what sits behind it before you compare it against any other number.

Minimums are not arbitrary. They come from four costs that a factory carries before the first garment is finished, and none of those costs shrink when the order gets smaller. Understanding them tells you what you are actually buying with your first order, and which parts of a specification you can adjust without triggering a higher minimum.

1. The short answer: 100 pieces per style, per colour

Our minimum is 100 pieces per style, per colour. Each style in each colourway carries its own minimum, because each one has to be cut, sewn and finished as a separate run. A two-colour order of a single style is 200 pieces in total, not 100 pieces split across two colours.

Within those 100 pieces you can spread the quantity across sizes. A size run of S, M, L and XL at 25 pieces each is one order of 100 pieces; so is a run weighted towards the middle sizes if that reflects how the garment will actually sell. Mixed sizes are normal and are part of how the minimum works, not an exception to it.

There is one construction where the minimum is higher. Bonded and seam-sealed garments, where seams are joined with adhesive film and heat instead of stitching, start at 200 pieces per style, per colour. The reason is set out in section five, and it is a practical one rather than a commercial one.

2. What a minimum is actually paying for

A garment factory does not start making money at the first stitch. Before a bulk run can begin, four things have to happen, and each carries a cost that is the same whether the order is for 100 pieces or for 10,000. Below a certain quantity those costs outweigh the value of the order, which is where every minimum comes from.

Where a clothing minimum comes from: the four fixed costs before bulk
Cost	Why it does not scale down	What it means at 100 pieces
Fabric and colour	Mills sell by the roll and dye to a laboratory dip. Below a certain length the price per metre rises and shade consistency across rolls becomes harder to hold.	100 pieces of a knit style is enough yardage to dye and shade-match as one lot.
Pattern, grading and marker	Every style needs a pattern, a graded size set and a cutting marker before the first panel is cut. This is a one-off cost independent of quantity.	The pattern work is identical whatever the run length, so it is absorbed into the unit price rather than billed separately.
Machine and line setup	Thread, needle size, tension and stitch length are set for each fabric. A line cannot switch between fabrics without stopping to reset.	100 pieces keeps one setup productive; shorter runs would spend a larger share of the run on changeover.
Inspection and packing	A final inspection to AQL 2.5, measurement checks against the graded spec, pressing, and packing to your carton requirement.	Inspection is done on a statistical sample, so it applies to the batch regardless of size.

3. The four costs, and what each one means for your first order

Fabric is the largest of the four and the one that most often decides the minimum. A colour has to be dyed to a standard, and a dye lot is not infinitely divisible: below a certain length the mill either cannot match the shade or charges a surcharge that ends up larger than the garment order itself. When we hold and source from 240 to 500 GSM for fleece and 140 to 260 GSM for jersey, we are buying in those mill quantities too.

Pattern and grading costs are fixed by the number of sizes, not the number of pieces. A five-size run costs the same to develop as a three-size run in pattern time, and that work has to be right before cutting starts, because a grading error repeats on every piece. This is why we ask for a size chart early: it is the single specification that most affects both cost and fit.

Machine setup is the cost buyers see least and feel most. A line set up for a midweight fleece cannot switch to a lightweight jersey mid-run without stopping to change thread, needles and tension settings. Setup time is real production time, and on a short order it is a larger share of the whole job than on a long one.

4. Where our own minimum sits

We run four production lines across two sites, with 180+ staff and a monthly output of 150,000 to 200,000 pieces. That capacity is built for bulk programmes, and the 100-piece minimum is where a custom style stays workable inside that structure: long enough to absorb the setup, short enough to be reachable for a brand placing its first order.

We work in knits. Polo shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts, T-shirts, joggers and shorts, and bonded seamless garments are what our lines are set up for. If your programme is outside those families, we will say so at the enquiry stage rather than quote for work we would have to subcontract.

5. The one exception: bonded and seam-sealed construction

Bonded garments start at 200 pieces per style, per colour. The construction joins panels with adhesive film under heat and pressure instead of stitching them, and it carries two costs that cut-and-sew does not. The film and the fabric have to be specified as a matched pair, because a film that bonds well to one knit will fail on another; and the bond is verified by peel-strength and wash testing before bulk, not after.

That testing is per fabric and per film combination, and it is the reason the minimum is higher. If a bonded programme is what you need, the practical consequence is that you should plan the first run at 200 pieces per colour and treat the fabric and film as one specification to agree with us before anything is cut.

6. What 100 pieces does not include: trim minimums

Trim suppliers work to their own minimums, and they are separate from the garment minimum. Woven labels and hangtags are produced at 1,000 pieces; jacquard labels and silicone badges at 300 pieces. These are the supplier’s minimums, not ours, and they are a property of how labels are made.

The important part is what this does not mean. A trim minimum does not raise the garment minimum: an order of 100 pieces still starts at 100 pieces. What it means is that a custom label order arrives as a quantity the trim supplier can produce, and the surplus from the first run is held for your reorders. For a first programme this is usually an advantage rather than a cost, because the labels you commission for the first run are the labels your next run uses.

7. Working with a minimum instead of against it

Three adjustments make a 100-piece minimum easier to plan around, and none of them requires negotiating the number itself.

First, start with one colourway. A single-colour first run keeps the order at the minimum and still lets you test the style, the fit and the market response. Second, spread the quantity across the sizes you will actually sell rather than equally across all of them; a size curve built from your customer is more useful than a flat run. Third, if you want two colourways, plan for 200 pieces from the start rather than asking for an exception, because the second colour is a separate dye lot and a separate run.

What we would not suggest is treating the minimum as a number to negotiate downwards. A factory that agrees to 50 pieces at the same unit price has not removed the four costs above; it has moved them into the price, into the lead time, or into a later conversation about quality.

8. Frequently asked questions

Can I split 100 pieces across two styles? Two styles are two patterns, two markers and two setups, so each carries its own minimum. If you want to test two styles, the order is 100 pieces of each.

Does the minimum cover mixed sizes? Yes. Mixed sizes within one style and one colourway are standard and do not change the minimum.

Is the sample included in the 100 pieces? No. Samples are made and approved before bulk begins, and the bulk quantity is ordered after approval.

Do I pay a surcharge for an order at exactly 100 pieces? The unit price at the minimum is higher than at 1,000 pieces, because the fixed costs above are spread over fewer units. That difference is in the price, not added as a fee.

Next step

Send us the style you want to make, the fabric and weight you have in mind, and the number of pieces per colour you are planning. We will confirm whether it sits at 100 pieces or at 200 for a bonded build, and itemise the fabric, trims and making-up separately so you can see where the money goes. We make custom hoodies, T-shirts and polo shirts in our own knitting and sewing lines, and you can read more about how we work on our about page.

If you are planning that first order now, A 100-Piece Order, Start to Finish walks through what the run involves, what it does not cover, and what to send us.