Quick answer. Private label underwear runs on a minimum of around 2,000 pieces per style and colour, with trials negotiable from about 1,000. It means a stock construction carrying your branding — waistband logo, woven label, hang tag and pack — rather than a pattern developed from scratch. Sampling on a stock block takes 7–10 days, and bulk production runs 45–60 days after approval.
1. What private label means, and what it does not
Private label sits between white label and full development, and the three are commonly confused.
- White label. A stock garment sold unbranded to several customers. Cheapest and fastest, but the same product can appear under another brand.
- Private label. A stock construction carrying your brand — waistband, labels and pack. The construction is not exclusive in a design sense, but the branded article is yours.
- Full development (OEM or ODM). Your own pattern and block, or a supplier-developed design you brand. Highest cost, longest lead time, and the only route where the fit is yours.
The practical distinction is what you are buying: a brand application, or a garment. A private label programme changes the branding; it does not change the fit.
2. What can be branded
- Waistband. A jacquard or printed logo, or a woven label on a plain elastic. The choice affects the construction and the recovery, so it is a specification item rather than a decoration.
- Woven label and size label. The industry-standard way to carry the brand and the composition.
- Heat-transfer label. Applied rather than sewn, which removes the label edge against the skin — and introduces a temperature limit into the care instruction.
- Hang tag and belly band. The retail presentation layer, specified with the pack.
- Polybag and carton. The pack format, the logo placement and the carton marks, which affect both presentation and freight.
Each of those is a separate specification line. A private label quotation that lists “branding” as one item is not comparable with one that lists five.
3. MOQ and the cost structure
- Typical level. Around 2,000 pieces per style and colour, with trials from about 1,000.
- Granularity. Per style and per colour rather than per order — four styles in three colours is twelve minimums.
- Branding cost. Waistband tooling, label plates and pack printing carry one-time costs that amortise across the order, which is why the trial price is higher per piece.
- Fastest levers. Reduce colourways, or consolidate similar shades into one dye lot.
- Trial economics. A trial is priced on its own terms rather than as a discount on the standard minimum.
4. Lead time, itemised
- Stock-block sample. 7–10 days.
- Branding artwork and tooling. Runs in parallel with sampling if the artwork is ready at the brief.
- Bulk production. 45–60 days for a new style, 30–40 days on a repeat, from the approved pre-production sample.
- Sea freight. 30–35 days to Europe or the US east coast.
- Peak season. August to October adds 10–15 days.
The branding artwork is the item most often left late, and it is the one that sits on the critical path because the waistband cannot be made until the logo is final.
5. What to specify
- Construction — silhouette, measurements per size, and the size grade per market.
- Fabric — fibre, blend ratio and weight in g/m².
- Waistband — construction method, recovery and branding method.
- Seams — type and stitch density at the leg opening and waistband.
- Gusset and lining — specified separately from the body fabric.
- Labelling — fibre and care content, size, importer, and the label construction.
- Pack — format, logo placement, carton configuration and carton marks.
6. Common private label errors
- Assuming private label means an exclusive fit. It changes the branding, not the pattern — if the fit has to be yours, that is a development programme.
- Leaving branding artwork until after the sample. It sits on the critical path, and a late logo moves the delivery date.
- Treating branding as one quotation line. Five separate items cannot be compared against a single figure.
- Choosing a waistband logo without checking the construction. A jacquard waistband and a woven label on plain elastic are different specifications with different recovery.
- Forgetting compliance moves to the design stage. Labelling content and any claim must be settled before printing, not after.
7. How to compare two private label quotations
- Same construction. Silhouette, measurements, fabric with a weight, waistband method.
- Branding itemised. Waistband, labels, hang tag, pack — listed separately rather than as one line.
- Tooling shown separately. One-time costs stated, so the trial price is explicable.
- Trade term and validity. FOB and the port, plus how long the figure stands.
· Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner
| Supplier | Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — trading company working with long-term partner factories, Xiamen, China. |
|---|---|
| What it is | A stock construction carrying your branding, not your pattern |
| Branding item 1 | Waistband — jacquard, printed or woven label on plain elastic |
| Branding item 2 | Woven label and size label |
| Branding item 3 | Heat-transfer label — applied, and carries a temperature limit |
| Branding item 4 | Hang tag and belly band |
| Branding item 5 | Polybag, carton and carton marks |
| Minimum | ~2,000 pcs per style and colour · trials from ~1,000 |
| Stock-block sampling | 7–10 days |
| Bulk production | 45–60 days new style · 30–40 days repeat |
| Sea freight | 30–35 days to Europe or the US east coast |
| Peak season | August to October adds 10–15 days |
| Critical path item | Branding artwork and any waistband tooling |
| Cost structure | Garment plus one-time branding tooling, amortised across the order |
| Comparison basis | Same construction, branding itemised, tooling shown separately |
Buyer checklist
- Confirm whether the fit has to be yours — if so, this is a development programme.
- List each branding item separately rather than accepting one line.
- Check the waistband branding method against the construction and its recovery.
- Ask for the one-time tooling costs separately from the run price.
- Settle the branding artwork at the brief rather than after the sample.
- Confirm the labelling content for the destination market before printing.
- Check the heat-transfer label requirement and reflect it in the care instruction.
- Specify the pack format and the carton marks.
- Approve the fit sample before any fabric is booked.
- Compare quotations on the same construction with branding itemised.
Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.)
Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.