MOQ Explained: Why We Start at 200 Pieces Per Style
By OMI Apparel — full-package activewear manufacturer, Quanzhou, China
“Can you make 100 pieces?” is the first question many startup brands ask — and the most common reason a factory says no. At OMI Apparel our minimum order quantity starts at 200 pieces per style per color with stock fabrics. Here’s an honest explanation of why that number exists, what it covers, and how you can work within it.
Where the MOQ Comes From
1. Fabric Is Bought by the Meter, Not by the Piece
A single yoga legging uses roughly 1.2–1.5 meters of fabric. But fabric mills sell in rolls — typically 50–100 meters minimum per color. At 200 pieces, your order consumes 240–300 meters: enough to buy one roll without waste. At 100 pieces, the fabric math simply doesn’t close.
2. Setup Costs Don’t Shrink With Quantity
Every style triggers fixed costs no matter how many pieces you order:
- Pattern making & grading — fixed per style
- Marker layout — lower qty means more fabric waste
- Cutting table setup — fixed per run
- Machine changeover & sampling line — fixed per run
Spreading these across 200 pieces instead of 100 keeps your per-unit cost realistic — and keeps the factory sustainable.
3. QC Economics
A quality inspection makes sense when there’s enough output to inspect meaningfully. Below ~200 pieces, the inspection cost per unit becomes disproportionate, and factories either skip QC (risky) or lose money.
What 200 Pieces Actually Buys You
- 200 pcs in one color, or split across sizes (e.g. S/M/L/XL 25/50/75/50)
- One style; a second colorway of the same style counts as a new MOQ
- Full package service: tech pack, sampling, bulk production, QC and shipping
Custom Fabric: Why the MOQ Jumps to 800–2,000 Meters
If your design needs a fabric that doesn’t exist in our stock library — a special hand feel, a custom print base, a unique composition — the mill requires 800–2,000 meters per color to set up the knit/dye run. That translates to roughly 600–1,500 garments depending on consumption.
Our advice for emerging brands: launch with stock fabrics. Move to custom fabrics once a style proves itself. This is exactly how most successful EU/US activewear brands grew.
5 Ways to Work Within the MOQ
- Fewer styles, deeper sizes. 3 styles × 200 pcs beats 6 styles × 100 pcs — for cost, QC and brand focus.
- Use stock fabrics. Our fabric library covers nylon-spandex knits, ribbed, brushed and waffle structures ready for 200-pc runs.
- One color per style. Colorways are the MOQ multiplier; prints on the same base fabric are not.
- Pre-book production windows. Confirm your slot 30–45 days ahead so cutting can batch your order efficiently.
- Grow in steps. 200 → 500 → 1,000+ pcs as sell-through data comes in.
Ready to Start?
Send us your designs — we’ll confirm fabric options, MOQ and a price estimate within 24 hours.
OMI Apparel · Quanzhou, China · hi@omi-sport.com
