How Many Units for Your First Clothing Production Run? | NovaSupplier
How Many Units Should Your First Clothing Production Run Be?
Matias Santos, Founder·
For most independent brands, the right first run is the factory's minimum per style, typically 50 to 150 units, across as few styles and colours as possible. Here is how to work out your number, split it by size and budget for it.
How many units should a first clothing production run be?
For most independent brands, a first run should be at or close to the factory's minimum per style, which in Portugal usually means 50 to 150 units, and no more than you can realistically sell in one season. Across the 60 factories on NovaSupplier that publish MOQ data (October 2026), the median factory's lowest minimum is 100 units per style. Put your budget into fewer styles at that minimum rather than many styles below it.
Data: NovaSupplier factory profiles, October 2026. 60 factories publish 772 product-level MOQ ranges. The lowest published minimum is 50 units; 364 of the 772 ranges start at 100 units or fewer. Figures are self-reported by factories.
The right number sits between two limits: the factory's minimum (the floor) and your realistic sell-through (the ceiling). If your ceiling is below the floor, change the plan (fewer styles, stock fabric, pre-orders), not the factory.
What is the minimum I can make in a first run?
The floor is set by the factory and the product. Published minimums on NovaSupplier cluster at a few round numbers:
Minimum per style
Ranges starting at this level
Factories using it
50 units
80 of 772
9
80 units
10 of 772
4
100 units
274 of 772
38
120 units
166 of 772
28
150 units
137 of 772
29
200 units or more
105 of 772
Most factories publish several of these levels for different products, which is why the factory counts overlap. In practice, 100 units per style is the most common starting point, and 120 to 150 is normal for heavier garments.
The floor also depends on product:
Product
Median minimum
Lowest published
Factories with data
T-shirt
100
50
37
Long sleeve top
100
80
30
Jersey dress
100
50
29
Hoodie
120
50
35
Sweatshirt
120
A T-shirt brand can usually start at 100 units per style with a wide choice of factories; a knitwear brand should expect 150. Which factories go down to 50 is covered in our low MOQ guide.
Is the MOQ per style, per colour or per size?
Usually per style, often per colourway, almost never per size. A factory quoting "100 units" normally means 100 units of one style, which you can spread across sizes. Many also apply the minimum to each colour, because each colour is a separate fabric purchase or dye lot. Two colours at a 100-unit per-colour minimum means 200 units, not 100.
Always ask the factory to confirm in writing:
Is the minimum per style or per style and colour?
Can I split it across sizes freely?
Is there a minimum per size?
Does a custom colour or fabric change the minimum?
How do I work out how many units I can sell?
Start from demand, not from the factory. A realistic ceiling comes from evidence you already have:
Evidence
What it tells you
Pre-orders or deposits
Committed demand, the strongest signal
Waitlist sign-ups
Interest; only a fraction will buy
Email list and social following
Reach; conversion to purchase is usually small
Past drops or samples sold
Real sell-through at your price
Wholesale or stockist commitments
Firm volume if written
Estimate what you can sell at full price within one season, then plan your run at or slightly under that number. Running out of a well-selling first product is a better problem than holding unsold stock, and in the EU, unsold clothing increasingly has to be planned for: see the EU destruction ban on unsold clothing.
How many styles should a first collection have?
Fewer than most founders plan. If your budget covers 300 units, three styles at 100 units each is a production run; ten styles at 30 units each is not, because almost no factory will accept 30 units per style. Of the 60 factories that publish MOQ data, none publishes a minimum below 50 units on any product.
A practical rule for a first run:
Pick one hero product that carries the brand.
Add one or two supporting styles that share fabric or construction with it, so the factory can buy fabric once.
Launch in one or two colourways and add colours on the reorder.
Sharing fabric across styles is the most effective lever: one fabric order covering a T-shirt and a long sleeve helps the factory reach its fabric minimum with fewer units of each.
How should I split a first run across sizes?
Weight the middle sizes, and do not split so thinly that end sizes are worthless. There is no universal size curve; it depends on your customer, fit and market. As an example only, a 100-unit unisex T-shirt run across five sizes could be split XS 10, S 20, M 30, L 25, XL 15. Use your own data where you have it: pre-order sizes, sample-sale sizes, or the size curve your stockists see.
