Buyers ask for the minimum order quantity as though it were a price list entry. It is not. It is the arithmetic result of a set of upstream minimums, and once you can see the parts you can usually move the number.
The five things that set it
1. The yarn minimum
Knitting mills spin or buy yarn in lots. A custom-coloured yarn has a minimum that a stock colour does not. This is the single largest driver of a custom-order minimum, and it is the one buyers most often do not know exists until the quote comes back far above their expectation.
2. The dye lot
Fabric is dyed in batches. A colour that is already running can be bought in whatever quantity is on the roll; a new colour has to be dyed, and the dye batch has a minimum. Two colours in one order means two minimums.
3. The trim minimums
Woven labels, printed care labels, hang tags, custom snaps, printed poly bags. Each is printed or manufactured in a run. A label run for 200 pieces costs almost what a label run for 2,000 costs, so the per-unit price collapses as quantity rises. This is the part buyers are most often surprised by.
4. The cutting and sewing setup
Every style has a setup: pattern, marker, machine settings, line layout. A small order amortises that setup over fewer garments, which is a cost problem rather than a hard minimum. It is negotiable in a way that a yarn minimum is not.
5. The inspection and packing overhead
AQL inspection, needle detection and carton preparation are per-lot costs. They do not scale down gracefully. This is why a 50-piece order is not simply one fortieth of the price of a 2,000-piece order.
How to lower the number without lowering the quality
- Buy a stock fabric in a stock colour. Both the yarn minimum and the dye lot disappear. This is the biggest single lever available.
- Buy a stock style and change only the label. Setup is already amortised and the pattern already exists. This is what the ready-to-ship programme is: a minimum printed on the product page, because everything upstream is already paid for.
- Reduce the colour count. Three colours in 300 pieces is usually worse than one colour in 300 pieces, because you pay three dye minimums for the same total yardage.
- Use standard trims. A stock woven label and a stock hang tag cost almost nothing at small volume; a custom-printed bag does not.
- Accept a longer lead time. A factory can often combine your order with a scheduled run of the same fabric if you can wait for it. Speed and minimum quantity trade against each other.
What a factory should tell you
A quote that gives a single MOQ figure without breaking down which minimum is binding is not very useful. Ask directly:
- Is the binding minimum the yarn, the dye lot, or the trims?
- Does the minimum change if I use a stock fabric?
- Does it change if I drop from three colours to one?
- What is the minimum for the label run alone, separate from the garment?
- Is there a quantity at which the unit price steps down, and where is it?
Stock styles here carry a minimum, but a low one, and it is printed on each product page; dispatch is typically 7–10 days from confirmation. That is not a marketing promise — it is what happens when the fabric is already knitted, the pattern already exists and the only variable is how many you take.
The trap to avoid
The cheapest way to hit a factory's minimum is to over-order a style you have not sold. A first order that sits in a warehouse is more expensive than a smaller order at a higher unit price. Test with stock, then commit to a custom run once you know the style moves. The factory's minimum will still be there in three months, and by then you will know what to make.