Private label means the garment carries your brand, your labels, your packaging and your specification — but development starts from a base that already works. We have proven blocks across knit, woven, sweater and leather, so a brand can adjust fit, fabric, colour and detailing rather than engineering a pattern from a blank page.
That distinction matters commercially. Starting from a proven block cuts sampling rounds, which cuts both cost and calendar. A first range developed this way typically reaches production-ready samples in 7 to 21 days rather than the longer cycle a fully bespoke pattern demands.
How far you can customise
- Fit and grading — adjusted to your size chart, not ours.
- Fabric — GSM, fibre, yarn quality, organic or recycled content, hand feel.
- Colour — lab dips to your Pantone references, with bulk approval before cutting.
- Trims and branding — woven and printed labels, hangtags, custom hardware, packaging.
- Decoration — screen print, embroidery, DTG, heat transfer, appliqué.
What you do not get is exclusivity over a block itself. If you need a silhouette that is yours alone and legally defensible, that is OEM, and it is a different conversation with different economics.
Private label versus OEM, plainly
| Private label | OEM | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | An existing proven block | Your original design and patterns |
| Development time | Shorter — fewer sampling rounds | Longer — pattern engineering from scratch |
| Design exclusivity | The block is not exclusive to you | The design is yours |
| Unit cost | Lower, development is amortised | Higher, development is yours alone |
| Best for | Speed to market, growing ranges | Distinctive product, defensible IP |
Starting smaller than 500
Five hundred pieces per style and colour is where a compliant export line stops losing money on setup, and we will not pretend it is negotiable here. For brands that genuinely need to start smaller, our group company Collective Studio runs knitwear from 150 pieces — a real production line built for short runs, not a favour extracted from a volume factory.
Common questions
Do I need a tech pack for private label?
No, and that is largely the point. Private label starts from our proven blocks — patterns that have already been through fit, grading and bulk — so you can brief us with a reference garment, a sketch and a target price. We handle the technical work. A tech pack helps if you have one, and you will need to sign off measurements, but the barrier to a first order is a clear idea of what you want to sell, not a technical document. If your product has to be structurally original rather than a proven block with your branding on it, that is OEM, and we will tell you so at the first conversation.
Who owns the design under private label?
The block stays ours; the branding, colourways, trims, prints and any modifications we develop for you are yours. That is the trade. You get to market fast on a pattern we already know works, and in exchange the underlying construction is not exclusive to you. In practice this matters less than brands expect — nobody buys a hoodie for its shoulder seam — but if exclusivity of the physical product is part of your positioning, you want OEM, where we develop from your specification and the pattern is yours to keep.
What is the smallest private label order you take?
500 pieces per style and colour, which is where a compliant export factory's setup cost stops distorting the unit price. Below that, you are not saving money — you are paying 15 to 30 percent more per piece to spread markers, machine time and a dye lot across fewer units. If you genuinely need to start smaller, our group company Collective Studio runs knitwear from 150 pieces per style and colour, built for exactly that, and we route you there rather than pretending 500 is negotiable here.
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.