The three arrangements
Private label clothing manufacturers, cut-and-sew factories and full-package suppliers are three different deals, not three names for the same one.
| Private label | Cut and sew | Full package | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whose garment | Theirs, your label in it | Yours | Yours, developed by them |
| You supply | Artwork, labels | Pattern and spec, often fabric | A spec or a sketch |
| Typical MOQ / colour | 50–100 | 100–300 | 200–500 |
| Can you change construction | No | Yes, entirely | Within their catalogue of methods |
| Pattern ownership | Theirs | Whoever drafted it | Usually theirs |
| Portability | None | Full, if you own the pattern | Low |
| Time to first sample | 1–3 weeks | 3–8 weeks | 4–10 weeks |
The question that ranks them
Will you make this garment more than once?
If no — you're testing a design, running a one-off drop, printing for an event — private label is correct and everything else is overspending. You get units, you learn whether people buy, and the fact that you can't move the garment doesn't matter because you weren't going to.
If yes, cut and sew is worth the higher minimum, on one condition: you own the pattern. That's the whole value. A pattern you own is a garment you can take to a second factory when the first one's lead times slip or their price moves. A pattern the factory drafted for free is a rope tied to that factory, and you find out at exactly the wrong moment.
How to get replies
Ten enquiries producing two replies is normal. A small first order from an unknown brand is a poor use of a sample room's week, and the factories that answer are selecting you too. What raises the reply rate is looking like less work.
Send the spec with the first email. Not "do you make hoodies?" — the measurement chart, the fabric spec, the construction callouts and the quantity. A factory can quote from that in ten minutes and can't quote at all from a question. What to include.
Ask five things, numbered. MOQ per colourway, unit price at that MOQ, sample cost, lead time for sample and for bulk, and whether they source fabric or you do. Numbered questions get numbered answers.
State the quantity honestly. Inflating it to seem serious wastes the quote and yours is the reputation that suffers when the real order is a fifth of it.
Make the file openable. A PDF and a spreadsheet. Not a link to a design tool the sample room would have to sign up for — an agreed attachment or accessible link. Clothix’s dedicated factory handoff workflow is Coming soon.
Where to look
- Sourcing directories and marketplaces — broad, variable quality, and the listings are advertising. Useful for a first list, not for a shortlist.
- Trade shows — expensive to attend and by far the fastest way to hold fabric and meet a sample room in one afternoon.
- Your fabric mill. Underused: mills know which factories buy from them and will often make an introduction, because it sells fabric.
- The label in a garment you like. Brands the size of yours often name their factory. Bigger brands won't.
- Local makers' associations — regional textile clusters keep member lists, and small factories are frequently not searchable online at all.
Before you commit
- Order the sample and measure it. Against your chart, not against your feelings. Point by point.
- Ask what happens on a revision. Cost and lead time for a second sample, in writing.
- Settle pattern ownership in writing. One sentence in the email is enough and its absence is the problem.
- Check they'll take the reorder. A factory that takes 100 once and needs 500 to repeat has told you something about your second season.
- Confirm what they need in the pack. Most sample rooms have a house preference for how flats are dimensioned. Ask before the first send and skip a round.
Questions
What is the difference between private label and cut and sew?
Private label means the factory already makes the garment and puts your label in it: low minimums, no pattern of your own, and you can't change the construction. Cut and sew means they make your pattern: higher minimums, higher cost per unit, and the garment is genuinely yours.
What MOQ should I expect?
Private label often starts at 50 to 100 pieces per colourway. Cut and sew usually starts at 100 to 300 per colourway and per size run, because the factory has to set up for a pattern it won't reuse.
Who owns the pattern?
Whoever drafted it, unless the contract says otherwise. If the factory patterns your garment for free, expect that moving production elsewhere means paying for a new pattern.
Where this sits in the sequence · what each arrangement costs · what to send · how the handoff works in Clothix · all guides