Minimum order quantity, explained
MOQ stands for minimum order quantity: the smallest number of pieces a manufacturer will produce in one run. Every clothing factory has one because the fixed work behind a garment does not shrink with the order. Fabric is bought by the roll, a marker has to be cut, machines are set up and rethreaded, screens are burned and embroidery files digitised, and dye lots have a minimum weight. In clothing, a low MOQ usually means 50 to 100 pieces per style. At NO FUGAZI the minimum is 50 pieces, and if you want a few designs sitting around that number it can usually be worked out, depending on how many designs there are and how complex they are.
What MOQ means
MOQ is the floor on a production order. It is expressed in pieces, and in apparel it is almost always counted per style rather than per order, because each style carries its own pattern, marker, fabric allocation and machine set-up.
Two numbers often travel together and get confused. The order MOQ is the total the factory will accept. The style or colour MOQ is the minimum within each variant. A factory quoting 100 pieces might mean 100 total across two colourways, or 100 in every colour. Ask which one you are being given before you build a range plan around it.
MOQ is not the same as stock availability. A supplier selling blanks from a warehouse can ship one unit because the piece already exists. A manufacturer cutting your pattern from your fabric is starting a production run, and the run has a floor.
Why manufacturers have a minimum
The cost of making clothing splits in two. Per-piece cost, which is fabric consumption, trims, labour and decoration, and fixed cost, which is everything paid once regardless of whether you make 30 pieces or 300.
The fixed side is where MOQ comes from.
- Fabric rolls. Knit fabric is produced and sold by the roll, typically 20 to 30kg. A 350 GSM brushed-back fleece hoodie uses roughly 0.8 to 1kg of fabric in a mid size once cutting waste is counted, so one roll covers a limited number of pieces and the leftover is dead stock nobody pays for.
- Dye lots. Dyeing runs to a minimum batch weight. Custom colours are dyed to order, and two separate lots of the same reference will not match perfectly, which is why a small top-up run rarely blends with the original.
- Cutting the marker. The marker is the nested jigsaw of every pattern piece across the fabric width. It is laid out once for the whole run and cut through many plies at a time. Cutting 30 pieces takes nearly the same marker work as cutting 300.
- Screens and digitising. Every screen print colour needs its own screen burned and registered on press. Embroidery needs the artwork digitised into a stitch file and test-sewn on the actual fabric. That work happens once and is carried by the run.
- Machine set-up. Overlockers, coverstitch and bartack machines are threaded to the specific colour and needle for your job. Changeovers cost line time.
Spread that fixed work across 20 pieces and the unit cost stops working for everybody. Spread it across 50 and the maths starts to function.
What counts as a low MOQ
Low MOQ is relative to the process, not to a universal number. As a working guide for cut-and-sew apparel:
| Pieces per style | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | Not production. Blank stock with decoration applied, usually DTG or DTF. |
| 50 to 100 | Low MOQ for genuine custom cut-and-sew. Realistic for a first drop. |
| 150 to 300 | Standard for many factories. Better unit economics, more cash at risk. |
| 500 plus | Volume territory, where bespoke fabric development and custom hardware open up. |
Decoration shifts the floor. DTG and DTF carry almost no set-up, so they tolerate small runs. Screen print, embroidery, sublimation and custom washes carry set-up per design, so their sensible minimum sits higher. Custom trims move it most of all, because woven labels, rubber badges and bespoke hardware are ordered from their own suppliers with their own minimums.
Treat a headline MOQ as one line in a quote, not a verdict. What matters is the total landed cost of a run you can actually sell.
MOQ, colourways and sizes
This is where a first order usually goes wrong. A brand hears 50 pieces, plans three colourways and a full size run, and ends up with four or five garments in each box. That is not a range, it is a sample set.
Colourways multiply against the minimum. If the factory counts MOQ per colour, three colours is three separate runs of fabric, dyeing, cutting and set-up. Even where a minimum can be flexed across colours, each extra colour means another fabric allocation, another screen registration and another dye lot to match.
Sizes divide the minimum. A 50-piece run has to be split across a size curve, and every size you add thins the stock in the sizes that actually sell. Six sizes across 50 pieces averages eight per size. Sell out of medium in a weekend and you are left with a rail of XS and 3XL.
