When I first started diving into the apparel supply chain, I was constantly debating: “Should I go with American factories or Chinese ones?” To be honest, it’s not an easy decision to make.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Tress.
Over time, I realized that it’s not just me — many of my peers struggle with the same question. So, I did some deep research, combined it with my experience working with different brand clients, and now I’m here to break it down for you.
So, which is the better option for your brand — American or Chinese factories? The answer boils down to your specific needs. Both American and Chinese clothing factories have their own strengths and weaknesses. Choosing an American factory could mean faster turnaround times and stricter quality control, but at a higher production cost. On the other hand, Chinese factories often provide lower manufacturing costs and more diverse production capabilities but can have longer delivery times and shipping challenges.
If you’re in a rush to decide, the summary above should give you some clarity. However, if you want to dig deeper, keep reading — I’ll break down the pros and cons from a few key perspectives.
One of the biggest concerns for many brands is delivery speed. American factories usually deliver within 4–8 weeks, which is about 40%-50% faster than the shipping time from China. For brands looking to “launch new collections immediately and seize market trends,” this speed can make all the difference. Take fast-fashion brand Reformation as an example: their local production allows them to go from design to shelf in just 3–4 weeks, keeping up with the fast-paced market.
For many brands, quality control is a top priority. You definitely don’t want to find flaws in your product once it reaches the customer, right? American factories tend to have higher quality standards, with return rates averaging below 2%, while similar factories in China usually range between 3%-5%. Brands like Everlane choose American factories to ensure every detail meets their high standards, reducing the risk of customer complaints and product returns.
Today’s consumers care more about ethical production, which means your choice of factory can significantly impact your brand image. American factories adhere to strict labor rights and environmental standards, which can help brands feel more confident in their supply chain. Take Patagonia, for instance. A brand focused on sustainability and ethical practices, they emphasize their brand values by working with American factories, ensuring customers appreciate not just the product quality but also the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
One major downside of American factories is the higher production cost, which is usually 20%-40% more than in China. For example, producing a basic T-shirt in the U.S. might cost around $15-$20, while the same quality T-shirt in China would cost about $7-$10. If you’re cost-conscious or want to maintain competitive pricing, the high manufacturing expenses in the U.S. might affect your profit margins.
Many brands worry about production capacity. American factories are typically smaller, with an average monthly output of 5,000–10,000 pieces. If your product suddenly becomes a hit and you need to scale up quickly, one American factory might not be able to handle it all. Outdoor Voices faced this challenge — they eventually had to split their orders across multiple factories, which complicated logistics and increased costs.
If your product requires unique craftsmanship or specialty materials like lace, embroidery, or digital printing, American factories have limited options and higher costs in these areas. This can be a concern for brands seeking unique designs but working with a limited budget.
Without a doubt, cost-effectiveness is the biggest advantage of Chinese factories. On average, production costs in China are 30%-50% lower than in the U.S. I helped lingerie brand ThirdLove analyze their production expenses, and by moving manufacturing to China, they reduced their cost per item by about 40%. Such savings can significantly boost your brand’s profit margins.
Flexible production capacity is another major benefit of Chinese factories. Whether you need 100 pieces or 100,000, Chinese factories can adapt quickly. Fast-fashion giant Fashion Nova relies on Chinese factories to produce up to 100,000 items monthly while quickly updating product designs to keep up with market trends.
Chinese factories have a wide range of manufacturing capabilities, covering various fabrics and techniques — knitwear, silk, embroidery, printing, and even digital dyeing. I once helped a luxury swimwear brand find a factory in Guangzhou that not only met their requirements for quick-drying fabrics but also complied with environmental standards. It’s this kind of versatility that makes Chinese factories suitable for various brand needs.
The lead time for Chinese factories is longer — typically around 8–12 weeks, with 30–40 days just for shipping. For brands looking to quickly bring products to market or cater to seasonal demand, this longer timeline can pose challenges. I worked with an independent designer brand that chose American factories primarily to cut down on delivery time for their new product launch.
While there are plenty of Chinese factories, quality varies greatly. Some smaller factories may struggle to deliver consistent quality or keep up with deadlines. Finding the right supplier can be a significant challenge for brands. I once helped a denim brand find a reliable supplier in China, and it took several rounds of vetting to find a factory that met their standards.
Many brands worry about how working with Chinese factories may affect their social image. Although most Chinese factories are improving their labor rights and environmental standards, some are still behind. If your brand places a strong emphasis on ethical production and social responsibility, you’ll need to thoroughly audit any factory you partner with in China.
Before you decide, ask yourself: What are my brand’s priorities? If your brand needs fast delivery, high-quality control, and has the budget to support it, then an American factory may be your best bet. On the other hand, if you’re looking for cost savings, large-scale production, and a variety of fabric and technique options, then a Chinese factory might be the better fit.
