Made in Portugal: Why DTC Brands Choose Portuguese Factories | NovaSupplier
Made in Portugal: Why DTC Brands Are Choosing Portuguese Factories
Matias Santos, Founder·
Something shifted in the sourcing world over the last five years. A growing number of independent clothing brands, particularly those selling direct-to-consumer in the UK, US, and Northern Europe, have moved production to Portugal. Not because they stumbled into it, but because they looked at the options and made a deliberate call. This guide covers what's actually driving that shift, quality, lead times, direct relationships, and the real numbers, and what to expect if a brand decides to make the same move.
The Numbers Behind the Decision
Before getting into the qualitative case, it helps to understand the economics.
Portuguese manufacturing costs are significantly lower than Italy, slightly lower than Spain, and roughly 30–50% below France or Germany. Compared to UK manufacturing (which has largely fragmented), Portugal offers comparable quality at a fraction of the price.
Some benchmarks for CMT (Cut, Make, Trim) costs from Portuguese factories as of 2024:
Basic cotton T-shirt: €4–8
Sweatshirt / hoodie: €10–18
Technical jacket: €28–55
Knitwear (fully fashioned jumper): €18–40
Tailored trouser: €12–22
These are production costs, not fabric. Add Portuguese fabric (if sourcing locally, which many brands do) and you're still often at a 30–40% cost saving versus Italian production for comparable quality.
Lead times are also competitive. A standard order with confirmed fabric runs 6–10 weeks production, with sampling at 3–5 weeks. If you're working with a factory that stocks your base fabric, you can compress that further.
What "Made in Portugal" Means in Practice
The "Made in Portugal" label carries weight in the premium DTC space, though it's often misunderstood.
The EU has clear rules on country-of-origin labelling for garments. For clothing, "Made in Portugal" means the garment was substantially manufactured there, cut and sewn at minimum, with the last substantial transformation occurring in Portugal. The fabric itself may come from elsewhere (Turkey, Italy, or even Asia), and the label is still valid.
This matters for brand communication. If you tell customers your clothes are made in Portugal, you're making a claim about manufacturing location, not necessarily about fabric origin. Most consumers understand this intuitively; most brand founders overcomplicate it.
If you want to make a stronger claim, "Made in Portugal from Portuguese fabrics" or "100% European supply chain", you'll need to source fabric from Portuguese mills, which is entirely possible. The Minho region has a cluster of fabric mills alongside its garment factories, and working within that ecosystem is genuinely feasible for brands at early to mid-scale.
The Geography of Portuguese Manufacturing
Understanding where things are made in Portugal helps you make smarter sourcing decisions.
The Braga / Guimarães / Famalicão corridor is the core of Portuguese garment manufacturing. This area, concentrated in the northwestern Minho region, is home to hundreds of factories ranging from small ateliês of 10–20 people to mid-size operations with 100–300 workers. The density of suppliers here is significant, within 40km you can find garment factories, knitting mills, fabric mills, embroidery contractors, and accessories suppliers.
Porto functions as the commercial hub. A lot of factories have their offices or showrooms here even if production is 30–60km north. If you're visiting Portugal for factory meetings, base yourself in Porto and do day trips.
Covilhã in the central interior has a strong tradition in wool and outerwear fabrics. If you're working with merino, boiled wool, or heritage woollen cloth, this is worth exploring separately from the main Braga cluster.
The Alentejo and south have fewer garment factories but some notable cork and leather goods production, relevant if you're building accessories or footwear to complement a clothing line.
Why DTC Brands Specifically Benefit from Portugal
The shift toward Portugal isn't happening uniformly across all brands. It's particularly pronounced among DTC brands for reasons that are structural, not accidental.
Lower minimum order quantities. Portuguese factories, especially mid-size operations in the Minho region, are more accessible to smaller orders than their Italian or French counterparts. MOQs of 100–200 units per style are realistic from reputable factories. This matters enormously for brands that are launch their first run or testing new styles before scaling.
European compliance without the Italian premium. For brands selling to EU consumers (or to US consumers who value EU compliance), Portuguese production gives you clean supply chain documentation, EU labour standards, and auditable manufacturing without the cost structure of Italian production.
The quality narrative is credible. "Made in Portugal" lands well with quality-conscious consumers. Unlike some outsourced European labels that exist mainly to justify a margin, Portuguese manufacturing genuinely delivers on quality, the country has been producing garments for international brands including Zara, H&M, and major luxury houses for decades. The factory infrastructure is mature.
Working hours and communication. Portuguese factories operate on a Western European business culture. You're not navigating significant time zone differences (if based in the UK or EU), language barriers are manageable (English proficiency among factory managers is decent, particularly in factories with international clients), and the cultural approach to business relationships is relatively familiar.
Speed of iteration. Because sampling and production happen in the same geographic cluster as fabric sourcing, the iteration cycle on new styles is faster than if you were managing a multi-country supply chain. If a sample needs a tweak, the revision can happen in days rather than weeks.
What Types of Products Work Best
Portugal has genuine strengths and genuine gaps. Being clear about what you're making before you start talking to factories will save you time.
Portugal is strong in:
Jersey and cotton basics (T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies)
Fully fashioned and cut-and-sew knitwear
Activewear and sportswear
Casual outerwear and softshell
Woven shirts and casual trousers
Swimwear
Portugal is less suited for:
Very heavy denim (Spain and Italy have stronger heritage)
Highly complex embellishment work (embroidery, beading at scale)
Extreme luxury tailoring (Italy remains the benchmark)
Products where low unit cost is the primary driver (you're not competing with Asia on price)
If your product sits in the first list, Portugal should be your first call. If it sits in the second, that doesn't mean Portugal is ruled out, but you should understand the trade-offs.