The rule for a first run: one colourway, one strong decoration placement, a tight size curve. Prove the fit and the demand, then widen the range on the reorder when you know what sold. The same logic applies whether you are making custom hoodies or a tracksuit, where the top and the bottom are two separate garments to pattern, cut and sew.
Planning a size curve for 50 pieces
A size curve is the split of your total across sizes. Get it wrong and half your money sits unsold in sizes nobody wanted.
For UK streetwear, demand clusters in the middle and skews slightly larger because of oversized fits. A workable starting split for 50 pieces in a unisex hoodie or tee:
| Size | Pieces | Share |
|---|---|---|
| S | 6 | 12 per cent |
| M | 14 | 28 per cent |
| L | 16 | 32 per cent |
| XL | 10 | 20 per cent |
| XXL | 4 | 8 per cent |
Adjust it against what you know. A womenswear-leaning audience pulls the curve down to S and M. A heavyweight boxy fit pulls it down too, because an oversized L already fits an XL body and customers will size down. Caps and accessories avoid the problem entirely, which is why a custom cap often makes a sensible second piece alongside a first garment.
Two practical points. Drop XS and 3XL from a first run unless you have order data proving demand, because those pieces are better placed in L. And set the curve before sampling rather than after, because grading and fabric consumption per size feed straight into the quote.
MOQ, unit cost and cash
Unit cost falls as quantity rises, because the fixed work divides across more pieces. The curve is steep at the bottom and flattens out. Going from 50 to 100 usually moves the unit price more than going from 500 to 550 does.
Cash works the other way. Higher quantity means a bigger total commitment, more capital sitting in stock and longer to sell through. A run priced beautifully per unit is worthless if it drains the money you needed for photography, ads and shipping.
The calculation that matters is not the lowest unit price. It is how many pieces you can realistically sell in the first three to six months, at your retail price, to the audience you have today. Work backwards from that number to the run size, then ask for the quote.
Pricing at NO FUGAZI is most competitive at higher volumes, but an order can be placed at the 50-piece minimum at any time. Starting at the minimum and widening the run on the reorder, once you know what sold, is a normal way in.
How to ask about MOQ
Do not open with "what is your MOQ". You will get a bare number with no context. Ask the questions that reveal how the number behaves.
- Is the minimum per style, per colourway, or across the whole order?
- If I want two or three designs around your minimum, can that be worked out, and what changes?
- Is there a minimum per size, or do I set my own size curve?
- Does the minimum move with the decoration method or with custom trims?
- What is the minimum on a reorder of the same style?
A good answer is specific and explains itself. Something like: the minimum is counted per style rather than across the order; a second colour needs its own dye lot and fabric allocation, so it usually counts separately; embroidery is digitised once and the file is reused on the reorder; you set the size curve. That is a factory telling you how it works.
A weak answer is a number with nothing behind it, or a figure that keeps moving as you push on it. If a supplier cannot explain why the minimum exists, they may not be the one making the garments. Working out who is really producing your order is a large part of finding a clothing manufacturer you can build on.
Warning signs of a no-MOQ claim
No MOQ almost always means one of three things, and only one of them is a problem.
- They are decorating blanks. Legitimate, and often the right route for a small test. But you are buying someone else's garment with your graphic on it. You do not control the fit, the fabric weight, the neck rib, the label or the construction, and neither does the brand using the same blank next to you.
- They are an agent. They accept your small order and place it with a factory that does have a minimum, absorbing the gap in the price or waiting to consolidate it with other jobs. That is where lead times stretch without explanation.
- They are quoting sampling as production. A single made-to-measure piece is a sample. It will not carry the price, the consistency or the turnaround of a run.
The tell is the follow-up question. Ask what fabric, what GSM, what construction, and whether the pattern is yours. If the answers stay vague, you are not commissioning manufacturing. There is nothing wrong with starting on blanks, as long as you know that is what you are doing and have a plan for moving to your own pattern.
How 50 pieces works at NO FUGAZI
The minimum order at NO FUGAZI is 50 pieces. If you want several designs sitting around that number, it can usually be worked out, depending on how many designs there are and how complex they are. Send what you have in mind and you will get a straight answer rather than a policy.
You do not need a tech pack to start. A sketch, a moodboard, reference photos or a garment you already own and want built differently is enough, and if a tech pack does exist the quote comes straight from it. Pattern development, fit development, the technical work and the decoration are handled in house at a dedicated facility, managed from London. If you have never written a spec before, starting without a tech pack sets out what to send instead.
