Clothing MOQ explained: what a 25-unit minimum means in practice

What MOQ actually means

MOQ — minimum order quantity — is the smallest production run a factory will accept for one order. It is the single most-asked question in apparel sourcing, and also the most misunderstood, because 'MOQ 25' can mean very different things depending on how the factory counts it: per order, per style, per colour or per size.

At LOMERAQ the minimum is 25 units per order, split across sizes as you need. Colour selection is based on your request; the final colour, fabric and decoration configuration is confirmed during the RFQ. That is the whole rule — but to plan a first order well, you should understand why minimums exist at all, and where extra minimums can appear even when the headline number is low.

Why factories have minimums

A minimum is not a sales tactic; it is arithmetic. Three costs behave the same whether you order 25 pieces or 2,500, and the MOQ is the point where they stop making every unit unreasonably expensive:

• Fabric minimums — mills sell fabric by the roll and dye it by the lot. A custom-dyed colour typically carries a mill dye-lot minimum that is far larger than a small garment run needs.
• Setup costs — every screen for printing, every embroidery digitisation, every custom-knit trim colourway is a one-off setup that has to be spread across the units in the run.
• Line efficiency — a sewing line takes time to reach rhythm on a new style. Very short runs spend a large share of their hours on that ramp-up.

Per order, per style, per colour — read the small print

When you compare manufacturers, ask exactly what the minimum applies to. A '50 MOQ' that is really 50 per colour per style means a three-colour drop commits you to 150 units of one design. A minimum counted per order lets you size a first collection much more precisely.

Sizes are usually free to split — cutting several sizes from the same fabric and pattern set costs little — but confirm it. A factory that charges minimums per size is telling you something about how its cutting room works.

The hidden minimums to ask about

A low garment MOQ does not remove the supplier minimums underneath it. These are the ones that surface in quotes, and a serious factory will state them rather than hide them:

• Custom-dyed fabric — Pantone-matched dyeing carries the mill's dye-lot minimum. Stock fabric colours avoid it entirely.
• Custom-knit trims — contrast-tipped collars and cuffs are knitted per colour combination and may carry a knitter's minimum.
• Decoration setups — each print location needs its own screens or digitisation; many placements on a small run raises the setup share per unit.
• Custom labels and packaging — woven labels, hangtags and printed mailers are produced by trim suppliers with their own minimums, usually in the hundreds; the surplus is stored for your repeat orders.

25 vs 50 vs 100 units: planning a first run

A 25-unit order is designed for validation: one style, stock fabric colours, one or two decoration placements. It lets you photograph, sell and learn without committing a season's budget.

At 50–100 units the setup costs spread thinner and options widen — more colourways become sensible, and custom-dyed fabric starts to be worth the dye-lot commitment for a colour that defines your brand.

The honest way to decide is backwards from your sales channel: how many units can you realistically move in a season? Order for that, not for a better unit price. Stock you cannot sell is the most expensive discount you will ever take.

How to keep a small first order simple

The pattern that works, order after order:

1. Choose stock fabric colours instead of custom dyeing for the first run.
2. Consolidate decoration to one or two locations per garment.
3. Split sizes freely — that costs nothing extra.
4. Ask the factory to state every supplier minimum in the quote, in writing.
5. Plan the repeat order at the same time — trims surplus and approved samples make the second run faster than the first.