Buyer questions, answered straight.
The questions brands ask before they order from a clothing factory in Bangladesh — minimums, timing, price, quality, duty and how to check who you are dealing with — each answered in a sentence first, then in detail.
Collective Studio Ltd is a family-run cut-and-sew knitwear factory in Narayanganj, Bangladesh: minimum 150 pieces per style and per colour, about 10 days of sampling, then 40–50 days of production after sample approval plus freight, organic cotton made in our GOTS-certified facility (RSC 9687), and DDP delivery worldwide. Every answer below links to the guide or page that goes deeper. If your question is not here, ask us and we reply within one business day.
Minimums and sampling
What is Collective Studio's minimum order?
It is 150 pieces for each style in each colour: one hoodie made in black and in grey means 300 pieces in total. Inside each 150 the size split is yours, so you can put the depth in the sizes your customers actually buy. The service around the minimum does not change with quantity: a 150-piece first run gets the same sampling, stage-by-stage photos, checks and inspection report that an order of several thousand gets. Two styles are two minimums, because each style needs its own pattern, cutting plan and fabric booking. If your first order is below 150 per colour, the honest answer is that we are not the right fit yet, and a supplier decorating ready-made blanks may suit a small test better. Our MOQ calculator shows the total pieces and a suggested size split before you ask for a quote.
Why is the minimum 150 pieces rather than 50?
Because the limit is the fabric, not the sewing. Knit cloth is knitted and dyed in lots, and around 150 pieces per style and colour is the point at which a dye lot is large enough to behave like production with a consistent shade, shrinkage and hand-feel. Suppliers advertising 20, 30 or 50 pieces are usually printing or embroidering ready-made wholesale blanks, which is a different product: the blank fixes the fit, the fabric weight and much of the price, and you are buying decoration rather than manufacturing. That can be the right choice for a first test. If you want your own pattern, fabric and fit, cut and sewn from cloth, 150 per colour is a realistic floor in Bangladesh, where many export factories start in the thousands. When you compare quotes, check whether a minimum is per style or per style and colour, and whether it is cut-and-sew or blank decoration.
What is a realistic minimum order for custom knitwear from a Bangladesh factory?
For genuinely custom knitwear, cut and sewn to your pattern, a realistic minimum in Bangladesh runs from around 150 pieces per style and colour at a small-run specialist like ours to several thousand at large export factories built for retail programmes. Below that you are usually looking at decorated blanks or a sample room rather than production. Three things move the real number. Fabric: a custom colour or blend needs its own dye lot, so stock qualities allow smaller runs. Colourways: most factories count the minimum per colour, so five colours multiply it by five. Construction: a plain tee and a lined, embroidered hoodie carry very different setup work, and some factories set higher minimums for complex styles. Ask every supplier how its minimum is counted and what it covers before you compare the numbers. Our guide to what MOQ means explains the terms suppliers use.
Can I start with 150 pieces and grow to bulk with the same factory?
Yes, and that is the route most of our clients take. The same cut-and-sew floor in Narayanganj handles a 150-piece first run and later bulk or wholesale orders, so your approved pattern, grading and fit corrections carry straight over and you do not pay for development twice. What changes as you grow is the economics. Fixed costs such as pattern work, marker planning and line setup are spread over more pieces, so the unit price falls, and at larger quantities a custom colour or fabric development becomes worth doing. A small first run also gives you real sales data, so your first bulk order can put its depth in the sizes and colours that actually sold rather than the ones you guessed. The timeline model is the same at every size: about 10 days of sampling for a new style, then 40 to 50 days of production. Our guide to scaling production and reorders covers the planning.
How does sampling work, and what does it cost?
Sampling takes about 10 days and is charged at a fixed price, separate from bulk, which we confirm in your quote before any work starts. We cut and sew the sample from your tech pack, a sketch or a reference garment, in the fabric and weight you have chosen, and send it to you with photos along the way. You can ask for changes, and each change is a further round, so clear comments on the first sample save the most time. Once you approve, that pre-production sample is tagged and kept as a sealed reference, and the whole production run is measured against it. In practice the approved sample is the agreement about how your garments should look and fit, which is why it deserves a careful check on a real body. Production, 40 to 50 days, starts from that approval. Our guide to how clothing sampling works explains each type of sample.