How to Actually Find and Qualify a Portuguese Factory
Finding a factory is easy. Finding the right factory, one that does your product category well, can hit your MOQs, has appropriate certifications, and will take your brand seriously, is harder.
The traditional approach is to attend trade fairs (Modtissimo in Porto, or Texworld in Paris where Portuguese factories exhibit), cold-email lists found via industry directories, or hire a local sourcing agent. All of these work, but all have costs: trade fairs require travel; directories are often out of date; agents add a layer of cost and reduce your direct relationship with the factory.
Platforms like NovaSupplier (app.novasupplier.com/onboarding) are changing this. You post your project, product type, quantity, target price, certifications needed, and Portuguese factories that fit your requirements respond with structured quotes. You get multiple options in a format that makes comparison straightforward, without cold-emailing factories that turn out to be the wrong size or wrong specialisation.
For qualifying a factory once you've identified candidates:
Check their client list. Factories working with established brands have demonstrated they can deliver to professional standards. Ask who they work with. Some will be under NDA, but most will give you at least a category sense (e.g., "we work with several UK activewear brands").
Request production samples, not just showroom samples. A showroom sample is often made by the factory's best machinist under no time pressure. Ask to see samples from a recent production run of a comparable product.
Visit if you can. One day in the Braga region will tell you more than ten video calls. Portuguese factory owners generally welcome visits from serious buyers, and the region is compact enough to see 2–3 factories in a day.
Start with a sampling order. Don't commit to production until you've seen a sample from this factory in your fabric and your specs. The sampling process is how you learn whether the factory can execute your product before you're committed to a run.
The Certification Picture
Portuguese factories operate within EU labour and environmental law. Beyond the baseline, you'll encounter a range of voluntary certifications depending on the factory:
OEKO-TEX Standard 100: Tests for harmful substances in textiles. Very common in Portuguese mills and factories. Useful if you're making any "clean" or "non-toxic" claims.
GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard): Required if you want to make certified organic claims. A growing number of Portuguese factories and mills are GOTS certified.
GRS (Global Recycled Standard): If you're working with recycled polyester or other recycled materials, this is the relevant certification.
BSCI / Sedex / SA8000: Social compliance audits. Larger factories with international clients often participate in one of these. Useful if your retail partners (or investors) require supply chain auditing.
For most DTC brands, a factory that's OEKO-TEX certified on its materials and auditable on labour standards is sufficient. If you're making specific sustainability claims, check what the factory can actually certify, not just what they claim.
Common Mistakes Brands Make When Working with Portuguese Factories
Going to Portugal for price reasons alone. If your primary objective is the cheapest possible manufacturing, Portugal isn't your answer. It's the right answer when you want European quality, European compliance, and accessible minimums at a price point that allows healthy margins on a DTC product at €80–250 retail. It is not a substitute for Asian sourcing on price.
Under-specifying at the sampling stage. Portuguese factories are skilled but not telepathic. Vague briefs produce vague samples. Come with detailed tech packs, fabric specifications, measurements, construction details, finish requirements, or expect a sample that looks roughly right but misses key details.
Not building the relationship before pushing on price. Factory relationships in Portugal (as across southern Europe) are relationship-based. A founder who arrives with a purchasing attitude and immediately negotiates hard on price will get a worse deal than one who invests in the relationship first, even if the numbers are similar. Show genuine interest in the factory's work.
Assuming all Portuguese factories are the same. There's enormous variation within the Braga corridor alone, specialist knitwear factories, full CMT operations, factories focused on private label, factories focused on branded clients. Research before you reach out.
FAQ
Is Portugal more expensive than Eastern Europe? Yes, in most cases. Portugal has higher labour costs than Romania, Bulgaria, or Poland. The trade-off is that "Made in Portugal" carries more brand value than "Made in Romania" for most DTC audiences, and the factory infrastructure is generally more mature for branded apparel.
Do Portuguese factories speak English? Factory managers and owners at factories with international clients generally have workable English. On the production floor, Portuguese is the working language. For technical discussions you'll usually be fine in English; for site visits, a basic awareness that you may need translation for some conversations is useful.
What's the typical payment structure? Most Portuguese factories work on 30–50% deposit at order confirmation, with the balance due before or at shipment. Some established relationships move to 30-day payment terms. Letter of credit is rarely used at the scale typical for DTC brands.
Can I use a Portuguese factory for private label if I'm also selling my own brand? Yes. Most Portuguese factories are experienced with private label and will sign NDA agreements. Just be clear in your first conversation about whether you're building a brand or looking for private label supply.
How do I know if a factory is legitimate and not a trading company? Ask to visit. Ask for their official registration and VAT number (you can cross-reference on the Portuguese business registry). Ask to speak with the production manager, not just the sales contact. Legitimate factories will not hesitate on any of these requests.
Where do I start if I've never worked with a European factory before? Post your project on NovaSupplier (app.novasupplier.com/onboarding). You'll get structured quotes from verified Portuguese and other European factories without the cold-email lottery.
The Bottom Line
Portugal has earned its position as the first-call manufacturing destination for DTC clothing brands that care about quality, compliance, and commercial viability. The combination of accessible MOQs, credible quality, EU compliance, and honest pricing makes it the right fit for a specific type of brand.
It's not the answer for every brand. But if you're building something in the €80–300 retail range, selling to quality-conscious consumers, and want a supply chain you can talk about honestly in your brand story, Portuguese manufacturing is worth pursuing properly.
Start by posting your project at NovaSupplier and let verified Portuguese factories come to you with real quotes.