Hoodie manufacturers in China for private label

Hoodies that look similar in a catalogue can feel and perform very differently. Fabric composition and weight, brushed or unbrushed inside, shrinkage, rib quality, hood construction, drawcords, zips, seams and fit all belong in the specification. We use these criteria to identify manufacturers whose equipment and material access fit the product.

For private label, neck labels, care labels, hangtags and individual packaging can be specified alongside screen print, transfer or embroidery. Artwork, dimensions, positions and colours are agreed before sampling.

Felix, one of our founders, works in China with a whole team. The team knows more than 100 producers personally, among them workshops that make fleece hoodies in fixed weights and streetwear manufacturers that wash and embroider heavy cotton themselves. Whether a producer has the hood fabric in stock or has to order it, and whether the embroidery machines are in house: we check that on site straight away.

Your contact speaks your language and stays with the hoodie from the choice of fabric to DDP delivery. Importing from China, a black box for many, becomes a process you can follow step by step. We get in touch on our own as soon as the fabric has arrived, the sample is finished or a date starts to slip. We calculate the delivery date realistically and do everything we can to keep it.

If there is a quality problem, for example cuffs that lose their shape after washing, we speak to you immediately and come to you in person. You know us, and that trust is the most valuable thing we have. Our hoodie prices are usually below what sourcing yourself or other sourcing agencies cost. The reason is that we handle China and Germany ourselves, choose the cheaper solution on both sides and negotiate the best possible price with the producer. Your hoodies arrive DDP, and the invoice is issued in Germany.

The physical pre-production sample shows whether fabric, construction, fit and finishing work together. We have the hoodie sewn in your sample size and send it to you, so you can judge the weight, the feel of the inside and the way the hood sits for yourself. The sample costs money, and so does its shipping; we tell you the amount before anything is sewn. The run only gets going once your approval is in writing.

Put the sample through one wash according to its care label. Then you see how much the fleece shrinks and whether cuffs and hem keep their shape.

During production, comparison samples help identify deviations while changes may still be possible. The approved sample and written measurements remain the common reference, including for a later reorder.

The two common hoodie fabrics are French terry, with loops on the inside, and brushed fleece, where those loops are brushed into a soft nap. Weight typically runs from 280 to 350 g/m². 320 g/m² is a common anchor for a mid-to-heavyweight hoodie.

Many knitting mills only keep hoodie fabric in certain weights. One fleece producer in our network offers 300 and 340 g/m², but no 320. If you want exactly 320 g/m², you need a producer that has the fabric knitted specially, and that takes longer. We clarify beforehand which weights a producer really has. For streetwear hoodies, producers go up to 350 or 400 g/m², often as a blend of 80 % cotton and 20 % polyester.

Construction points that belong in the spec: a two-panel or three-panel hood, a drawcord with or without eyelets, a kangaroo pocket, and ribbed cuffs and hem. Each detail is fixed in the tech pack and checked against the approved sample.

Not every hoodie factory suits every brand. A heavyweight fleece hoodie with a boxy streetwear fit needs different machines and experience than a lightweight promotional hoodie. We shortlist manufacturers by fabric, finishing, quality level and quantity, verify them including a business licence check, and compare their samples before you decide.

In our network these are, for example, a teamwear producer that sews fleece hoodies in fixed weights and also has stock garments for quick printing, and a streetwear manufacturer that washes, prints and embroiders heavy cotton in house. Your contact person goes through the shortlist with you, so you know why a manufacturer was chosen.

The price of a hoodie depends mainly on four things: fabric and weight, construction details such as hood, zip and pockets, the branding per artwork, and the quantity per colour. Trims count as well: metal eyelets, drawcord tips, a zip with its own puller or a puff print each add to the price.

What counts for your decision is the landed cost: the price including freight, duty and delivery to your door. With hoodies this is worth a close look, because a heavy hoodie is also heavy in freight. Air freight is charged by weight and volume, so for larger quantities sea freight is usually the cheaper choice.

A knitted cotton hoodie is classified under HS heading 6110. In the EU, knitwear from China carries 12 % third-country duty; we check whether that applies to your model before we quote. The minimum order is 300 pieces per article, split across colours and a size run.

Typical weak points on hoodies are hood halves that sit at different heights, drawcords that hang out further on one side, cuffs in a slightly different shade from the body because the rib fabric comes from another dye lot, and embroidery that puckers on thinner fabric. On zip hoodies, the two front panels can also end up at different lengths, or the zip can make the placket wavy.

We write these points into the specification and our team compares them with the approved sample during production, while seams can still be redone. Before loading, our team measures body length, chest width, sleeve length and fabric weight on the finished goods at the producer, looks at seams, cuffs and hood, and counts the quantity per size. The findings are compared with the approved requirements before the shipment leaves China.

Depending on the producer, a hoodie sample is ready after about one to two weeks. For the run, expect a little over a week if the fabric is in stock and only one logo goes on, and up to four weeks with specially dyed fabric, a zip and several decorations. By sea, the goods reach you DDP about 50 to 65 days after the end of production, by air in about 15 days.

We organise freight, customs clearance and DDP delivery to the agreed address. Your quote reflects the specified article and delivery destination, so you can evaluate the complete landed cost per hoodie.