Do I need a tech pack, or can you work from a sample garment?
You do not need a finished tech pack to start: a sketch or a reference garment is enough, and we can build the tech pack with you. If you already have one, we work from it directly, and the clearer it is on measurements, fabric, trims and construction, the fewer sample rounds you will need. Many brands send a garment whose fit they like, or an earlier sample from another factory, and ask us to match it or change specific points; we take the measurements and construction from it and write down every change. Whichever way you start, everything ends in one approved pre-production sample, tagged and kept as the sealed reference for bulk, so nothing depends on memory. If you would rather prepare your own documents first, our free tech pack template shows what to include, and the guide on how to make a tech pack walks through it page by page.
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Lead time and capacity
How long does production take, from first message to delivery?
Plan on roughly two months for a first order shipped by air, and longer by sea. Sampling takes about 10 days. Production then takes 40 to 50 days from the day you approve the pre-production sample until the goods are ready to ship, which covers fabric, cutting, sewing, finishing, quality control and packing. Freight comes on top: air takes about 5 to 7 days to the US and UK and 5 to 8 to Europe, while sea takes longer and is quoted per route. Allow time to review the sample, because production starts only once it is approved. The surest ways to protect a launch date are to decide fabric and colours early, answer sample questions quickly and book production well ahead of your deadline. These are typical timings rather than guarantees, and we confirm the timing for your order once we have seen your design. Our launch date calculator works backwards from your launch.
How do I check a Bangladesh knitwear factory's quality and production capacity?
Ask for evidence rather than adjectives. For capacity, ask which garments the floor makes itself, what else is booked during your production window, and which ship date they will commit to in writing; a factory that agrees to every date without asking about your style is guessing. For quality, ask who runs quality control and how. Is bulk measured against an approved, sealed pre-production sample? At what AQL level? Do you receive an inspection report before the balance is due? Then ask for stage-by-stage photos and a live video tour of the floor while it is working, which shows the machines, the people and whether your style can actually be made there. At Collective Studio, Walter Meyer, with 38 years of garment inspection behind him, runs quality control, and a 150-piece run is checked piece by piece. Our guide to vetting a factory for bulk orders lists the full checks.
Can you work to a fixed launch date?
We can plan to one, as long as the timeline is realistic and decisions arrive on time. Work backwards from the date your stock must reach your warehouse: freight first (about 5 to 8 days by air, depending on the destination, and longer by sea), then 40 to 50 days of production from sample approval, then about 10 days of sampling, then your own time to review and approve. If those steps add up to more weeks than you have, the honest options are air freight instead of sea, fewer styles or colours in the first drop, or a later launch, and we will say which at quote stage rather than promise a date we cannot keep. Delays almost always come from late decisions on fabric, colour or sample changes rather than from sewing, so settling those early protects the date more than anything else. Our launch date calculator does the arithmetic for you.
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Price and payment
How much does it cost to manufacture clothing with you?
There is no fixed price list: every order is quoted individually, because a garment's price depends on what it is made of and how. The biggest drivers are fabric (fibre, weight in GSM, and whether the colour is a stock shade or a custom dye), construction (a plain tee versus a hoodie with a lined hood, cuffs and pockets), decoration (embroidery or print, and how many placements), the quantity per style and colour, and trims and packaging. We quote DDP, so duty, clearance and freight sit inside one landed price per piece rather than arriving later as separate bills. Samples are charged at a fixed price confirmed in the quote. To get a useful quote quickly, send the garment type, fabric, quantity per colour, decoration and destination. Our free pricing calculator gives an estimate before you ask, and the guide to reading a garment quote explains each line.
What are your payment terms?
