What Is MOQ in Clothing Manufacturing?
What minimum order quantity means, why factories set one, the four ways it gets counted and how to plan a first run around it, with a calculator that shows what a supplier’s MOQ really means for your range.
By the Jafsu Enterprises production team · Updated 2 October 2026 · 7 min read
Order terms used in this guide
What Does MOQ Mean in Clothing Manufacturing?
MOQ, or minimum order quantity, is the smallest number of pieces a factory will make in one order. In clothing it is usually counted per design, per colourway or, less often, per size, because every run carries fixed setup costs: grading, cutting, machine setup and print screens. At Jafsu Enterprises the standard MOQ is 20 pieces per design and colourway.
The number alone tells you little. A 50-piece MOQ counted per size can mean a far bigger order than a 100-piece MOQ counted per order, so always ask how it is counted.
Why Clothing Factories Set MOQs
Much of the work on a garment run happens before the first piece is sewn, and it costs the same for 20 pieces as for 2,000.
Fabric buying
Mills sell fabric by the roll, and a custom colour means a dye lot with its own minimum. A small run still pays for part of a roll.
Grading and markers
Every size is graded from the base pattern and laid out as a cutting marker before any fabric is cut.
Cutting and line setup
Spreading fabric, cutting panels and setting machines for a new style take much the same time for a short run as a long one.
Decoration setup
Screen printing needs one screen per colour and embroidery needs the logo digitised, once per design.
Trims and labels
Woven labels, printed tags and custom trims carry their own minimums. Our woven labels, for example, start at 100.
A floor, and falling prices above it
Setup costs are divided across the run. That is why unit prices fall as quantity rises, and why every factory has a floor below which a run stops making sense.
Four Ways MOQ Is Counted
The same number can mean very different orders. Here is one range, three designs in two colours and five sizes, under an MOQ of 50 counted four ways.
| MOQ counted per | What must reach the minimum | Smallest order for this range |
|---|---|---|
| Order | The whole order, across every design, colour and size | 50 pieces |
| Design | Each design, across its colours and sizes | 150 pieces (50 × 3 designs) |
| Design and colourway | Each colour of each design | 300 pieces (50 × 6 colourways) |
| Size | Each size of each colour of each design | 1,500 pieces (50 × 30 size runs) |
Ours is counted per design and colourway: 20 pieces for each colour of each design, which you can split across sizes. A few products differ. Esports jerseys start at 10 pieces per design, basketball kits at 10 full kits and woven labels at 100, and each product page carries its own figure.
What is being made matters too. Printing on stock blanks can run very small because the garment already exists. Cut and sew builds the garment from your pattern and fabric, so its minimums sit higher, and custom-dyed colours or custom trims push them higher again.
What Does a Supplier’s MOQ Mean for Your Range?
Enter your range and the MOQ a supplier quoted you. The calculator shows the smallest order you would actually have to place, next to ours.
- Smallest order from that supplier
- 300pieces
- Smallest order at Jafsu Enterprises
- 120pieces · 20 per design and colourway
- Difference
- 180fewer pieces to buy and hold
- Pieces per size at that supplier
- 10average, per colourway
Minimums only. The right quantity is the one you can sell through.
MOQ and Price Breaks: Where the Unit Price Drops
The MOQ is the floor. Price breaks are the steps above it. Ours fall at 100, 300, 500 and 1,000+ pieces, and at each step the fixed setup costs are shared by more garments, so the unit price comes down.
The lowest unit price is rarely the best decision for a first drop. An unsold garment costs you its whole unit price, not just the difference between two price bands. Most new labels are better served by a small run that sells through, followed by a reorder of the designs that worked.
Lead time moves with quantity too: bulk runs of 50–300 pieces take 14–18 working days after sample sign-off, and runs of 500 to 1,000+ take 20–25 working days.
Six Ways to Work With an MOQ
Cut colourways, not designs
When the MOQ is per colourway, two colours of one design cost two minimums. Launch in one colour and add more once it sells.
Share one fabric
Using the same fabric and colour across designs simplifies fabric buying and can lower the minimum with some suppliers.
Narrow the size range
Four sizes instead of seven gives each size more depth and keeps a per-size MOQ within reach.
Sample before you commit
A one-piece sample costs far less than finding a fit problem in 300 pieces. See Guide 01 for the full route.
Accept a higher unit price
Paying more per piece for 40 you sell often beats paying less per piece for 300 you don’t.
Plan the reorder
A factory that runs 20 pieces lets you restock best sellers in small runs instead of buying a season’s stock upfront.
Questions About MOQ
What does MOQ stand for in clothing?
Minimum order quantity: the smallest number of pieces a manufacturer will produce in one order. In clothing it is usually counted per design, per colourway or per size, so always ask which.
What is a good MOQ for a startup clothing brand?
One you can sell through. For most first drops that means tens of pieces per design, not hundreds. Our standard is 20 pieces per design and colourway with samples from one piece, while many factories start at 200 to 1,000 pieces per design.
Can I mix sizes to reach the MOQ?
Yes. At Jafsu Enterprises the 20 pieces of a design and colourway can be split across the size curve, for example 4 small, 6 medium, 6 large and 4 extra large.
Can I mix colours to reach the MOQ?
Not with us. The minimum applies to each colourway, because each colour is bought, cut and decorated as its own run. Two colours of one design means 20 pieces of each.
Does the MOQ apply to samples?
No. A sample is a single piece made to check fit, fabric and decoration before bulk. Ours start at one piece, take 7–10 working days and are paid 100% in advance. The production MOQ applies only once the sample is approved.
Does a low MOQ cost more per piece?
Usually, yes, because fixed setup costs are shared by fewer garments. The total you spend is still far lower and you hold far less unsold stock. Our price breaks at 100, 300, 500 and 1,000+ pieces show where the unit price steps down.
The Rest of the Brand Launch Series
Start With 20. Grow From There.
Send your range for an itemised costing in 24–48 hours. One-piece samples in 7–10 working days, then production from 20 pieces per design and colourway.
info@jafsuenterprises.com · @jafsusports · Every enquiry answered within 24 hours.