Most MOQ conversations stop at the garment. The real limit is usually the fabric: a custom colour or construction has its own minimum and its own clock, stacked in front of production. This guide puts stock and custom-developed fabric side by side — minimums, lead times, cost and risk — with the arithmetic to decide style by style.
Standard 150 pcs / style / colour · library trial from 100 · below 100 +15%. The trial applies to selected library styles only.
Custom fabric MCQ is typically ~500–1,300 m per mill, colour and construction.
Custom fabric development or dyeing typically adds ~15–20 days before garment production.
Launch on stock, prove sell-through, then move the hero style to custom.
What “stock” and “custom” mean in activewear
Stock fabric here means a library base the mill runs continuously in a set colour range — at ZIESHINE, the named bases PowerForm™, AirTouch™, AquaForm™ and CloudTouch™ in their available colours. Custom-developed fabric is anything the mill must make for you: a custom colour on a library base, or a new construction with its own code. The two behave very differently on minimums and time.
Side by side
| Stock (library base and colour) | Custom colour on library base | Custom construction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garment MOQ | Standard ladder; selected library styles can trial from 100 | Standard ladder | Standard ladder |
| Fabric minimum | None beyond the garment order | Mill dye-lot / colour minimum | MCQ typically ~500–1,300 m |
| Added time before production | None — fabric available | Lab dips + dyeing (custom dyeing typically ~15–20 days) | Greige, dye and finishing trials, testing (~15–20 days or more) |
| Exclusivity | Shared hand and colours | Your colour, shared hand | Your hand and colour |
| Risk | Lowest — hand already proven | Colour approval | Hand, recovery, opacity and colour all new |
| Best for | Launches, tests, re-orders | Brand colour stories | Hero products with a signature feel |
The MCQ arithmetic
A fabric minimum only makes sense in garments. Fabric consumption depends on your marker, size ratio and fabric width, so take these as an illustration, not a quote:
| Garment (illustrative) | Assumed consumption | 500 m covers about | 1,300 m covers about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-length legging | ~0.6 m / pc | ~830 pcs | ~2,170 pcs |
| Sports bra | ~0.25 m / pc | ~2,000 pcs | ~5,200 pcs |
| Tennis dress | ~0.9 m / pc | ~550 pcs | ~1,440 pcs |
The lesson: a 150-piece garment order on a custom colour can leave most of a fabric minimum unused. Spread one custom colour across several styles (legging, bra and short in the same shade) or reserve custom for styles with proven volume. The garment vs fabric minimum logic is explained further in fabric MOQ vs garment MOQ and custom fabric minimum order.
How lead times stack
| Stage | Stock fabric | Custom-developed fabric |
|---|---|---|
| Development samples | 7–9 working days on library bases | After development fabric is available |
| Fabric development / dyeing | — | Typically +15–20 days |
| PPS approval | Your review time | Your review time |
| Bulk production | ~25–30 days after PPS | ~25–30 days after PPS; swimwear and specialised constructions ~30–40 |
Questions to ask any supplier before you commit
- Is this base continuously run, and in which colours? A “stock” fabric that is only woven to order is a custom fabric with a stock name.
- What is the minimum per colour, and can one dye lot serve several styles? Sharing a lot across a legging, bra and short is the cheapest way to absorb a fabric minimum.
- Who holds the leftover fabric? Agree in writing whether unused custom metres are held for re-orders, invoiced, or released.
- Is the re-order on the same lot or a new one? New lots need a shade check against the approved standard.
- When is yarn booked? Peak-season yarn shortages delay custom fabric more than anything else; booking before cutting protects the date.
A decision rule per style
- No sell-through data yet? Stock base and colour. Learn what sells before you lock fabric money.
- Colour is the brand signature? Custom colour on a proven base, shared across as many styles as possible.
- The feel is the product and volume is proven? Custom construction for that hero style only.
- Launch date fixed and close? Stock — custom time cannot be compressed safely.
Standard 150 pcs / style / colour · library trial from 100 · below 100 +15%. The trial applies to selected library styles only, subject to fabric availability and production feasibility; custom fabric minimums are separate and set by the mill. Full terms: company facts.
For the full development route, read custom performance fabric development, or start on the fabric library.
Methods and sources cited
- ZIESHINE company facts — /company-facts and /api/company-facts (MOQ ladder, sampling, production lead times)
- ZIESHINE named-base fabric policy — /fabrics/library (custom fabric MCQ)
Standards are named as the methods buyers commonly specify. Factory results are only those stated as on file; programme results are reported per brief.