CMT stands for cut, make and trim. Under a CMT arrangement you supply or nominate the fabric and trims, and the factory is paid only for cutting the fabric, sewing the garments and finishing them with the trims you have provided. The alternative is full package production, usually called FOB in the garment trade, where the factory buys the fabric and trims itself and quotes one price per piece. Which arrangement suits you depends on how much control you want over materials and how much coordination you can manage from your side.
In India both models are common. Larger exporters in Ahmedabad and Surat usually prefer full package work because they have their own fabric supply chains, while smaller units are often happy to run CMT orders when the buyer handles the materials.
What CMT gives you
- Full control over fabric quality, since you choose the mill and approve the fabric before it reaches the factory.
- Transparency on cost, because the making charge is quoted separately from the material cost.
- Consistency across factories, as the same nominated fabric and trims can be sent to more than one unit.
- Protection of proprietary fabrics or trims that you do not want a factory to source on your behalf.
What CMT asks of you
The trade-off is coordination. You, or someone acting for you, must place fabric orders, chase mill deliveries, arrange transport to the factory and check that the quantities received match what was shipped. If fabric arrives late, the factory's production slot can be lost, and the delay is yours rather than theirs.
You also carry the material risk. If the fabric has a shade problem or a width shortfall, the factory will cut what it is given and the resulting garments are your responsibility. Fabric inspection before cutting therefore matters more under CMT than under full package.
Consumption also needs agreeing in advance. The factory should confirm how many metres each garment uses per size, including a usual allowance for cutting waste, so you know how much fabric to send and can check that leftover fabric comes back to you or is accounted for.
When CMT makes sense
CMT usually suits buyers who already have a fabric source they trust, who order a fabric the factory could not easily buy itself, or who want to run the same style in several factories. It also suits brands with a technical team that can manage mills and transport.
Full package usually suits buyers who want a single point of responsibility and a single price, especially for first orders with a new factory. Many buyers start with full package and move to CMT for repeat styles once they understand the local fabric market. A middle route, where the factory buys fabric from a mill you have nominated and approved, is also common and reduces your coordination load.
How Creston & Co helps
We visit the factory before you commit, audit its cutting and sewing capacity, and check that it has run CMT orders before. We can inspect nominated fabric at the mill, seal approved samples, carry out inline and final inspection and supervise loading, with weekly updates throughout. If you are weighing CMT against full package for a style, a free 20-minute sourcing review is a sensible first step.