Clothing manufacturer for start-ups and small brands: overseas production in Bangladesh

Small businesses can, and most of the enquiries we receive are from them; the difference from a large retailer is the quantity, not the process. Our own orders start at 500 pieces per style and colour, which is also the minimum for t-shirts and hoodies, and denim, jackets, woven shirts, workwear and uniforms start at 2,000, with the exact minimum for other categories confirmed on your quote. The minimum is per style and colour, so one hoodie in one colour is one minimum, not a whole range. If 500 pieces is more stock than you want to hold, the small-run route on our low MOQ page starts lower and is made and priced separately by our sister factory, Collective Studio Ltd. Whichever route you take, you get the same things a big brand gets: a quote that states the shipping term, a sample to approve before bulk, and the factory named in writing before production, with its certificates and audit reports.

It depends on the product and on where you sell, not on a league table. Bangladesh is the cost leader in cotton knits and basics, and in denim, woven shirts and workwear at volume; it is the second-largest clothing supplier to the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the EU after China, so the routes and paperwork already exist. What changes by market is the border: 0% duty into the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU for clothing made in Bangladesh, but normal duty plus a 10% Section 301 tariff into the US, so a US start-up must cost the landed price before comparing. Very small runs, complex technical garments and fabrics that are not made locally are the cases where another country, or the small-run route, may fit better. Send us the product and the market and we will say plainly whether Bangladesh is the right choice for it.

There is no single figure, because it depends on the garment, the fabric and how many pieces you order, but the structure of the cost is predictable. You pay for sampling and pattern making first, which is separate from production. Then the per-piece price multiplied by your quantity, which is driven mostly by fabric weight and construction. Then freight, duty where it applies, and clearance. Budget a contingency for a second sample round, because a first fit rarely lands perfectly, and for labels and packaging that meet your market’s rules. The way to control the total is to reduce variables rather than to squeeze the price: fewer styles, fewer colours, stock fabric and a simple construction. Send us your product idea and target quantity and we will give you the real numbers before you commit.

Yes, and that is the route we recommend. Small first runs go to our sister factory, Collective Studio Ltd., which produces from 150 pieces per style and per colour, cut and sewn from your pattern rather than printed onto ready-made blanks. You get a real garment with your fit, fabric and labels, at a higher price per piece than bulk because set-up and sampling spread over fewer units. Once a style sells and you reorder in thousands, it usually makes sense to move it into bulk production, in our own factory for knitwear and caps or an audited partner factory for the rest, where set-up and sampling spread over many more pieces, and we plan and manage that move for you. Keep the pattern, the sealed sample and the fabric details from the first run, because those are what let the bulk run reproduce the garment rather than reinvent it.

No. A tech pack gets you the fastest and most accurate costing, but a first conversation can start from a sketch, a reference garment you like, or a link to a product with a note on what you would change. The sample room in our own factory, or in the partner factory for products we source, can build the pattern and the tech pack with you, and our free template shows what a factory needs in the order it reads it. What we do need early is the information a tech pack would otherwise carry: fabric direction, quantities per style and colour, your size range and your market, because those decide the factory, the minimum and the price. Send what you have. If the brief has gaps we will list them in the first reply rather than quoting around them, so the number you get is one you can plan on, and the tech pack is finished before sampling, when it costs least to change.

Yes to both. CMB Sourcing Ltd. is run by its two founders: AB Rahman, who leads marketing and client relationships and is based in Australia, and Homaira Jashim, who runs production in Narayanganj. The factory that will make your order is named to you in writing before production, with its address and its audit reports, and you are welcome to visit it, to send your own inspector, or to ask for a live video walkthrough of the cutting and sewing floors while your goods are being made. Small first runs are made by our sister factory, Collective Studio Ltd.; both founders work with it, Homaira as a co-founder and AB as Head of Growth, and that relationship is disclosed on our founders page so you know exactly who is behind your first order.

You do not need a limited company to order clothing made in Bangladesh, but you do need an importer registration in the country where the goods arrive. In the United States, Customs and Border Protection does not itself require an import licence and accepts an IRS business number or, if you have no business, your Social Security number as the importer number. In Great Britain you need a GB EORI number; GOV.UK asks an individual or sole trader for a National Insurance number and says the EORI arrives immediately, or within five working days if HMRC makes checks. In the EU an EORI number is mandatory for all customs operations. Get the number before the goods ship, not while they wait at the port. On a DDP quote, ask who is named as importer, because import VAT paid in someone else’s name is normally not yours to reclaim.

Whether adult clothing must be lab-tested before sale depends on the market and the fabric: the United States requires a flammability test for some fabrics, while the EU sets chemical limits that a test report proves you meet. Under 16 CFR 1610, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission exempts from testing plain-surface fabrics of 2.6 ounces per square yard (88.2 g/m²) or more and fabrics made entirely of acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, and says adult apparel need not go to a CPSC-accepted laboratory. A brushed cotton fleece hoodie falls outside both exemptions, so it needs the test. In the EU, REACH bans azo dyes that release listed amines above 30 mg/kg in clothing, and the fibre label must match a laboratory analysis within 3%. Budget for a fibre composition and a restricted substances report on each dyed fabric. Children’s clothing is stricter and needs third-party testing in the US.