A deposit starts production, and the balance is paid against the inspection report, which we send before the balance is due. That order matters: you see evidence that the goods match the approved sample before you pay the remainder, instead of paying in full and hoping. Samples are charged separately at a fixed price, and the payment terms for bulk are written into your quote, so nothing is decided after the fact. Payment goes to Collective Studio Ltd, the same company named on your quote, invoice and export documents. If any supplier asks you to pay a different company, a personal account or a new bank account announced by email, stop and confirm by phone before sending money, because that is how most payment fraud in sourcing happens. Because we quote DDP, the landed price already includes duty, clearance and freight. Our guide to payment terms for clothing orders compares the common structures.
What does DDP mean, and why do you quote it?
DDP, Delivered Duty Paid, means the price we quote includes the goods, freight, import duty and customs clearance to your address, so the number in the quote is the number you pay. Other terms move part of that cost to you. Under FOB, for example, you arrange and pay the freight from Bangladesh yourself, then pay duty, brokerage and local charges when the goods arrive. For a first order of a few hundred pieces this matters more than the unit price, because clearance and handling fees do not shrink with a small shipment and can turn a cheap-looking quote into an expensive one. DDP also removes the risk of an unexpected bill at the border, and it means the duty for your market is already worked out before you commit. When you compare suppliers, ask every one for a landed price on the same terms. Our guide to freight and Incoterms compares the options.
Does the unit price fall as I order more?
Usually yes, though not in a straight line. Part of every order's cost is fixed: pattern and grading, marker planning, line setup, sampling, and the paperwork and clearance for a shipment. On 150 pieces those fixed costs are shared by few garments, so the unit price is higher; on a thousand they almost disappear into the price. Fabric behaves in a similar way, since a stock quality bought for a small run costs more per kilo than fabric booked in volume, and a custom colour only becomes economical at larger quantities. Decoration setup, such as screens for printing or an embroidery programme, also spreads further as quantities grow. What does not change is the service: the same sampling, quality control and inspection report apply at every quantity. A useful way to compare is the landed price per piece at two or three quantities. Our guide to price breaks in bulk manufacturing shows where the steps tend to fall.
What information do you need to give me a quote?
Six things give you an accurate quote. The garment type and a reference: a tech pack, a sketch or a photo of a garment you like. The fabric: fibre, weight in GSM if you know it, and whether you need organic cotton. The quantity per style and per colour, remembering our minimum is 150 of each. The decoration: embroidery or print, how many placements, and roughly how many colours in the artwork. Your labels, tags and packaging. And the destination country and city, because we quote DDP, so duty and freight depend on where the goods are going. If you are unsure about the fabric or weight, tell us what the garment is for and we will suggest options. A target launch date also helps us confirm whether the timeline works. Send it through the contact form, by email to hello@collectivestudioltd.com or on WhatsApp, and we reply within one business day.
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Quality, colour and compliance
How do you control quality on my order?
Quality is measured against one reference: the pre-production sample you approved, which is tagged and kept sealed. Walter Meyer's team, with his 38 years of quality control behind it, checks garments against that sample and the agreed measurements while the run is on the lines and again once it is finished, using AQL levels agreed with you, and on a 150-piece run every garment is checked. You receive photos at each production stage, and you can ask to see the line on a live video call. Before the balance is due we send the inspection report, so you see the result before you pay the remainder. The point of all this is that problems are found on our floor, where they can still be fixed, rather than in your warehouse after delivery. Our guide to AQL and quality control explains what the inspection levels mean in practice.
Can you match my brand's colour?
Yes, through a lab dip. You send a Pantone reference or a physical swatch, the partner mill dyes small swatches of your fabric to match it, and you approve one before the bulk fabric is dyed. That approved lab dip, together with the sealed pre-production sample, is the colour standard for the whole run. Each colour is dyed as its own lot, which is why our minimum counts per colour as well as per style. A custom colour adds time and is most economical at larger quantities, so on a first run of 150 pieces many brands choose from shades the mill already makes, which is quicker and often close enough. Expect a small variation in shade between dye lots; that is normal in knit fabric, and it is why reorders are matched to the approved standard rather than to memory or a photo. Our guide dye lots and why your reorder doesn't match explains shade tolerance.
