Custom Clothing Manufacturing for Canadian Brands

Canadian labels tend to reach us with two size charts rather than one. A brand selling through a Toronto retailer may work to US grading; the same brand selling into a European stockist, or listing measurements in centimetres, may need EU grading on the very same style. Holding both in one order book is ordinary here, and it is where this page begins.

What follows covers those two grading systems, the routings to Vancouver and Montreal, the label language question, and what a first order of one hundred pieces settles for an independent brand. The numbers used — 100 per style per colour, 200 for bonded, 3–7 days for a sample — are the same ones a written quote will carry, and they do not move between enquiry and order.

A First Order of One Hundred Pieces, and the Room It Leaves

For an independent Canadian label, 100 pieces per style per colour is often the difference between launching one style properly and launching four badly. It buys a full cycle — pattern, grading, dyeing, sampling, a bulk run and a final inspection — at a quantity a single store or a small web shop can absorb without renting a stockroom.

That hundred can be split across sizes however the sales history points. A flat S–XL at 25 each and a run weighted towards M and L are the same order to us. A second colour is not: it carries its own hundred, cut and dyed as a separate run with its own set-up.

US and EU Grading, Run Side by Side

A Canadian range often needs both. The US chart governs the fit a domestic retailer expects, while the EU chart governs a style sold into Europe or measured in centimetres for a European listing. Both are graded from one approved block on separate rules, and every size is measured at final inspection against the spec it belongs to.

One request: declare the second chart before sampling begins. A grade rule introduced after the sample is signed off reopens the pattern work, and the bulk date moves with it. Declared at the outset, two charts cost a little extra pattern time and nothing beyond that.

Vancouver, Montreal, and the Routing Between

Westbound cargo for Vancouver leaves Yantian on a trans-Pacific sailing and discharges on the west coast. Freight for Montreal normally lands at a Canadian or US east coast port before the inland leg. Which of the two your order takes is a decision for your forwarder, made against the sailings open at the time of booking.

Rail from a west coast discharge to Toronto or Montreal is a common alternative when a buyer wants one bill of lading and a single handover. Either way the shipping documents are released here before the vessel sails, and carton marks are set to the warehouse address you nominate rather than to a port.

Label Language: Copy Supplied by You, Printed as Sent

The language on a care label is a decision for the buyer, not for the factory. English only, French only, or both on one label are each printed exactly as supplied. We do not translate copy, and we do not add a line that was not in the file you sent, however routine that line looks.

Composition, origin line and care symbols follow the same rule: the text you send is the text that ends up on the garment. Files we can open natively, with no redrawing: a tech pack as a spreadsheet or PDF, artwork as vector AI or EPS, or a print-resolution PDF. Where a retailer has its own label format, that file is used unchanged rather than redrawn to our house style.

How a Canadian Order Moves Once It Is Placed

The first sample is cut in 3–7 days, with a wash test inside that window. 15–25 days is the bulk window once the pre-production sample is approved; the clock begins at that approval, nothing earlier. Inspection is not a sample check: the whole run goes through 100% inspection against the graded spec, accepted at AQL 2.5, before packing. Styles built here include hoodies, T-shirts, polo, yoga and gym, golf, seamless and maternity knitwear; leather, footwear and accessories are not made here.

A quotation can be written EXW, FOB Shenzhen Yantian or DDP; the deposit is raised by T/T once the order is confirmed, the balance falls due before the goods are released, and a full container may settle under a sight L/C. What a sample costs is set per style and confirmed in writing before the work begins; it is credited against the first order once that reaches 300 pieces per style. Dongguan is where the work happens: 18,000 m² under one roof, ISO 9001 certified, 180+ people, and 150,000–200,000 pieces leaving each month since 2009. The factory address is on its own page. Messages reach a staffed desk between 08:30 and 20:00 GMT+8 on weekdays, and 10:00–18:00 at weekends.

Questions Canadian Brands Ask Us

Can one order carry a US chart and an EU chart at once?

Yes. Two charts on one style are graded from the same block with separate rules, and each sample is measured against the spec that governs it. Ship the sample set with the charts attached so the inspection team can tell which garment belongs to which rule. Declare both before sampling rather than after.

Which coast will my freight use for a Montreal delivery?

Usually an east coast port with an inland leg by road or rail, though a west coast discharge followed by rail is a common alternative. The routing follows the sailing your forwarder books, and we release documents before the vessel sails either way. Carton marks are set to your warehouse address, not to the port.

Does the care label have to be bilingual?

The language choice sits with you, and we print the file as supplied — English only, French only, or both on one label. We do not translate copy and we do not advise on the labelling rules of any market. Send the exact wording you intend to use, and it reaches the garment without edits.

What is the smallest order you will take?

Cut-and-sew starts at 100 pieces, counted per style and per colour, and the size run inside that hundred is yours to set. Bonded and seam-sealed styles begin at 200. A single colourway at the minimum is an ordinary first order here rather than an exception, and a repeat of an approved style moves through the floor faster than the first run did.

Taking the Next Step

Send a tech pack or a reference piece, the chart or charts you intend to sell on, and the colour split, and the reply will carry an itemised price with a sampling date. The contact page is the fastest route; the first order walkthrough covers what happens inside the hundred, and the minimum order quantity answer sets out the counting rule. For neighbouring markets, read the US and UK pages.