The preferred route into a run is deposit-credited sampling. You commit to the bulk with a deposit, the sample is made first, and that deposit is credited towards the bulk total rather than sitting on top of it. One revision round is included, and further sample revisions are chargeable. A standalone sample with no bulk commitment is available as a fallback at a separate fee that is not credited to a later order. Sampling takes roughly 2 to 3 weeks. Bulk is roughly 3 to 8 weeks after sample approval, plus shipping, varying with queue, quantity and design.
Quote revisions are free, so it costs nothing to price two or three versions of a run and compare them. To get a number, send the brief through the enquiry form or message the team on WhatsApp with your garment, quantity, fabric idea and decoration. See the full garment range for what can be made, and how the process runs from brief to delivery.
FAQ
MOQ questions, answered
What does MOQ stand for?
MOQ stands for minimum order quantity. It is the smallest number of units a supplier or manufacturer will accept in a single order. In clothing it is normally counted in pieces per style, because each style needs its own pattern, marker, fabric allocation and machine set-up. You will see it written on quotes, in supplier listings and in factory replies, usually as a figure such as 50, 100 or 300 pieces.
What does MOQ mean in business generally?
In business, MOQ is the threshold below which a supplier will not take an order, set so the transaction covers its fixed costs and stays worth running. It appears in wholesale, packaging, printing, components and raw materials, not only in clothing. The principle is the same everywhere. Some costs are incurred once per order regardless of its size, so the supplier sets a floor that keeps the job viable for both sides.
What is MOQ in manufacturing specifically?
In manufacturing, MOQ reflects the fixed work of starting a production run. Machines are set up and tooled for your job, materials are bought in supplier-defined batch sizes, and the line is scheduled around your order. In clothing that means fabric rolls, dye lot minimums, cutting the marker, burning screens and digitising embroidery files. None of that cost falls when the order does, so a floor keeps the run economic.
What is considered a low MOQ for custom clothing?
For genuine custom cut-and-sew apparel, 50 to 100 pieces per style counts as low. Below 50 you are usually looking at decoration applied to ready-made blanks rather than a garment built from your own pattern. Many factories set their floor at 150 to 300. Anything advertised as one or ten pieces is either blank stock, a sample, or an agent passing your job to a factory that has a minimum of its own.
How do I work out the right order quantity for my brand?
Start from sales, not from the price break. Estimate how many pieces you can realistically sell in three to six months at your retail price with the audience you have now, then set the run at or just above that. Split the total across a size curve weighted to the middle sizes. Check that the cash left over covers photography, shipping and marketing. If the number lands near the minimum, start there and scale on the reorder.
Does a manufacturer's minimum apply to each colourway?
Usually yes, and it is always worth confirming. Each colour needs its own fabric allocation and dye lot, its own cutting lay and its own screen registration, so it behaves like a separate run. Some factories will flex across colours and others will not. Ask directly whether the figure quoted is per style, per colourway or across the whole order, because the answer changes your entire range plan.
Should I split my first order across several designs?
Usually not. Splitting a small run across several designs thins every size, multiplies the set-up work and leaves you with too few pieces of anything to sell properly. One strong style in one colourway, sampled and fitted correctly, teaches you more than three half-stocked designs. That said, if you have a specific multi-design idea near the minimum at NO FUGAZI, it can often be worked out depending on the number of designs and their complexity.
Can I reorder a smaller quantity than the original run?
A reorder is still a production run, so the minimum applies again. Some fixed work does not repeat, since the pattern exists, the fit is approved and screens or embroidery files are already prepared. Be aware that a fresh dye lot will not match the original perfectly on custom colours, so if colour consistency across drops matters to you, order the deeper quantity first rather than topping up later.
Does a minimum order mean paying for everything upfront?
Payment terms are set per quote by the team, so they are agreed with you rather than fixed by the piece count. The usual route into a run is deposit-credited sampling, where you commit to the bulk with a deposit, the sample is made first, and that deposit counts towards the bulk total instead of being an extra cost. Send your brief to have terms confirmed on your specific order.
Can I order plain garments with no branding on them?
Yes. NO FUGAZI does not hold blank stock, but blanks can be produced to order to your own custom measurements, and branding is not required. The 50-piece minimum still applies, because it is a production run built from a pattern. This route suits brands that want to lock in their own fit and fabric before committing to decoration, or who plan to apply their own printing separately.
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