Which printing and embroidery methods do you offer?
Four, all in our own building: embroidery, screen printing, sublimation, and DTF or DTG digital printing. Each suits different work. Embroidery is durable and looks premium on heavier fabrics such as hoodies and polos, and its price depends mostly on stitch count. Screen printing gives strong, wash-resistant colour and becomes economical on larger quantities, with a setup cost for each colour in the design. Sublimation prints all-over designs into light-coloured polyester, so it suits activewear rather than cotton. DTF and DTG handle detailed, many-coloured artwork on smaller runs without screens. Because decoration happens beside our sewing lines, placement is fixed on the sealed sample and checked again during production instead of at a separate print shop you never see. Send your artwork, the garment and the quantity, and we will suggest the method that fits. Our guide comparing screen printing, embroidery and DTG goes into the trade-offs.
Can you make organic cotton clothing, and how do I check the claim?
Yes: we make clothing in organic cotton in our GOTS-certified facility, certificate RSC 9687, and we send the scope certificate on request before you place an order. Ask for an organic order at quote stage, because we also make conventional cotton ranges and the fabric has to be booked from certified mills. If your label will say 'organic', certified organic fibre must make up at least 95 per cent of the garment; 'made with organic' needs at least 70 per cent. The shipment also needs its own transaction certificate, which is what a retailer's compliance team will ask you for. When you check any supplier, read the certificate itself rather than a logo on a website: the facility it names should be the company quoting you, not a mill it buys from. Our guide on what GOTS certification means covers the rules, and GOTS vs OEKO-TEX explains the difference between the two.
Can you sew in my own labels and meet my market's labelling rules?
Yes: we sew in your own woven or printed brand labels, care labels and hang tags, and pack to your instructions, so the garment arrives as your brand rather than ours. What a label must say is set by the country where you sell, not where the garment is made. Fibre content, country of origin and care instructions are the usual requirements, and the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia each word them differently; some also require an importer or dealer identifier. You confirm the legal wording for your market, and we put the labels on the pre-production sample so their content and placement are approved before bulk starts. Label mistakes are expensive to correct after production, so we would rather catch them at the sample stage than at packing. Our guides to labelling requirements by country and labels, hang tags and packaging cover the detail.
Do you sign NDAs to protect my designs?
Yes: signing an NDA is routine for us, and you can have one in place before you share detailed files. An NDA is one layer of protection; the others are practical. We cut and sew your garments ourselves in Narayanganj instead of handing them to another factory, so you always know who holds your patterns and samples. Keep your own records as well: dated tech packs, sample approvals and correspondence show when a design was yours. Registering a trademark for your brand name in the markets where you sell protects the name itself, which an NDA cannot do. Be cautious with any supplier that refuses to sign anything, or that cannot tell you which factory will sew your order, because both make it hard to know where your design ends up. Our guide Will my manufacturer steal my design? covers the real risks and the protections that work.
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Shipping, duty and DDP
How much import duty will I pay on clothing from Bangladesh?
It depends on where you sell. Clothing cut and sewn in Bangladesh enters the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and Australia at 0% duty under each market's scheme for least developed countries, provided the rules of origin are met. The United States is the exception: since 24 July 2026 Bangladeshi apparel pays the normal US duty plus a 10% Section 301 tariff, which comes to about 26.5% on cotton knit tops. These figures were last verified in September 2026, and trade terms change, so check the current position before you budget. Because we quote DDP, the duty for your market is already inside your landed price per piece, so you see the real cost at quote stage instead of meeting it at the border. Bangladesh's planned graduation from least-developed-country status also matters for the coming years. Our guide to duty on clothing from Bangladesh by country lists each market with its source.
What happens to duty-free access when Bangladesh leaves LDC status?