Two checks before you send the split:
Ask whether the factory has a minimum per size. Some prefer at least a set number per size to justify grading and cutting.
Make sure your size chart and grading are in the tech pack, so the factory is not guessing measurements.
How much does a first production run cost?
NovaSupplier does not hold unit price data from factories. The ranges below come from our cost guide (full package, ex-works Portugal, 100 to 500 units per style); the run totals are simple multiplication of those ranges, not quotes.
Product
Full package per unit (cost guide)
100 units (arithmetic)
150 units (arithmetic)
T-shirt
€10 to 20
€1,000 to 2,000
€1,500 to 3,000
Hoodie or sweatshirt
€30 to 55
€3,000 to 5,500
€4,500 to 8,250
Knitwear
€40 to 80
€4,000 to 8,000
€6,000 to 12,000
Woven shorts or trousers
€28 to 50
€2,800 to 5,000
€4,200 to 7,500
Denim
On top of production, budget for:
Samples and revisions. Factories charge for development samples; ask for the price per round. See clothing samples in Portugal.
Labels, swing tags and packaging, if not in the unit price.
Freight, duties and taxes to your market. US brands: since 29 August 2025 the US has not applied the $800 de minimis exemption to any country, so duty applies to small shipments too. See importing clothing from Portugal to the US.
Usually, up to a point. Setup, pattern grading and cutting cost roughly the same for 100 units as for 300, so the per-unit share falls as quantity rises, and longer runs let sewing lines work faster. But extra units only save money if you sell them. A lower unit price on stock you cannot sell is a higher real cost. Ask each factory to quote two or three quantities (for example 100, 200 and 300) so you can see where the price breaks are. Our negotiation guide covers how to ask.
What if I need fewer units than the minimum?
Option
When it fits
Cut styles, keep units per style
You planned too many styles
One colourway first
The minimum is per colour
Stock fabric
The minimum is driven by a custom fabric order
Pre-orders
You need to fund the minimum before production
Small-run surcharge
The factory will run below its minimum for a higher price; ask
Decorated blanks
You want to test demand before committing to your own pattern
How long until my first run is delivered?
Plan around 6 to 10 weeks for production after sample approval, plus the sample stage. Across the 27 factories on NovaSupplier that publish a sample lead time, the median is 2 weeks per round. With two sample rounds the sample stage is closer to 6 weeks. If your launch date is fixed, work backwards from it and add a buffer for fabric and freight; our production timeline guide has the full sequence.
How does the first run affect reorders?
A clean first run makes the second one faster and easier: patterns, grading, fabric and trims are already approved, and you have real sell-through data by size and colour. Use it. Reorder bestsellers in the sizes that sold out first, drop what sat, and add colours only where the first colour sold through. If a bulk order does not match the approved sample, see why your bulk order doesn't match the sample.
NovaSupplier lists 73 active manufacturers, all in Portugal. It is completely free for brands. Manufacturers pay a 3.5% commission on every order placed through the platform, including reorders. Post your product and quantity once and it is matched against the MOQ each factory publishes for that product.
Frequently asked questions
At or close to the factory's minimum per style, usually 50 to 150 units in Portugal, and no more than you can sell at full price in a season. Across the 60 factories on NovaSupplier that publish MOQ data, the median lowest minimum is 100 units per style.
Yes, for some products. 9 of the 60 factories that publish MOQ data accept 50 units on at least one product, including T-shirts, hoodies, woven shirts and trousers. Expect a higher unit price than at 100 or more.
Plan on 100 to 150 units per style. Across the 35 factories that publish a hoodie MOQ, the median minimum is 120 units, and 3 factories accept 50.
Few. Two or three styles at the factory's minimum, ideally sharing fabric, is a stronger first run than many styles in small quantities that factories will not accept.
Weight the middle sizes based on your own customer data, check whether the factory has a minimum per size, and avoid splitting so thinly that end sizes are only a few pieces. There is no universal size curve.
Using our cost guide's full package range of €10 to 20 per T-shirt, 100 units come to €1,000 to 2,000 before samples, labels, freight and duties. Your quote depends on fabric, print and trims.
MOQ figures are self-reported by factories on NovaSupplier, October 2026. Prices are indicative ranges from our cost guide, and run totals are arithmetic on those ranges, not quotes.
