What Drives the Unit Price?

A unit price is fabric, making-up, decoration, trims and packing costed as separate lines, then divided by the quantity you order. Change one line and the price per piece moves.

The fabric sets the floor

Two figures on the fabric line carry most of the weight: fibre composition and grams per square metre. A 240 GSM fleece body and a 550 GSM one take different amounts of yarn for the same panel, and the price per piece follows the yarn. Combed and compact-spun cotton, a yarn-dyed stripe, or a blend carrying elastane each add a step at the mill.

Consumption is the other half. A dropped shoulder, an oversized body, a longer sleeve or a fuller hood all take more cloth from the marker. Worth settling before you specify: a small change in weight is a larger change in consumption across a run, and the GSM calculator turns a swatch into a number you can quote against.

How the garment is put together

Stitched construction is costed by the operations it carries: panel count, collar and placket, pocket, side vents, twin-needle hems, bartacks. Each operation is time on a line, and that time is the making-up line on the quote.

Bonded and seam-sealed construction is costed on a different basis. Seams are joined with adhesive film under heat and pressure, the film and the fabric are validated as a matched pair, and panels are cut to sit together without a seam allowance. More set-up, fewer stitch minutes. Bonded and seam-sealed construction is set out in full on its own page.

Colour count and order quantity

Each colourway is dyed as its own lot, laid as its own marker and set up on the line as its own run. A style in three colours carries three set-ups and three minimums of 100 pieces per style per colour, and a hundred pieces in each of two colours is a different cut from two hundred in one colour.

Quantity pulls the other way. Pattern, grading, marker, machine setting and first-piece check are fixed for a run, and the same fixed work is spread over more pieces as the order grows. A longer run also books fabric in a single dye lot, which keeps shade even and waste at the marker low.

Trims, decoration and packing

• Woven label and hangtag — weave density, folded ends, number of colours in the artwork, and whether the design is custom or a stock item.
• Embroidery — stitch count and the number of positions; a chest logo and a sleeve logo are two set-ups.
• Print — screen print is costed by colour count and placement, heat transfer by artwork size and coverage.
• Packing — individual polybag, tissue, size sticker, inner carton and carton marking. Hand-fold and flat-pack are different labour lines.

Trims carry their own supplier minimums, counted per design and separate from the garment minimum: woven labels and hangtags at 1,000 pieces, jacquard patches and silicone badges at 300. They sit outside the garment count rather than on top of it.

Trade term and the itemised quote

Three terms put three different totals against the same garment:

• EXW — goods at the plant in Humen Town, Dongguan; collection and export sit with you.
• FOB Shenzhen Yantian — the price carries the goods to the named port and through export clearance.
• DDP — the price carries the goods to the address you name, duty and delivery included.

A quote is itemised rather than given as one figure, so fabric, trims and making-up appear as separate lines and you can see which one to change. What to send for a quote covers the input side. For a starting band on a standard build, the FOB price tables sit on the hoodie and yoga wear pages; your own specification replaces the band once fabric and trims are confirmed.

Questions buyers ask next

Does a bigger order always lower the unit price?

Up to a point. Set-up work is spread across more pieces and fabric is booked in one dye lot, so the per-piece figure falls as the run grows. A change of fabric or construction resets the comparison, and a second colourway starts its own run.

Is a heavier fabric always dearer?

Weight is one input, not the whole line. A heavier single jersey and a lighter interlock can land close together, and a compact-spun yarn at a lower weight can cost more than a carded yarn at a higher one. Composition and yarn type sit beside the number.

Does a second colourway cost more than the extra cloth?

Usually. The colourway is dyed as its own lot, laid as its own marker and set up as its own run, so the set-up and the minimum repeat along with the fabric.

Can I see a price before the sample is made?

Yes. The quote is issued against your specification, with sampling costed as its own line beside the bulk price. Fabric, trims and construction are confirmed on the sample, and the bulk price is fixed after that.