It does not switch off overnight. Bangladesh is due to graduate from least-developed-country status on 24 November 2026, and when we last checked, in September 2026, a request to extend that date was pending at the UN, so treat the exact date as unsettled. The European Union keeps Everything But Arms, 0% on apparel, for a three-year transition after graduation, after which Bangladesh moves to GSP+ if it qualifies or to standard GSP. The United Kingdom's Developing Countries Trading Scheme also has a three-year transition. Canada, Australia and Japan each apply their own scheme with its own timetable. The United States never gave Bangladesh duty-free apparel, so graduation changes nothing there. For a brand ordering now, the practical effect is small for several years, and because we quote DDP, any change appears in your quote rather than as a surprise. Our LDC graduation guide tracks it with sources.
How is my order shipped, and how long does freight take?
We pack your order to your instructions in our Narayanganj building and ship it DDP, so the freight, duty and clearance to your address are inside the landed price we quoted. Air freight takes about 5 to 7 days to the US and UK and 5 to 8 to Europe, and suits first orders, launches with fixed dates and smaller shipments. Sea freight is slower, cheaper per kilo at volume, and quoted per route. Before the goods move we send the commercial invoice, packing list and origin details, so clearance at your end can be prepared before the shipment arrives. The goods leave once you have seen the inspection report and paid the balance. If you sell in several countries, tell us at quote stage, because the route, paperwork and duty differ by destination, and a split shipment is easier to plan before packing. Our guide to shipping bulk clothing orders explains the trade-offs between air and sea.
Do you work with brands in the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia?
Yes: we are a 100% export manufacturer, and brands in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and Australia are the core of our work. We quote DDP to each, so duty, clearance and freight are inside one landed price, and we prepare the origin paperwork each market's duty scheme requires. European brands can also work with our office at Soetendaal 61, 1081 BN Amsterdam, which stays reachable after our Bangladesh team has finished for the day. In Australia, orders are coordinated locally by Janelle Rawlins, who founded Mindful Merch in Noosa, Queensland. Everyone else deals directly with co-founder Homaira Jashim and the team in Narayanganj, in English, with replies within one business day. Everything we make leaves Bangladesh; we do not sell to shops inside the country. Each market has its own page with the duty position and the import steps, for example for US brands and UK brands.
What documents come with my shipment?
Before the goods move, we send the commercial invoice, the packing list and the origin details for your market, so your broker can prepare clearance before the shipment arrives. The commercial invoice states the goods, their value and the terms of sale. The packing list shows what is in each carton by style, colour and size, which also speeds up receiving. The origin documentation is what allows the UK, EU, Canada or Australia to apply their 0% duty to Bangladeshi clothing, so it has to be exactly right. For an organic order, a GOTS transaction certificate covering that specific shipment can be issued as well. Every document carries the name Collective Studio Ltd, which should match your quote, and our VAT number appears on every invoice we issue. Keep these together with your sample approval and inspection report as the full record of the order. Our UK import guide shows how they are used at the border.
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Verifying a factory, and who you deal with
Are you a factory or a buying house?
We are a factory. Collective Studio owns its cut-and-sew floor in Narayanganj outright: the building, the machinists, the quality control and the site named on our GOTS certificate, RSC 9687. Your garments are cut, sewn, decorated, checked and packed there, and you deal with the people who run it rather than with an agent. We are not vertically integrated: spinning, knitting and dyeing happen at partner mills that we specify to and inspect, and we say so. We also make knitwear only. When a brand's range needs denim, woven shirts, jackets or sweaters, our partner buying house, CMB Sourcing Ltd, a separate company with its own contract, sources them from other factories. A buying house is a legitimate service for ranges that span many categories; what matters is that you know which one you are dealing with. Our guide Buying house or factory? shows how to tell.
How can I verify that a Bangladesh manufacturer owns and runs its own factory?
Check public registers and a live video call rather than the supplier's own website. Look the company up in the BKMEA member list for knitwear or the BGMEA member search for woven goods: both are free, show a factory address, and BKMEA marks buying houses as Associate Member (Buying House). Search Mapped in Bangladesh, BRAC University's map of export factories, and the RMG Sustainability Council's factory list, remembering that small or newer factories can be missing without anything being wrong. Ask for the factory's DIFE licence number and check its status on the government's LIMA site. Then book a live video call from the floor during a working shift, and make sure the address, the machines and the products match the paperwork. A company registration or export licence alone does not prove ownership, because buying houses hold those too. Our guide Buying house or factory? walks through each check with links.
