Private Label Apparel: Branding, Labels and Packing

A private label order runs as a sequence, not as a list of options ticked off one at a time. Choose the development route first, fix the brand elements in one pass, settle trims and packing while the sample is still open, then approve in writing and book bulk. Garment minimums are 100 pieces per style per colour, or 200 for bonded and seam-sealed builds, with sizes mixed inside one colour. Sampling runs 3–7 days; bulk runs 15–25 days from written approval. Neither figure includes shipping.

Choose OEM or ODM before you ask for a quote

Two routes reach the same place, a garment carrying your own identity, and they differ in what has to exist on day one. Under OEM you send the tech pack with construction, graded measurements, stitch details and tolerances, and we build to it. Under ODM you send a reference garment, photographs or a sketch, and the pattern room develops the fit block, grading and construction for you to approve. The minimum and the lead time hold either way.

This is the first decision because it fixes the next three. It decides what you have to prepare: a finished document under OEM, or a physical reference and clear images under ODM. It decides who owns the graded size set, since under ODM the block and grading are developed for you to approve rather than supplied by you. And it decides what the first sample is there for: under OEM it is checked against your specification, and under ODM it is where you approve the block that every later choice is then set on.

One counting rule applies on either route, and it is worth running before you commit to a range: the same fabric used across two different patterns counts as two styles, and each carries its own 100-piece minimum per colour. For a brand planning a first drop, that is usually the number that decides how many patterns the opening order can carry. Where the style uses bonding, the figure is 200 instead. Both routes are set out in the private label page, and the counting rule in full is on the minimum order page.

Fix the four layers of brand identity in one pass

Brand identity on a garment is four separate items, and they are settled together rather than one at a time:

• Main label. The woven label carrying your name, at the inner neck, side seam or hem.
• Care label. Content confirmed to the fabric and processes used on this order.
• Hangtag. Carried at the neck, on a zipper pull or in the polybag.
• Decoration. Print, embroidery, heat transfer, jacquard patch or silicone badge.

They belong in the same pass because they land on the same garment and the same approved sample. A label position, a badge position and a print position are all fixed at approval alongside measurements and packing, and a revision to any of them once bulk has started returns that step to the beginning. Settle artwork, position and method together and the pre-production sample records all four at once.

Decoration also decides which processes the order uses. Heat transfer runs in our own plant, and print, embroidery, jacquard patches and silicone badges are applied as confirmed on the sample. Each method takes its own pass, so a garment carrying a chest badge and a back print is two passes rather than one.

Trim minimums sit beside the garment minimum, not on top of it

Trims are decided on their own numbers. Woven labels and hangtags start at 1,000 pieces per design; jacquard patches and silicone badges start at 300 pieces per design. Those are supplier runs, counted apart from garments, and they do not raise the garment minimum. Two counts run in parallel throughout: the garment count per style per colour, and the supplier figure for each trim design.

That leaves one decision to make early, and it is worth making before sampling rather than after:

• Commit to a woven run. You take 1,000 labels per design, and the run moves on the trim supplier schedule, so artwork is worth settling early.
• Use heat transfer for the first run. Neck information is printed onto the garment, so a first order can carry your name without a woven-label purchase.
• Use a badge instead of a label. Jacquard patches and silicone badges start at 300 pieces per design, which is the lower of the two supplier figures.

All three are confirmed on the sample before a bulk number is fixed, alongside fabric and decoration.

Write care label content from the order in front of you

The care label is the one brand element you cannot carry over from a previous style. Its content is confirmed to the fabric and the processes actually used on this order, so composition and care wording are settled from this bill of materials rather than copied across a range. Where a garment is washed, bonded or finished with heat transfer, that is part of what the wording has to reflect, and it is confirmed with you in writing before packing.

Two inputs move this decision along. Fabric can be sourced from a supplier you nominate, and where you name a fabric certification or supplier we source to it; the certificate and its documents are issued by the fabric supplier, not by us — the detail is on the certified fabrics page. Third-party testing can also be arranged, with a laboratory you nominate limited to within China. Both are settled while the sample is open, so the wording is written against a fabric and a process list that will not change afterwards.

Packing, folding and carton marking, fixed before the sample

Packing is a specification rather than an afterthought, and it is settled while the sample is still open. Four items belong in it: how each garment is folded, whether it goes into an individual polybag, the carton specification, and the carton marking information. Carton marking carries whatever you specify — the style reference, colour, size breakdown and carton count, for example — and all four items are recorded against the approved sample.

Packing is also the last stage inspected before goods are released, which is why it is fixed early rather than decided at the end. Each style carries an approved order file and a sealed pre-production sample, and inspection covers incoming materials, cutting, in-line construction, finishing, measurements and packing. Finished cartons are sampled to AQL 2.5, the packing line runs needle detection, and incoming fabric is weighed and recorded before it is released to cutting.

RN and CA numbers, and what to send first

For orders going to the United States or Canada, RN and CA numbers can be printed. Send the number alongside your label artwork and it is set on the same approval as the rest of the branding, rather than added after bulk has started.

Then send the whole brief in one message: a link to the reference style or your tech pack, quantity per colour, the size range, the fabric you want, and every process the garment carries. If writing the specification out is harder than pointing at something, start from a style close to what you want in the polo shirt category and we work from there. Where the same kit also needs badges, names and numbers, the team and club uniform page covers that sequence.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose OEM or ODM for my first private label order?

Choose by what you already hold. If you have a tech pack with construction, graded measurements, stitch details and tolerances, OEM is the route and we build to your document. If you have a reference garment, photographs or a sketch instead, ODM is the route and our pattern room develops the fit block, grading and construction for you to approve. Neither route changes the minimum or the timeline: 100 pieces per style per colour, or 200 for bonded builds, with 3–7 days for sampling and 15–25 days for bulk.

Do trim minimums increase the garment minimum I have to order?

No, the two counts run in parallel. Jacquard patches and silicone badges carry a supplier run of 300 pieces per design, woven labels and hangtags 1,000, but those are supplier runs counted apart from garments. Your garment minimum stays at 100 pieces per style per colour, or 200 for bonded and seam-sealed builds, with sizes mixed inside one colour. What trims do affect is timing, because a custom run moves on the trim supplier schedule, so artwork is worth settling before sampling.

Can I start with heat transfer and move to woven labels later?

Yes. Heat transfer prints neck information straight onto the garment, so a first run can carry your name without a woven-label purchase, while woven labels start at 1,000 pieces per design at the supplier. Moving to a woven label later is a revision to the approved sample, so it is worth deciding which route the first order takes before sampling starts. Print, embroidery, jacquard patches and silicone badges are the other options, each fixed on the sample.

What goes on the care label for my order?

Care label content is confirmed to the fabric and processes actually used on your order, so it is written from this bill of materials rather than copied from another style. Composition and care wording are settled once the fabric and finishing are fixed, and confirmed with you in writing before packing. Where you name a fabric supplier or certification, we source to it, with documents issued by the fabric supplier. Third-party testing can be arranged, with a laboratory you nominate limited to within China.

Can SLSPOLO print RN and CA numbers on my labels?

Yes. For orders going to the United States or Canada, RN and CA numbers can be printed. Send the number with your label artwork and it is set on the same approval as the rest of the branding, rather than added after bulk has started. It sits alongside the other brand elements: the woven or heat transfer main label, the care label, the hangtag and any decoration. All of them are fixed on the pre-production sample that bulk is built and inspected against.