A 300-piece minimum, not 2,000
Most factories will not talk to you below a thousand pieces per colour. If that is the wall you keep hitting, this page is the answer to it.
The minimum is a business decision, not a machine limit
Nothing about a cutting table or a stitching line requires a thousand pieces. The minimum exists because the setup cost of a run — patterns, markers, calibration, screens — is identical at 300 pieces and at 3,000, and most factories would rather not spread it thin.
The consequence is that new brands, small retailers and anyone testing a design get pushed towards print-on-demand or towards buying somebody else's blanks with their logo on it. Both cap what you can become.
We run 300-piece orders on purpose. It costs more per piece and we will show you exactly how much, but it means you can test a design properly, in your own fabric, under your own label, without a five-figure commitment.
The numbers, before you ask
Everything a buyer normally has to email for. If a figure below does not work for your programme, say so — several of them are more flexible than they look.
- Minimum order
- 300 pieces per style, per colour
- Sample lead time
- 7–10 working days
- Bulk lead time
- 30–45 days after sample approval
- Fabric weight range
- 120 GSM mesh to 380 GSM fleece
- Size range
- XS–5XL, US, UK and EU size sets
- Sea transit
- 3–6 weeks, port depending
- Terms
- FOB quoted by default; CIF and DDP available
- Private label
- Labels, care labels, hang tags, polybags, barcodes applied in-factory
Low MOQ manufacturing, explained
What is a low MOQ clothing manufacturer?
A manufacturer that will run production below the industry-standard minimum, which is typically 1,000 to 2,000 pieces per style per colour. Our minimum is 300 pieces per style per colour on stock fabrics, and 500 where the fabric has to be dyed to a custom shade.
Why do most factories insist on 1,000 pieces or more?
Because the fixed costs of a run — pattern making, marker planning, setting up the cutting table, threading and calibrating a stitching line, screen setup for printing — are the same whether you make 300 pieces or 3,000. Spread over 300 they hurt. Factories set high minimums to avoid that maths rather than because the machines cannot do it.
What does a 300-piece order actually cost more per unit?
Expect a meaningful per-piece premium against a 3,000-piece run — the setup cost is being spread across a tenth of the garments. We will show you both numbers at quotation stage so you can decide whether the extra volume is worth committing to. We would rather you ordered 300 and came back than ordered 2,000 and could not sell them.
Can I split 300 pieces across sizes and colours?
Across sizes, yes — a 300-piece order runs the full size curve, and you choose the ratio. Across colours, no: the 300 is per colour, because each colour is a separate dye lot and a separate cutting run. Three colours means 900 pieces.
Is a low MOQ manufacturer worse quality?
It should not be, and you can check. The same fabric, the same lines and the same AQL inspection apply regardless of order size. What does correlate with quality is whether the supplier is a factory or an agent — a low MOQ offered by a trading office usually means they are consolidating your order into somebody else's run, which is where consistency goes.
What do you need from me to quote a small order?
A reference garment or a tech pack, your fabric and GSM if you know it, the colours, an approximate size breakdown, any print or embroidery, and where the goods are landing. If you only have a photo and a rough quantity, send that — we will work from it.
The full range, not a cut-down version
The 300-piece minimum applies across our categories. You are not restricted to a basic tee because the order is small.
- Round neck tees — 150–220 GSM combed cotton
- Polos — cotton pique, PC pique, interlock
- Oversized and drop shoulder — 220–260 GSM
- Hoodies and sweatshirts — 280–380 GSM fleece
- Performance and sportswear — poly and poly-spandex
- Children's and women's blocks
- Private label neck and care labels, hang tags, polybags
- Screen, DTG, DTF, sublimation and embroidery
If you are launching a brand
We wrote the long version of this argument — the order of operations that keeps a new label from putting all its capital into boxes nobody ordered.
Tell us the quantity you actually have
Even if it is under 300. Send the style and the number and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it work, or point you somewhere that can.