Can I visit the factory or see it on a live video call?
Yes to both. You are welcome to visit Narayanganj by arrangement, and if travelling is not practical we will walk you round the floor on a live video call while a shift is running, any day from Sunday to Thursday in Bangladesh working hours. A live call is worth more than any recorded video because you decide what to look at. Ask to see the cutting tables, the sewing lines running, the finishing and packing area and the quality control desk, and ask to see a garment like yours being made rather than a showroom. Compare what you see with the address on the quote and the products the supplier says it makes. A supplier that only offers polished footage, or cannot show its floor during working hours, is telling you something useful. To book a call, send us a message with a time that suits you, and we reply within one business day.
Who will I deal with, and how quickly do you reply?
You speak, in English, with the family and team who run the floor. Co-founder Homaira Jashim is the person most brands speak to, from first enquiry through sampling, production and shipping, and enquiries are answered within one business day. The Narayanganj team works a Sunday-to-Thursday week on Bangladesh time, and the Amsterdam office picks up questions later in the European day. Australian brands can work through Janelle Rawlins of Mindful Merch in Noosa, Queensland. During production you receive photos at every stage without having to chase them, and a live look at the floor on video is yours for the asking. Because there is no sales agent between you and the floor, the answer to a technical question about fit, fabric or construction comes from the people who will actually make your garment. Email hello@collectivestudioltd.com, message us on WhatsApp at +880 1980 055026, or use the contact form.
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Choosing a manufacturer
How do I find a reliable clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh for a US, UK or EU brand?
Start with what you are making, because Bangladesh factories specialise: knitwear such as tees, hoodies and joggers and woven goods such as shirts and denim are usually made in different places. Shortlist factories whose own websites show a real address, the products they make and how their minimum is counted. Then verify before paying anything: ask for company, VAT and export registration numbers, read any certificate itself rather than trusting a logo, and ask for a live video call from the floor during a working shift. Order a paid sample, and judge the factory by how it handles your questions and changes as much as by the garment. Finally, compare landed cost rather than unit price. A DDP quote that includes duty and freight is the real number, and for a US brand the duty is much higher than for a UK or EU one. Our guide how to find a clothing manufacturer covers each step.
What should I compare when choosing between Bangladesh manufacturers?
Compare the same ten things for every supplier, in writing. Who sews the garment: their own floor, or a factory they place orders with. The minimum, and whether it is per style or per style and colour. Whether they cut and sew to your pattern or decorate ready-made blanks. The sample cost and timing. Production time from sample approval, and the ship date they will commit to. The landed price, ideally DDP, rather than the unit price alone. The payment terms, and whether the balance is paid against an inspection report. How quality is checked, and by whom. Which certificates they hold in their own name, with numbers you can check. And how they communicate: who answers, in what language and how fast. A supplier that is vague on any of these at quote stage rarely becomes clearer after the deposit. Our guide Buying house or factory? sets this out as a checklist table.
What should I ask a Bangladesh manufacturer before my first production order?
Ask the questions whose answers you will want in writing. Will you sew this order on your own floor, and where is it? Is the minimum per style or per style and colour, and can I split it across sizes? What does the sample cost, how long does it take, and what happens if it needs changes? How many days of production follow sample approval, and which ship date will you commit to? Is the price DDP, and what exactly does it include? What deposit starts production, and is the balance paid against an inspection report? Who checks quality, against what reference and at what AQL level? Which certificates do you hold in your own company name? Can I see the floor on a live video call during a shift? Our answers to all of these are on this page. For the full list, with what a good answer sounds like, read questions to ask a clothing manufacturer.
How does Bangladesh compare with Portugal, China and Vietnam for a small brand?
