Based in Xiamen, Fujian Province and working with partner factories in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster of south-east China, Unitex Underwear is a China-based OEM & ODM underwear supplier serving UK retailers, department stores, and e-commerce brands. BSCI-audited and OEKO-TEX Standard 100-certified partner factories, UK fibre-composition labelling support — we deliver quality, compliance, and competitive pricing for the UK market.
Why UK Brands Choose Unitex
- A UK-only channel, not a European one. A UK-bound order clears on its own entry with its own document set, so it is planned as a separate shipment rather than as part of a European run.
- Two label versions when both markets are in play. UK fibre-composition and care labelling is not interchangeable with an EU set, so a range selling into both gets two label artworks rather than one.
- The full route handled in one order. Custom design, fabric sourcing, sampling, bulk production and shipping sit in one purchase order, so you are not coordinating a designer, a mill and a garment factory separately.
- A minimum built for mid-sized retail. 2,000 pcs per style and colour is the floor, which lets a UK programme run several colours and a full size range without a container-level commitment.
- QC on the line, and again before packing. A dedicated QC team inspects through bulk production and at final packing, so a fault is found in the factory rather than in a UK warehouse.
After Brexit, the UK Is a Separate Channel
A UK order is not a European order with a different address on it. Goods entering the UK clear on their own entry with their own document set, so a range selling into both markets is planned as two destinations from the packing stage rather than one.
The split starts at the label. UK fibre-composition and care labelling is not interchangeable with the EU version, and a single artwork covering both will be flagged at goods-in on one side or the other. Where both markets are in the range, the answer is two artworks and two packing variants from the same production run, which costs a packing change rather than a second order.
It also changes who is named on the article: a UK shipment carries a UK importer block, an EU shipment an EU one. Buyers serving both markets usually have the two entities already, but the artwork only gets corrected if the question is asked early enough.
So the useful thing to say at the enquiry is which destination the goods are for: the UK, the EU, or both. It barely moves the unit price, but it moves the label artwork, the packing split and the document set — and those are expensive to change once the goods are made.
Sizing and Fit: UK Numbers Are Their Own Scale
UK sizes sit on their own scale. They are neither the European centimetre chart nor the US numeric one, and a chart converted from either will be wrong at the extremes of the range even when the middle looks correct.
Women’s ranges are ordered by UK dress size, with the measurement chart behind it; men’s ranges are read by chest measurement. Kids’ ranges are ordered by age, which is where most of the slippage happens: an age band is a retail convention rather than a measurement, so the chart behind it has to be settled before sampling.
For a range sold into both the UK and the EU, dual labelling is the usual answer — one garment, two size references — and that belongs on the tech pack rather than being added later.
We build from the chart you sell, with the measurements behind it, and confirm grading before the pre-production sample is cut.
The UK Buying Calendar and the Christmas Peak
UK retail buys on two seasons, spring/summer and autumn/winter, both placed around six months ahead of the shelf. The Christmas trading period carries the largest share of the year, and goods for it must be in a UK distribution centre by October.
Black Friday sits immediately ahead of Christmas and pulls a second wave through the same window, so the two are produced together rather than as separate orders. The January sales clear from stock already landed, so they rarely generate fresh production.
The booking peak for autumn/winter lands in February and March, directly after the Chinese New Year shutdown, when partner factories restart and rebuild capacity. Confirm style, fabric and size run in December or January and the slot is held across the break; leave it to March and the order queues behind everyone else.
Compliance and Labelling for UK Shipments
The documents travelling with a UK order group in the usual three ways: what the material is, what the finished article says, and who places it on the market. The difference is that the third names a UK importer rather than an EU one.
Fibre composition and care instructions sit on the label in English, and the material test reports are issued with the order, so the importer has them before the goods land.
Where a range also sells into the EU, the two label versions stay separate from the start. Retrofitting a second version after production means re-labelling in a warehouse — the most expensive place to do it.
