What does private label manufacturing include?
Production to your specification with your branding applied throughout — main label, care and composition label, size label, hangtag, polybag artwork and carton marks. The finished consignment carries no reference to the manufacturer.
Private label is a labelling and ownership arrangement rather than a separate production process. The garment is made the same way; what differs is whose name is on it and who owns the specification. Where a buyer supplies the design and specification, that is the OEM route; where they adapt our developed blocks, it is ODM. Either can be private labelled.
Which branding elements can be applied in the factory?
Woven and printed main labels, satin or cotton care labels, size labels, heat transfer neck prints, hangtags with your artwork, branded polybags, and carton marks to your specification. Each element follows your artwork and carries its own procurement lead time.
| Element | What you supply | Typical procurement lead |
|---|---|---|
| Woven main label | Artwork, colours, dimensions | Confirmed per quotation |
| Care and composition label | Wording, market compliance requirements | Confirmed per quotation |
| Heat transfer neck print | Vector artwork, Pantone references | Confirmed per quotation |
| Hangtag | Print-ready artwork, stock and finish choice | Confirmed per quotation |
| Polybag | Artwork, size, required warnings | Confirmed per quotation |
| Carton marks | Shipping mark layout | Same day |
Care and composition labelling is a compliance matter, not a design one. The required wording differs by destination market, and the liability sits with the importer. Tell us the market and supply the wording your market requires; we will not invent it.
What artwork and lead time does each label element need?
Woven labels and hangtags are procured items with their own lead time, and they gate the packing stage rather than the sewing stage. Artwork approved late delays shipment even when the garments are finished.
Two rules avoid the most common delay:
- Approve trims in parallel with sampling, not after. Trim procurement runs alongside fabric procurement.
- Send vector artwork with Pantone references. A logo supplied as a low-resolution image cannot be woven or printed accurately, and the rework costs a week.
Where a buyer has no artwork yet, we can produce garments unlabelled and ship them for labelling at destination — a workable route for a first order where branding is not finalised.
Who owns the pattern and the specification?
Where a buyer supplies the design and tech pack, the buyer owns them. Where a garment is developed from our blocks to a buyer's brief, agree ownership in writing before development starts, because the default is unclear and disputes are avoidable.
We state this in the quotation rather than leaving it to assumption. A buyer investing in development work is entitled to know whether the resulting block can be sold to their competitor, and a manufacturer is entitled to know whether its existing blocks are being appropriated. Both positions are reasonable and both are settled in one sentence at the outset.
What minimum quantity does private label production require?
Private label minimums are set by trim lot sizes rather than by fabric, because woven labels and printed hangtags carry their own order minimums independent of the garment quantity.
That is the constraint buyers miss. A 500-piece garment order can be viable while a 500-piece woven label order is not, because label mills quote in thousands. Consolidating a label order across styles solves it, and is worth planning at the range stage rather than per order.
Private label terms at a glance
| Attribute | Value on this programme |
|---|---|
| Branding elements | Woven or printed main label, care and composition label, size label, heat transfer neck print, hangtag, branded polybag, carton marks |
| Artwork format | Vector files with Pantone references |
| Care label wording | Supplied by the buyer for the destination market |
| Trim approval | In parallel with sampling, not after |
| Minimum order set by | Trim lot sizes; label mills quote in thousands |
| Design ownership | Buyer owns a supplied design; ownership of blocks developed here is agreed in writing first |
| Unbranded option | Garments shipped unlabelled for labelling at destination |
How do I order private label apparel manufacturing?
Send your specification or reference garment together with your branding artwork. We quote unit price including trims, state the trim procurement lead time separately, and confirm what your destination market requires on the care label.
Buyers adding a chemical-safety claim to a hangtag should first read what OEKO-TEX certifies.
New to producing under your own name? Read what a tech pack must contain before specifying, and consider starting from our developed blocks rather than from a blank page.