T-Shirt and Hoodie Manufacturers in Portugal: Fabric, MOQ, and What Actually Differs
Matias Santos, Founder·
Jersey basics get treated as one commodity category, and that assumption costs brands the most expensive mistakes in sourcing. This guide covers what genuinely differs between a T-shirt factory and a hoodie factory in Portugal, the fabric-weight decisions that drive price and hand-feel, real MOQ data across 77 tracked T-shirt suppliers and 65 hoodie suppliers, and what to specify before you brief one.
"Jersey basics" is not one factory type
A brand's first sourcing brief almost always starts the same way: "I need a T-shirt and hoodie manufacturer in Portugal." It sounds like one request. It is closer to two, and sometimes three.
A T-shirt is a single jersey garment, thin, light, drapey, cut from a knitted fabric that behaves nothing like the heavyweight brushed-back fleece a hoodie is cut from. A crewneck sweatshirt sits somewhere between the two. Factories in Portugal's jersey cluster generally handle all three, but the fabric sourcing, the machinery calibration, and the finishing steps are different enough that a factory optimised for lightweight tees is not automatically your best option for a heavyweight hoodie, and vice versa. Treating "jersey basics" as one undifferentiated request is why briefs come back with quotes that do not match what the brand actually pictured.
This is the deepest product category in Portuguese manufacturing, more tracked factories produce T-shirts and hoodies than any other single garment type, which means it is also the category where getting the brief wrong wastes the most time relative to how simple the product looks on paper.
The three fabric constructions, and why they are not interchangeable
Single jersey is the base construction for a standard T-shirt: a plain, lightweight knit, typically 140 to 180 GSM (grams per square metre), with natural stretch and a smooth face. It is the thinnest and most economical of the three, and the construction most Portuguese jersey factories run at highest volume.
French terry is a mid-weight knit with a smooth face and a looped (not brushed) reverse side, typically 240 to 320 GSM. It is the construction behind most premium sweatshirts and lighter hoodies, the fabric that gives a "structured but soft" hand-feel without the bulk of full fleece.
Loopback / brushed-back fleece is the heavyweight construction, typically 320 to 500 GSM, with the reverse side brushed into a soft, insulating nap. This is what most brands picture when they say "hoodie": heavier drape, warmth, the fabric that holds its shape after repeated washing.
The practical implication: specifying "cotton hoodie" without a GSM range or construction name leaves the factory to guess, and factories calibrate machinery differently for 160 GSM single jersey versus 450 GSM brushed fleece. A factory quoting confidently on tees may need to subcontract or decline a heavyweight fleece hoodie, and the reverse is just as common. State the construction and GSM range in the first brief, not after the first quote comes back wrong.
Real MOQ data across the two categories
Across NovaSupplier's tracked Portuguese manufacturer network, T-shirts and hoodies are the two deepest data categories, more manufacturers report confirmed minimums here than for any other garment type.
Product
Manufacturers tracked
Lowest confirmed MOQ
Average minimum
Average maximum
T-shirt
77
50 units
105 units
159 units
Hoodie
65
50 units
127 units
178 units
Sweatshirt
62
50 units
122 units
149 units
Long sleeve top
46
50 units
The pattern worth noting: hoodie and zip hoodie minimums run consistently higher on average than T-shirts, even though both share a 50-unit floor at the most flexible factories. The gap is fabric weight and trim complexity, a hoodie carries drawstrings, a kangaroo pocket, and often a heavier, more expensive fabric than a tee, all of which push the average minimum up even where the absolute floor does not move.
A real factory listing, as a concrete reference point
IBL Clothing, based in Ronfe, in the Guimarães cluster, lists a 100% cotton hoodie at 380 to 500 GSM and a matching sweatshirt at 350 to 500 GSM, both from €20, both at a 50-unit MOQ, with a 15-week production lead time. That GSM range sits at the heavier end of the loopback fleece bracket described above, consistent with a factory positioned for structured streetwear-adjacent basics rather than lightweight summer tees. It is a useful reference point specifically because it is a real, current listing rather than an averaged estimate: a heavyweight hoodie at entry-level MOQ, priced and timed the way an actual quote would read.
Where basics capacity concentrates
Jersey basics production sits overwhelmingly in the Barcelos cluster, covered in full in the Portuguese textile industry map. Within that cluster, the range runs from small, flexible operations to large-scale programme suppliers:
White Cotton, a family-run Barcelos operation with GOTS and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, confirmed at a 50-unit floor across hoodies, sweatshirts, and T-shirts, one of the few certified-organic options at the true entry point.