What to Send With Your First Enquiry
Six things on a first enquiry get a UK quotation moving:
- The style or a reference sample, and whether the range is UK-only or UK and EU
- The size run you sell, with the measurement chart behind it
- Fibre composition and any material the programme has to avoid
- Whether the pack ships to a distribution centre or to a fulfilment centre
- Quantity per colour and in total, because the colour split sets both the minimum and the wastage
- Labelling and packaging requirements, including whether dual UK/EU artwork is needed
Nothing there has to be final. Six rough answers are worth more than two precise ones.
Product Categories
Knitted underwear for men, women and children runs across the line, with pajamas and sleepwear alongside it. Everything is open to private label, from branding and packaging to specification and size run.
UK programmes buy depth on basics and pack them for volume: men’s cotton multipacks, women’s briefs in solid colours, and kids’ multi-packs sized by age. Sleepwear and loungewear hold a steadier share of the range than in warmer markets. Direct-to-consumer brands ordering from the same line usually want a retail-ready polybag rather than a bulk carton, settled on the packing specification rather than after production.
How to Start Your OEM Order
- Send a design brief or reference sample and a first review lands within 48 hours
- Fabric swatches and pricing come back in 3-5 business days
- Sample approval takes 5-7 days from receipt
- Bulk runs 45-60 days, with inspection on the line and a final check at packing
- Shipping quoted FOB Xiamen, or CIF to the UK port of your choice
Most UK programmes settle two things early: whether the goods are UK-only or UK and EU, and whether the pack ships to a distribution centre or a fulfilment centre. The first decides the label artwork, the second the packing, so both belong in the enquiry.
Contact us for a free quotation →
· 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. |
|---|---|
| Business model | Sourcing and supply-chain management; works with long-term BSCI-audited partner factories; owns no production facilities |
| Trade since | 2009; incorporated as Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. in 2013 |
| Location | Xiamen, Fujian Province, China — Jimei District, Xinglinwan Business Operation Center |
| Production base | Partner factories across the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear corridor; liaison office inside the Jinjiang factory district since 2013 |
| Categories | Men's, women's and kids' knitted underwear; plus size to 5XL; thermal and baselayers; pajamas and sleepwear; sport bras |
| MOQ | men's and women's 2,000 pcs per style and colour; kids' 3,600 pcs per style and colour; sleepwear 600 sets; sport bras 3,600 pcs |
| Salesman sample | 50 pcs per style and colour, cotton men's adult boxer briefs and briefs, price on request |
| Sampling lead time | 7–10 days counter samples (stock fabric); 12–18 days fully custom development |
| Bulk lead time | 45–60 days after pre-production sample approval |
| Inspection | AQL 2.5 inline and final inspection; SGS, Intertek and TÜV third-party inspection welcome |
| Certifications evidenced at partner sites | amfori BSCI; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
| Trade terms | FOB Xiamen standard; CIF Felixstowe or Southampton, DDP on request |
| Payment | 30% T/T deposit, 70% against copy of B/L; L/C at sight for larger programmes. On some programmes the balance — or the full value — is collected before shipment, where the payment route, the trade term (for example EXW) or an order value too small to carry a post-shipment balance puts the risk on the supplier rather than on the buyer's market; the sequence that applies is stated on the quotation. |
| Contact | [email protected] · WhatsApp +86 186 5081 3853 |
Buyer checklist
- State at the enquiry whether the goods are for the UK, the EU, or both, because that one answer sets the label artwork, the packing split and the document set.
- Build two label artworks where both markets are in play instead of converting one, since UK and EU fibre-composition labelling is not interchangeable.
- Check whose details appear in the importer block on the artwork before it goes to print.
- Send the size run with the measurement chart behind it, and confirm whether dual UK and EU size references belong on the garment.
- Say whether the pack ships to a distribution centre or a fulfilment centre, because the packing specification differs between them.
- Confirm an autumn/winter programme in December or January rather than waiting for the February and March peak.
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.