Each wins somewhere different, and the right one depends on your product and where you sell. Bangladesh is strongest in cotton knitwear and usually gives the lowest landed cost into the UK, EU, Canada and Australia, where its clothing enters at 0% duty. Portugal is the near-shore option for European brands, with road delivery and no customs inside the EU, and some factories advertising minimums of 50 to 100 per style and colour. Since July 2026 it also pays less US duty than Bangladesh on cotton knit tops, 16.5% against 26.5%, but its labour cost, about €16.5 an hour in manufacturing in 2025, is far above Asia. China can make almost anything, including complex and hardware-heavy items, though good factories often want higher minimums. Vietnam is strong in woven and technical garments, usually at a cost above Bangladesh. Our guide Bangladesh vs China vs Vietnam, which now covers Portugal, compares them with sources.
Are low-MOQ Bangladesh manufacturers a good fit for a growing US brand?
They can be, if you plan for two things: duty and time. The United States charges about 26.5% on cotton knit tops from Bangladesh, the normal duty plus a 10% Section 301 tariff in force since 24 July 2026, far more than the 0% the UK, EU, Canada and Australia apply. So compare landed cost rather than unit price, and use a DDP quote that puts the duty inside the price. Production runs 40 to 50 days after sample approval, plus about 10 days of sampling and the freight, so a US brand needs to order further ahead than with a domestic supplier. In return you get a real cut-and-sew factory at 150 pieces per style and colour, on a floor that scales to bulk reorders. A proposed quota for garments made from US-grown cotton was still pending when we last checked; our guide to US tariffs on Bangladesh clothing tracks it, and the US brands page covers importing.
Why manufacture clothing in Bangladesh rather than closer to home?
For knitwear, Bangladesh combines deep specialist skill with prices and duty terms that are hard to match. It is one of the world's largest clothing exporters, and Narayanganj, where our floor is, sits at the centre of its knit industry, with spinners, knitters, dyers and trim suppliers close together. Clothing cut and sewn there enters the UK, EU, Canada and Australia at 0% duty under their schemes for least developed countries (verified September 2026), so the landed cost is often well below near-shore options. The trade-offs are time and distance. Production takes 40 to 50 days after sample approval, plus sampling and freight, and the United States charges about 26.5% duty on cotton knit tops. If you need very fast reorders or very small quantities, a supplier closer to home may suit you better, and we would rather say so. Our guide to made in Bangladesh clothing covers the industry in more detail.
What do you make, and what don't you make?
Everything our own floor sews is cut-and-sew knitwear. In practice that means tees, polos and tanks; hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers and sweatpants; activewear and leggings; loungewear, underwear, swimwear and beachwear; kidswear, streetwear, workwear and uniforms; and accessories such as caps and totes. Embroidery, screen printing, sublimation and DTF or DTG printing happen in our own building. We do not make structured woven garments such as tailored blazers, denim, fused shirting or tailored trousers, and we do not make high-visibility or flame-retardant workwear. Flat-knit sweaters and cardigans are possible only in limited cases, through partner units we have vetted, because our machines are not built for them. If your range mixes knitwear with woven pieces, our partner buying house, CMB Sourcing Ltd, a separate company with its own contract, can source the woven side while we make the knits. The catalogue shows what we make, garment by garment, with the fabrics and weights for each.
Do you sell blank or ready-made stock clothing?
No. We cut and sew garments from cloth to your own pattern; we do not print onto ready-made wholesale blanks or sell stock. That is why our minimum is 150 pieces per style and colour rather than 20 or 50: the fabric is knitted and dyed for your order. Blank decoration and custom manufacturing are different products. A blank fixes the fit, the fabric weight, the colour range and much of the price, and you add a print or embroidery to it. Custom cut-and-sew lets you choose the pattern, fabric, weight, trims and finish, so the garment is genuinely yours rather than a decorated version of a catalogue item that other brands also sell. Blanks can be a sensible way to test demand quickly; custom production makes sense once you want a product your customers cannot find elsewhere under another label. Our guide to private label, white label and OEM explains the models.
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