Textiles & Clothing Sourcing Guide

MOQs in textiles depend heavily on the product type. Ready-made garments from China/Bangladesh: 200–500 pieces per style/colour. Turkish manufacturers often accept 50–200 pieces. Fabric by the metre: typically 500–2,000 metres per colour/design. Custom prints (sublimation, screen print): minimum 50–200 pieces per design. Sample garments: 1–5 pieces, typically at 3–5× the bulk unit price.

EU and UK require textile composition labels (fibre content percentage, care instructions, country of origin, size) in the destination market's official language(s). REACH regulation restricts hazardous chemicals in textiles — verify your supplier's OEKO-TEX certification as a shortcut to chemical compliance. For children's clothing, flammability requirements (UK BS 5722, EU EN 14878) and drawstring safety standards apply. Branded goods require IP clearance.

Garments and fabric are generally low-density and often ship by sea freight (LCL or FCL), making per-unit shipping costs relatively low. Standard sea freight from Asia: 25–35 days. From Turkey/Portugal/Morocco: 5–15 days by road or sea. For fast-fashion deadlines, consider combining sea and air: ship most by sea and top-up by air if seasonal orders are delayed.

Request a pre-production sample (PP sample) and approve it before mass production starts. Specify fabric weight (GSM), thread count, shrinkage tolerance, and colour (use Pantone references, not verbal descriptions). If ordering custom prints, sign off on a sealed sample or strike-off. Include a 30% quality inspection clause in your purchase order to allow for pre-shipment inspection.