Fabric Sourcing Guide for Fashion Brands.
A step-by-step guide to textile procurement - working with mills, choosing stock vs custom dyeing, approving lab-dips, and managing lead times.
General industry knowledge • Reviewed by Fenalt editorial team
Fabric procurement controls 60% to 70% of garment costs and 50% of your production timeline. Managing mill relationships effectively ensures on-time delivery.
Navigating raw fabric procurement is a critical milestone for growing clothing brands. Whether sourcing low-MOQ stock fabrics from supplier warehouses or commissioning custom Pantone dye runs at major textile mills, understanding mill minimums, lab-dip workflows, and quality auditing prevents costly production delays.
Procurement Roadmap
6 Stages of Fabric Sourcing
1. Fabric Specification & Swatch Sourcing
Define fiber composition, GSM weight, and knit/weave structure in your tech pack. Order physical swatch headers or sample yardage cuts from mills to evaluate handfeel and drape before ordering bulk.
2. Stock Fabric Procurement (Low MOQ)
Sourcing pre-knitted or pre-dyed fabrics from mill stock warehouses. Ideal for small-batch launches (50 to 200 units) with fast 1 to 2 week lead times and low minimum purchase requirements.
3. Greige Fabric & Custom Pantone Lab-Dip Dyeing
Ordering undyed base fabric (greige) and executing custom dye runs to match exact Pantone (PMS) color references. Requires lab-dip swatch approval and 300kg to 500kg mill minimums per dye lot.
4. Custom Knitting & Yarn Spinning (High Volume)
Spinning custom yarn counts, fiber blends (e.g. 80/20 organic cotton/rPET), and unique GSM weights directly at textile mills. Requires 1,000kg+ mill minimums and 4 to 6 week milling lead times.
5. Bulk Fabric Roll Quality Auditing (ASTM D5430)
Conducting 4-Point System inspections on raw fabric rolls upon delivery to detect holes, slubs, horizontal bar shading, or GSM weight variations before fabric is laid on cutting tables.
6. Managing Mill Production Timelines & Logistics
Factoring fabric milling and lab-dip approval lead times (typically 3 to 6 weeks) into your master production calendar to ensure raw materials arrive before sewing line allocation.
Sourcing Decision
Stock Fabric vs Custom Dyeing
| Aspect | Stock Warehouse Fabric | Custom Dye Lot / Milling |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) | Low (50 – 100 meters per colorway). | High (300kg – 500kg per dye lot). |
| Color Customization | Restricted to available mill warehouse color cards. | Exact Pantone (PMS TCX/C) color matching. |
| Procurement Lead Time | Fast (1 to 2 weeks from warehouse stock). | Longer (3 to 6 weeks for milling & dyeing). |
| Per-Meter Fabric Cost | Slightly higher per-meter price for small quantities. | Lower per-meter price at high bulk volumes. |
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is greige fabric in textile manufacturing?
Greige (pronounced 'gray') fabric is raw, undyed knitted or woven textile straight from the loom or knitting machine. Mills maintain greige fabric rolls in stock and dye them to specific Pantone colors upon client order.
How does Bangladesh fabric sourcing compare to China?
Bangladesh is a global manufacturing hub for high-quality cotton knits (Single Jersey, French Terry, fleece, piqué) with competitive bulk pricing and preferential tariff access to markets like the UK, EU, Australia, and Canada. China offers broader synthetic, technical, and performance fabric options.
What is a lab dip in fabric sourcing?
A lab dip is a small fabric swatch dyed by the mill to match a specific Pantone color code. The brand team inspects the lab dip under standard light box illumination and approves the shade band before bulk fabric dyeing begins.
How much extra fabric should I order for bulk production waste?
Order an extra 3% to 5% fabric allowance (cutting waste allowance) above calculated net garment consumption to account for end-of-roll scrap, seam trimming, and potential factory re-cuts.
What is the difference between a fabric mill and a fabric converter?
A fabric mill physically knits, weaves, or dyes raw textiles in its own facility. A fabric converter buys greige fabric from mills, contracts external dyeing or printing, and resells finished fabric to brands.
How does Fenalt assist with fabric sourcing in Dhaka?
Fenalt's Dhaka sourcing team acts as your local liaison with audited textile mills in Bangladesh - negotiating fabric prices, managing lab-dip approvals, verifying GSM weight, and conducting raw roll QC inspections.
Direct fabric sourcing in Dhaka
Fenalt inspects raw fabric rolls, manages lab-dip approvals, and sources mill-direct fabrics in Bangladesh.
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