Under OEM you supply the design and we build everything behind it: pattern engineering, grading, material sourcing to your specification, sampling through proto and fit stages, and bulk production. The output is your product, made to your drawings, and the design remains yours.
A complete tech pack makes this fast. If you do not have one, a sketch and a reference garment you like the fit of are enough for our technical team to work from — we build the tech pack with you rather than sending you away to commission one first. What we will not do is guess at a specification and hope the sample lands, because that is how three sampling rounds become six.
What development actually involves
- Pattern engineering from your design, and grading across your full size run.
- Fabric and trim sourcing matched to the hand feel and performance you specify.
- Proto sample to prove the concept, fit samples to correct it, size set to prove the grade.
- Pre-production sample signed off against bulk fabric — not development fabric.
- Construction detailing worked out with the floor that will actually sew it.
Expect $200 to $600 per style across development, fit and pre-production rounds. Much of that is non-refundable, though we credit it against bulk on committed orders. It is a real cost and worth paying properly: discovering a fit problem after 2,000 pieces are cut is not a sampling expense, it is a rework, air freight and markdown expense.
Where Bangladesh is and is not the right answer
For knit and woven apparel with a mature material base, this country is genuinely excellent and considerably cheaper than the alternatives. For laminated or bonded technical constructions, advanced membranes, or structured tailoring at low volume, China and Vietnam remain stronger and we will say so rather than take the order and disappoint you. Split sourcing is a normal, sensible strategy and we would rather keep the part of your range we are actually best at.
Common questions
What makes an order OEM rather than private label?
Whether the garment starts from your specification or from our block. Under OEM you own the design — pattern, construction, measurements, materials — and we manufacture to it; the result is yours, including the pattern we develop from your spec. Under private label you brand a garment built on a pattern we already run. OEM costs more in development because every style is cut from nothing, and it takes longer because there is no proven block to start from. It is the right route when the product itself is your differentiator and has to be legally and physically yours.
How many sampling rounds should I expect for a new OEM style?
Two to three, typically. A first proto to check construction and hand-feel, a fit sample on a real body to correct measurements and grading, and a pre-production sample that locks trims, labels and packing. Complicated pieces — lined outerwear, anything with a lot of panels — sometimes need a fourth. Each round is 7 to 14 days including transit. We do not compress this to hit a date, because a fit problem found on the third sample costs you one garment and one found in bulk costs you the run.
Can you protect my design from being sold to other brands?
We do not sell your OEM pattern to anyone else; that is written into the order. What we cannot promise is that a design is protectable in any legal sense — most apparel is not, in most jurisdictions, unless it carries a registered trademark or a genuinely novel technical feature. The practical protection is contractual: an order that states the pattern is yours, samples that are not shown to other clients, and a supplier that will tell you plainly which of your designs could be copied by anyone with the finished garment and a pattern-maker. We would rather you hear that from us than assume a level of exclusivity that does not exist.
Questions that apply to every arrangement
What is the difference between FOB, CMT and full package?
They differ on who buys the materials, which changes everything else. Under CMT you supply the fabric and trims and pay only for cutting, making and trimming — the lowest headline rate, because it excludes the largest cost in the garment. Under full package, quoted FOB, we buy everything and hand you finished goods loaded onto the vessel, so you get one comparable number and one accountable party. FOB is what most brands should quote, particularly first-time importers, because fabric is 38 to 52 percent of a garment's cost and sourcing it badly from another continent is the most expensive mistake available. If you compare a CMT rate against someone's FOB price without adding your fabric cost back in, you are not comparing the same thing.
Which service should I choose?
If you do not have mill relationships in Asia, start with full package — it puts material sourcing on the party who does it daily. If your brand depends on a specific fabric you have developed or certified yourself, CMT or nominated fabric gives you that control. If you want to move fast from an idea to a sellable range, private label starts from proven blocks and cuts sampling rounds. If the product itself is your differentiator and needs to be legally yours, that is OEM. And if you cannot commit 500 pieces yet, start at 150 through Collective Studio and move up when a style proves out. Tell us your situation and we will tell you which of these fits, including when the answer is that we are not the right supplier.
Can I mix services across one order?
Yes, and it is more common than you would think. A range often runs full package on most styles with one nominated fabric where the brand has a specific mill relationship, or private label on the core basics with OEM on the one signature piece that has to be original. What matters is that the arrangement is written down per style before costing, because the price basis, the risk allocation and the lead time all differ. Ambiguity about which model a style is running under is where disputes start.
Do you charge for samples?
Yes — roughly $200 to $600 per style across development, fit and pre-production rounds, with much of it non-refundable, though we credit it against bulk on committed orders. Charging properly for sampling is deliberate. A free sample is paid for somewhere, usually in a rushed development cycle or a unit price you will not notice until later. Paying for a real sampling process is how a fit problem gets found on one garment rather than on two thousand, at which point it stops being a sampling cost and becomes rework, air freight and markdowns.