It’s been a few weeks since I returned from the Portland Functional Fabric Fair, and despite being very busy, I wanted to write this article (and possibly a second article) while it’s still relatively fresh. As always, there was a lot to learn, but I’ll try my best to keep this concise.
For those that don’t know, the Functional Fabric Fair is an industry trade show dedicated entirely to sourcing for technical apparel. Think waterproof breathable fabrics, stretchy workout fabrics, buckles and zippers for travel and outdoor bags, and much, much more.
Because we work with a lot of small brands, I went down with no particular material to source. I was more interested in what mills and suppliers can accommodate the small brands we work with. So for all you small brands out there, here is a rundown on what to look for and what to ask when looking for low MOQ material suppliers.
MOQ’s (Minimum Order Quantities)
The bane of small businesses everywhere - MOQ’s. Everywhere you look, it’s nearly impossible to get small quantities made of quality materials. Unfortunately, this hasn’t changed much, but here are some tricks:
3000/1000 - This is the common amount most fabric mills will say their minimums are. Three thousand one thousand, as it’s pronounced, stands for 3000 yards per style of fabric and 1000 per colour. This means that if you want a certain fabric, let's say denim, you have to order 3000 yards of it, and you can get your 3000 yards dyed in up to 3 colours at 1000 yards each per colour. This standard is called a “mill-run” of fabric, so if you can order a “mill-run” you’re set. You can get any fabric you want in any colour at a very inexpensive price compared to anything you can find in small quantities. The problem is that most small or even medium-sized businesses can’t order a mill run, so what do we do?
Location & Size - Your first indication of what a fabric mill can do is its mill location and company size. Larger fabric mills tend to have higher minimums and won’t be very flexible, preferring to work with large clients (think Nike, lululemon, etc.)
The country the mill is in can be an indication of how flexible they are on minimums. Mills in China and Taiwan (the largest producers of fabric in the world) tend to be larger and not very flexible on minimums. Other countries like Italy or Turkey tend to have smaller, more flexible mills.
Also, mills that work with European brands will be more used to low MOQ’s. Europe tends to have smaller brands (even very technical apparel), whereas North America tends to have larger brands with more buying power.
Literal vs. Preferred MOQ’s - This is the first thing to understand from mills, some numbers are made up, and others aren’t. 3000/1000 is usually the MOQ because the equipment they use is designed to make this amount of fabric efficiently. As an example, dying fabric usually takes a certain minimum because the vats and equipment they use are designed to dye 1000 yards of fabric, and if you go significantly below that, it alters the chemistry of the dye bath and the quality of fabric decreases significantly. So when talking to mills, some numbers are what they prefer to make and some numbers are literal, they just straight up can’t make less than that.
The Magic Words - After a mill tells you their MOQ, your first question should be - “Can you do less with surcharges?” They’ll usually say yes, and you can dig down into what their actual minimum might be. Surcharges will either be a set fee, something like $500 to go under MOQ or it will be a percentage, something like a 20% fee to go under MOQ.
Asking about surcharges can really change the game, often you can get mills to go way under their MOQ (if they can) for a 20% surcharge. Remember the price you’re paying is probably way less than you’re used to, so a 20% surcharge on $3/yard fabric is only $0.60/yard.
More Questions - You won’t know if you don’t ask, right? After you ask about minimums and surcharges, make sure you ask some other questions just in case:
Conclusion - These are just my own findings, so they are by no means all encompassing - but hopefully this has been helpful in some small way. It's tough for small brands out there, trust me I get it. With limited buying power and sell-through, small brands are at a huge disadvantage compared to large brands with their ability to afford mill runs of fabric.
But if it was easy, everyone would do it right?
It can be done - there are mills and resources out there that can let small brands get their hands on world-class fabrics. It might not be in any colour imaginable, and it might not be as inexpensive, but it is doable.
If you’d like some more info or help with your small brand, contact us here - hopefully we have some resources and contacts we could send over.
Until next time, keep rockin’ it!
- Eric
