Why two factories quote 50 and 500 for the same style
Minimum order quantity is not a single industry standard. It is a consequence of how the supplier sources materials. A factory using stock fabric that it already holds can accept a small run; a factory asking the mill to produce a fresh knit for you must order a full fabric roll, and that roll becomes the real minimum.
Compare the work included in each quote. Branding an existing style and developing a custom style have different order requirements; a low quantity alone does not tell you who makes the product.
The three MOQs you will encounter
- Fabric minimum — the quantity needed to run a fresh knit or dye lot, often 500–1,000 metres.
- Per-colour minimum — the smallest quantity a factory will dye in one batch, typically 100–300 pcs.
- Per-order minimum — the total quantity or value that makes production and shipping worthwhile.
How to lower the barrier without lowering quality
The most effective approach is to test with a stock colour and stock fabric first, then move to custom dyeing once the style is proven. This splits the risk: you learn whether the silhouette sells before committing to a full fabric run.
A second tactic is to open with a single colourway rather than a palette. Spreading a 300-piece order across four colours often pushes each colour below the fabric minimum, which forces the supplier to round up and inflates the effective MOQ.
Practical rule: one style, one colour, stock fabric is the cheapest possible way to validate a new activewear design.
What to agree in writing before you pay a deposit
- Fabric weight, yarn blend and the exact colour reference
- The approved sample plus the signed measurement sheet
- Unit price, packing method and carton specification
- Lead time measured from deposit and from sample approval
- Inspection standard (AQL level) and who pays for third-party inspection
- Payment terms and shipping terms (FOB, EXW or DDP)
Getting these six points on paper prevents almost every first-order dispute. They cost nothing to agree up front and are difficult to retrofit once a deposit has been paid.