Garment factories in Gujarat commonly set a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of a few hundred to around a thousand pieces per style and colour, spread across your size ratio. The number that really matters is often the fabric minimum underneath the garment, because a factory cannot cut five hundred shirts if the mill will not dye less than a couple of thousand metres. Treat the two minimums together when you plan a range.
Gujarat's garment base is varied. Ahmedabad has denim and cotton garment units attached to or supplied by composite mills, Surat has large volumes of synthetic ladieswear and ethnic wear, and there are smaller export units across the state making knitwear, home textile made-ups and workwear. Each has a different idea of a sensible order.
What sets the garment minimum
- Fabric. If you use the factory's running fabric or a stock-service cloth, the garment minimum applies. If you need a custom fabric, the mill's metre minimum applies first.
- Trims and labels. Custom buttons, zips, woven labels and hangtags each have their own supplier minimum, and the factory will pass that on.
- Line set-up. A sewing line is balanced for one style. Short runs mean the line is re-set often, which the factory prices into the minimum or into the rate.
- Washing and embellishment. Garment wash, embroidery and printing are often sub-contracted, and those houses have their own minimums per lot.
- Export overheads. Some factories quote a minimum order value rather than pieces, because the cost of inspection, testing and shipping paperwork is much the same for a small order as for a large one.
Typical ranges by product type
Woven shirts, trousers and denim from mill-linked units usually sit at the upper end of the range per style, because the fabric lot behind them is large. Knitted T-shirts and basics can go lower when the factory has solid or yarn-dyed fabric in stock. Home textile made-ups such as bed sheets and towels are usually quoted in sets or pieces per design and size, with the minimum driven by loom width and dye lot.
Smaller units will accept lower quantities, but check that they can meet your compliance and testing requirements before you take the lower number. A low minimum from a factory that cannot pass a social audit or produce a test report from an NABL-accredited lab is not a saving.
Ways to make a small order work
- Group several styles on one fabric so the mill minimum covers all of them.
- Keep colours to those on the mill's shade card for the first season.
- Accept a modest size ratio rather than a full size run in every colour.
- Agree a higher rate for a trial order with the bulk price fixed for the repeat.
- Confirm the minimum in writing, per style, per colour and in total pieces, before you approve the proto sample.
How we help
We visit factories across Ahmedabad, Surat and the smaller clusters and record their real minimums, line capacity and audit status, so the number you plan against is the one the factory will actually honour. We match the garment minimum to a fabric source that can supply it, and we keep one approved factory plus one backup for each product type. A free 20-minute sourcing review will tell you whether your quantities are workable before you build the range.