How to find a clothing manufacturer: full package or cut and sew

Full package or cut, make and trim

Clothing factories sell two quite different services, and most early mistakes come from contacting the wrong kind.

If you are making your own designs (the cut and sew route in the clothing brand guide), there are two ways to run it.

A cut, make and trim (CMT) contractor sews what you give it. The US industry classification describes apparel contractors as firms cutting materials owned by others for apparel and accessories and/or sewing materials owned by others^[1]. You buy the fabric, trims and labels, get them to the factory, and usually bring a finished pattern.

A full package factory does the sourcing too: fabric, trims, patterns, grading, samples and production, priced as one garment. The same classification describes the work of clothing "jobbers" as buying raw materials, designing and preparing samples, arranging for apparel to be made from their materials, and marketing finished apparel^[2]. Everything on that list except the marketing is work a full package factory can take off your hands; with a CMT contractor, it stays with you.

Either way, the factory works as a contract manufacturer, making your design under your brand. A third route is to adapt a style the factory already makes and put your label on it; see private label and the private label clothing manufacturers list. The choice changes whom you search for, so settle it first.

How to find a clothing manufacturer

1. Pin down the garment and the fabric. Apparel factories specialize: a plant set up for knit tees and fleece is rarely the right one for tailored wovens, swimwear or denim. Note the fabric type, weight and stretch, the construction details and the decoration (print, embroidery, washes). Put them in a tech pack, and send every factory the same request for quotation with it, so each one quotes the same garment.
2. Choose the countries to search. Search overseas first, and compare at least two countries, because fabric availability, minimums and duty rates differ by country. We look in Vietnam for apparel, activewear and bags, often alongside China, where we look first for most consumer products, and in India for cotton apparel. Bangladesh and Turkey are common apparel sources too, and Mexico shortens the trip to the US; Mexico vs China manufacturing compares the two on duty and speed. The country guides for China, Vietnam, India and Mexico cover each one. Keep one domestic option for fast reorders and small runs, such as a contract shop found through NYC's Garment District or LA's Fashion District.
3. Search where apparel factories look for brands. Sourcing shows let you handle samples and meet suppliers face to face; one example is Apparel Sourcing New York City, which focuses on finished apparel, contract manufacturing and private label development^[3]. Many exhibitors are trading companies rather than plants, so ask who owns the sewing lines. Fabric mills, trim suppliers and garment printers know which sewing plants deliver on time, and will often say.
4. Screen for fit before you ask for prices. Ask each factory for photos or a video of garments like yours on the line now, its MOQ and how it splits across colors and sizes, what samples cost and how long they take, and which steps it sends out to other plants (printing, embroidery, washing and dyeing may happen elsewhere). Every outside step is a place where quality and delivery can slip, and it is where forced labor and registration checks need to reach. If a minimum is too high, ask whether fewer colors or the factory's stock fabrics would bring it down.
5. Trace the fabric, not just the factory. US law bars imports of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions^[4], and for garments the inputs to trace are in the fabric: the yarn and the fiber it was spun from. For goods made wholly or in part in Xinjiang (the XUAR in CBP's wording), which includes anything made with cotton grown there, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act adds a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in XUAR or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List are prohibited from U.S. importation^[5]. If CBP detains a shipment under that law, the documents it expects include the origin of the raw materials^[5], and while the goods sit detained the importer is responsible for storage costs of their detained shipments^[5]. Before you order, ask the factory which mills supply the fabric and where their fiber comes from, and whether it can produce that paperwork per order.
6. Check fabric claims at the source. If a fabric program matters to your customers, ask the factory for the certificate or label number behind any OEKO-TEX or GOTS certified claim, and look it up with the program that issued it, not in a screenshot.
7. For California production, check the registration. In California, anyone in the business of garment manufacturing must register with the California Labor Commissioner^[6], and the Labor Commissioner runs a verification database for garment registration certificates^[6]. Look the factory up before you send fabric or pay a deposit. What the state's law asks of the brand itself is in our LA garment district guide.
8. Sample with two or three, then decide. Pay for samples in your real fabric, check fit on a real body in every size you will sell, and compare the quotes on landed cost rather than factory price. The clothing brand guide covers labeling and the first run once you have chosen.

Questions that sort factories quickly

• Do you work full package, CMT, or both?
• Which fabrics do you buy regularly, and from which mills?
• What is your minimum per style and per color, and can sizes be split?
• How many sample rounds are included in the sample price?
• Which steps happen outside your building?
• Can you provide fabric and fiber origin documents with each shipment?

Clear, specific answers to these questions are a better signal than a polished catalog. Before the first bulk order, a factory audit confirms the answers on site.

What to have ready for a clothing shortlist

A rough description is enough to start a request with us. Describe the garment, fabric, fit, decoration and packaging you have in mind, and say which details are settled and which still need development.

The request form also asks for these, so have the answers ready:

• Your first-order quantity. A rough number is fine. For clothing, say in your description how it splits across styles, colors and sizes.
• Where you would like it made. Pick one or more countries, or No preference.
• When you plan to order.

In your description, say too whether you need help with fabric sourcing, patterns or samples. If you already have a tech pack, sketch or reference photo, add its link on the last step of the form, under Anything else.

A shortlist starts the search; it is not a quote. Before you compare production quotes, give each manufacturer the same finished specification, so each one quotes the same garment.

Getting quotes

If you would rather not run the whole search yourself, send us the tech pack, and we introduce you to clothing manufacturers that fit it, overseas first, each one named. It is free for brands. The manufacturers quote you directly, so ask each quote to name its Incoterms rule, put it next to the factories you shortlisted and compare them landed.

Our directory lists makers by garment: clothing manufacturers, with hoodies and T-shirts, and activewear manufacturers, with leggings and sports bras.

Questions buyers ask

How do I find a clothing manufacturer for my brand?

Decide between full package, CMT (cut, make and trim) and private label, put the garment in a tech pack, and set a first-order quantity per style. Then send the same request to factories that already make your garment type, and sample with two or three before a bulk order.

Do I need a tech pack to contact a clothing manufacturer?

For full package or CMT, yes, if you want prices you can rely on: without one, each factory quotes a different garment. For private label, photos of the style and your size range are often enough to start the conversation.

What minimum order should I expect from a clothing factory?

It depends on the factory, the garment and the fabric, and it is often set per style and per color. Ask each factory for its minimum in those terms, and whether sizes can be split within it.

Which country is best for clothing manufacturing?

No single country wins for every garment. Compare at least two for the same tech pack, on landed cost rather than factory price, because fabric supply, minimums and duty all differ by country.

What is the difference between cut and sew and private label?

Cut and sew makes your own design from your tech pack and patterns. Private label puts your brand on a style the factory already makes, which is usually faster to start but gives you less control over the design.