Most factories in China will not reply to an order under 300 pieces. Our minimum is 100 pieces per style, and we built our whole production setup around making small runs work. If you are testing a design, launching a first collection, or restocking a style that sold out, you can start here without tying up money in inventory you are not sure about yet.
We are Imily Clothing, a clothing manufacturer in Guangzhou, China. We have been making custom garments for brands since 2012, andmore than 300 small and mid-sized labels have run their production with us — development and materials handled by our own team, production by factories we work with long term.
| Order type | Quantity | What it is for | Typical lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample / prototype | 1–5 pcs | Check the fit, fabric and workmanship | 7–10 days |
| First small batch | From 100 pcs per style | Test the market, validate your sizing | 20–30 days |
| Repeat order | From 100 pcs per style | Restock a style that sells | From 10 days |
| Bulk production | 500–5,000+ pcs | Full season or wholesale program | 30–45 days |
Two things worth knowing about how we count MOQ:
Most suppliers quote a low MOQ and then quietly push you toward 500. Here is why ours is real.
We are not a reseller passing your design to a workshop you will never see. Development, fabric and trim sourcing, pattern making and sampling are all done by our own team — then production runs with factories we have worked with for years. That means no third party gets to decide whether your 100 pieces are worth starting, and no layer of reseller margin sits between you and the people making your garment. Our pattern room is in the market also, which is exactly why a 100-piece order stays viable.
Our pattern room and sample line sit next to fabric market. Small orders live or die on pattern work. Because we control it in-house, we are checking patterns before sample.
We buy fabric from Zhongda fabric market, twenty minutes from our base. This is the largest fabric and trim market in southern China, and it sells partial rolls. Most factories refuse small orders because they cannot buy fabric below a full roll minimum. We can.
Small runs do not need a full assembly line. A 100-piece order goes through a small team instead of being slotted between two 5,000-piece runs. That is how a small order stays profitable for both of us.
Step 1 — You send us what you have (day 0). A tech pack, a drawing, a photo of a sample you already own, or even a written description. Nothing here has to be professional. Most of our clients start with a sketch and a reference photo.
Step 2 — We quote and confirm fabric (day 1–3). You get a price per piece, an estimated lead time, and fabric options with photos. If you want to see the fabric in your hand before committing, we can send swatches.
Step 3 — Sampling (day 4–14). We make a sample and ship it to you. You check the fit, the fabric and the finishing, then tell us what to change. One round of revision is normal.
Step 4 — You approve and place the order (day 15). We confirm the final quantity, sizes, colours and packaging, then take the deposit.
Step 5 — Fabric and cutting (day 16–25). Fabric is inspected before cutting. Nothing gets cut until the fabric passes.
Step 6 — Sewing, decoration and QC (day 25–45). Printing or embroidery happens in this window. Every piece is inspected twice before packing.
Step 7 — Packing and shipping (day 45–55). One piece per poly bag, with a waterproof inner bag and your own barcode on the carton. Air, sea or express — whichever you prefer. We can arrange DDP if you would rather not deal with customs paperwork.
We would rather be straight with you than quote a number that changes later. At 100 pieces your price per garment is higher than at 1,000 pieces. Here is exactly why:
How to keep a small order affordable: pick a stock fabric or a stock colour for your first run, keep the design to two or three print colours, and use our standard packaging with a printed sticker instead of a fully custom box. You can upgrade all of it on the reorder.
For a fully custom garment made from your own pattern, 100 pieces per style is our floor. For printing or embroidery on stock blanks, we can go lower — tell us what you need and we will say honestly whether it is possible.
Yes. A sample involves pattern making, fabric and machine time on a single piece, which is the most expensive way to make a garment. The cost depends on the design: RMB 300 (approx. US$42) per piece for t-shirts, RMB 500 (approx. US$70) per piece for other styles. Sample cost does not include shipping — but when you place the production order for the sampled style (100 pieces or more), the sample fee is credited back against your order.
Yes, within reason. Mixing two colours and three sizes is normal. Ten colours at ten pieces each is not, because of fabric minimums — we will tell you where the line is before you commit.
Yes. Woven labels, size and care labels, hang tags, price tags, poly bags and printed cartons can all be made with your brand on them. See private label clothing manufacturing.
Then you reorder, and it gets easier and cheaper. The pattern, the fabric and the trims are already set up. Reorders are typically faster and the unit price drops because the setup costs are already paid.
Send your design or reference to sales@imilyclothing.com, or use the contact form. You will hear back within 24 hours, including weekends, because we know buyers in the US and Australia are often working while Guangzhou is asleep.
We are a Guangzhou clothing development and production company. Development, fabric and trim sourcing, pattern making and sampling are all handled by our own team; the sewing is done by factories we have worked with for years, and we manage that production directly. You deal with one team from first brief to shipment, and if you are in Guangzhou we will take you to the factory producing your order.
Because most factories will not develop a garment for you. They expect a finished pattern, a tech pack and a fabric order, and they set their minimum around their own line capacity. We do the development, buy the materials and build the sample first — which is why a 100-piece order is workable, and why you only have to explain your idea once.
Sourcing is part of how we build your order, not a separate agency fee. Tell us what you need and we will quote the whole job — development, materials, sampling and production — as one number, so you are not assembling a price from three different suppliers.
A first order at 100 pieces is not a dead end that ends in “now place a container order” — it is the first step of a ladder. The style that sells becomes a repeat order of the same specification, and because the yarn is already known to be available, the second run starts faster than the first. Step by step the numbers move in your favour: the unit price drops as the yarn price breaks and the dye lot is spread across more pieces, and scheduling gets easier because the pattern, the grade rules and the size ratio are all settled. Buyers who test two or three styles at 100 pieces and then scale the winner often end up with a lower total cost than buyers who committed a bulk order to one untested style.
What changes at bulk is mostly commercial: a better unit price, a production slot planned further ahead, and sometimes a dedicated dye lot for the colour. What does not change is everything you actually care about — the approved sample remains the standard, the same inspection routine runs before packing, and the specification does not get “improved” without your agreement. A bulk order should feel like more of the thing you already approved, not a new product.
Bulk production still runs in the same 20–45 day window from approved sample to ex-factory; what grows is the quantity inside that window and the shipping time after it. The practical implication is planning: if you want stock on the shelf for a season peak, place the bulk order six to eight weeks ahead of that peak, not two. Repeat orders are faster than first orders because nothing upstream has to be discovered. Paperwork, labels and payment terms are covered in our common questions page.
No. The 100-piece price carries the fixed costs — pattern, sampling, small-lot yarn — across fewer pieces. At 500 or 1,000 those costs spread out and the per-piece price drops, most visibly on yarn-heavy styles.
Yes, if the specification has not changed. The approved sample and the size set stay on file, so a repeat order goes straight into production planning. A new sample is only needed when the style, the yarn or the fit changes.
Yes — labels, hangtags and packaging are part of the order, not an upgrade. See private label clothing manufacturing for what is needed from your side.
You do not need to be a big brand to produce a real collection. Send us what you have — a sketch, a photo, a sample — and we will tell you what it costs and how long it takes.
Not sure how to brief us? See what to send a clothing manufacturer before they quote — design, fabric, sizes, trims and quantity, in plain language.
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Still weighing up where to produce? Our breakdown of manufacturing in China and what drives the cost is a five-minute read.