E3 Plus, organic cotton basics positioned specifically for emerging brands, also confirmed at 50 units across T-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts.
Fonte & Faria, a Barcelos manufacturer producing since 1994 at up to 4,000 units per day, representing the volume end of the same cluster, the factory to move toward once a basics programme outgrows small-batch suppliers.
HTH Têxteis, a Vila Nova de Famalicão cotton basics operation running up to 800,000 pieces a year, confirmed at 50 units on hoodies, polos, sweatshirts, and T-shirts, notable because it means the same factory can plausibly take a first small order and a large repeat programme without switching suppliers.
DGL, producing hoodies, tees, and coats at a 150-unit MOQ, and Top Trends, a knitwear and wovens operation and Munich Fabric Start exhibitor, round out the mid-tier options in the same cluster.
What to specify before you brief a basics factory
A basics brief looks simple, which is exactly why incomplete ones are common. What a factory needs to price accurately:
Construction and GSM. Single jersey, French terry, or brushed fleece, with a GSM range, not just a fibre content. "100% cotton" alone does not tell a factory whether you want a 160 GSM summer tee or a 450 GSM heavyweight hoodie.
Fit and pattern reference. Boxy, relaxed, slim, oversized. A reference garment or measurement spec removes ambiguity that costs a sampling round to resolve otherwise.
Trims. Ribbed or jersey collar, drawstring type and cord tip finish, kangaroo pocket construction, hem and cuff ribbing. These are exactly the details listed in IBL Clothing's own hoodie specification above, and factories price them individually, not as an assumed default.
Wash and shrinkage tolerance. Cotton jersey shrinks. State an acceptable shrinkage percentage after wash so the factory can pre-shrink the fabric or adjust the pattern accordingly, rather than discovering the gap after bulk delivery.
Print or embellishment method, if any. Screen print, DTG, embroidery, or woven label all change the production sequence and sometimes the factory you need, not every basics factory runs decoration in-house. The complete production brief guide covers the rest of what belongs in a first message.
Frequently asked questions
Across 77 tracked Portuguese T-shirt manufacturers, the confirmed floor is 50 units per colourway per style, with an average minimum around 105 units and average maximum around 159 units. The 50-unit floor applies most reliably to stock-colour single jersey tees; custom colour matching or heavier fabric weights can raise it.
Across 65 tracked hoodie manufacturers, the confirmed floor is also 50 units, though the average minimum, around 127 units, runs higher than T-shirts because hoodies carry heavier fabric and more trim complexity (drawstrings, kangaroo pockets, ribbed cuffs), which raises typical order sizes even where the absolute floor does not move.
Most Portuguese jersey factories produce both, but the fabric constructions differ: T-shirts use lightweight single jersey (typically 140 to 180 GSM), while hoodies use heavier French terry or brushed-back fleece (typically 240 to 500 GSM). A factory calibrated primarily for lightweight tees may not be the strongest option for a heavyweight fleece hoodie, and specifying construction and GSM in the brief, rather than just "cotton," is what determines whether a factory can quote accurately.
Most standard hoodies fall between 320 and 500 GSM in brushed-back fleece. A lighter, more drapey hoodie can use French terry at 240 to 320 GSM. One real Portuguese factory listing runs 380 to 500 GSM for a structured, heavyweight cotton hoodie. Specifying a GSM range rather than just "cotton" is the single most useful detail in a basics brief.
French terry has a smooth face and a looped (not brushed) reverse side, typically 240 to 320 GSM, giving a lighter, structured hand-feel. Brushed-back fleece has the reverse side brushed into a soft nap, typically 320 to 500 GSM, giving more warmth and bulk. French terry suits lighter sweatshirts and warm-climate hoodies; brushed fleece suits heavier, cold-weather hoodies.
Yes, at several confirmed factories including White Cotton and E3 Plus, both certified organic options at the 50-unit floor, and IBL Clothing, which lists a 380 to 500 GSM cotton hoodie from €20 at a 50-unit MOQ with a 15-week lead time. Custom colourways or non-standard trims can raise the practical minimum above the stated floor.
If you know your construction, GSM range, and trim spec, NovaSupplier matches your brief against Portuguese factories with confirmed capability for that exact combination, not a general "basics manufacturer" label.