Regardless of which country you choose, my advice is: Maintain close communication with your factory, regularly check production progress and quality, and build a long-term partnership. This not only ensures a stable supply chain but also helps you continuously optimize and enhance product quality.
If you’re interested in learning more about finding the right factories for your brand, be sure to check out my other articles: “How to Quickly Find Quality Factories in China” and “How to Quickly Find Quality Factories in the U.S.”
Do you want to start your own business by importing from China to get a higher margin? Have you ever considered to start your own brand business while you found difficult to decide which category you may run?
If you want to start a low-risk business, underwear can be taken into account. In this post, I will show you how to start your underwear business from China in 6 simple steps. But firstly, you must understand why I recommend you to choose the underwear business. This is something you have to think about whatever business you do, and also the first step to start.
If you are interested in underwear, reading this article will take you much closer to your underwear business dream.
We all know that underwear is a must for almost everyone in every country. It is such a stable and large consumable that you don’t need to worry about whether you can sell it out. And once the customers say yes to your products, they are more likely to become your regular customers.
As lingerie has something to do with fashion, it can be much profit if you have got a sensitive sense of fashionable trends. The cost of lingerie can be very low in Chinese factories. In this case, importing lingerie from China won’t make you capital constraints. $500-$ may be enough to start your lingerie business. Further, a good design can raise the price to $50-$100 at a low cost of $1-$5, based on certain brand awareness.
The company is the world’s best China Lingerie Factory supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
Sports underwear, sexy lingerie, swim lingerie and so on, which one do you prefer? The first step to start your business is to choose which types of underwear to start, in other words, define your target customer.
Based on my experience, I have classified them into four types. Choose one or two that suitable for you according to your experience, interest or ability.
This type of underwear is usually worn in daily life and it is the most hot-sell products. Small profits need a quick turnover. If you want to import cheap underwear, you’d better order a large amount to reduce the cost of each piece of underwear to $1.
It is the most profitable product you can try. In this case, you must have a flair for fashion since it focuses on aesthetics and design. You can attend some underwear fashion weeks or trade shows to gain inspiration.
Besides a sensitive sense of fashion trend, it is necessary to know marketing to boost your brand awareness if you want to raise the price and get more margins. The price of a piece of fashion lingerie with good design and high brand awareness can reach $30-$80, while the cost will be only $2-$5 in a factory in China.
We all know what sports underwear concerns: comfort, perspiration absorption, elasticity, etc, focusing on functionality and performance. So if you want to do with sportswear, you should pay attention to the fabric and pattern. It is necessary to ask someone to try on the sample to confirm is it comfortable if you choose sports underwear.
Sexy lingerie is also universal all over the world. And unlike fashion lingerie, what sexy lingerie emphasizes is not only design but also functionality. You can also gain much profit in this field.
Finding suitable manufacturers or vendors will be a time-consuming job. There are many things you need to concern: the type of your products, your budget or your business scales and further, whether to start your own brand.
You must have heard about Alibaba as it is the largest wholesale online platform. There are a sea of suppliers on Alibaba, so it’s very important to find reliable ones.
Besides Alibaba, Aliexpress is also an online market under the Alibaba Group. While it is meant to help small businesses, so the MOQ of Aliexpress is lower than MOQ on Alibaba, around $50-$200. If you determine to buy cheap and normal underwear or do dropshipping, then Aliexpress is a better choice.
For underwear wholesale, you can search on these online platforms like DHgate or AliExpress, Global Sources, or Alibaba, to find Chinese suppliers.
You may not aware that most of the suppliers on Alibaba usually are not real manufacturers. In this way, it is difficult for you to get the most competitive price directly from the manufacturer. So where can you find real manufacturers efficiently? The answer is trade shows.
In a trade show, you can visit all kinds of products on-site and talk to suppliers face to face, you can also choose the style that fits your taste in a fast time. It’s worth mentioning that MOQ there will be quite higher at about $.
Customization and private labels boost the brand recognition of your product. If you just import products from the manufacturer without any design from your own, then it is difficult for your products to stand out. Cause the manufacturer exports these products to other merchants as well, and your products will be not unique and attractive.
So how to customize and private label products? There are 4 things you need to confirm, let’s check them one by one.
After confirming all the items with the manufacturer, the massive production can be put on the schedule. In this part, you need to pay attention to the quality of goods and It is necessary to ask for a sourcing agent or a third-party inspection company to inspect the quality. If the quality of bulk goods reaches the criteria, then choose appropriate transportation to import them.
The process of producing a product is quite complicated and difficult. But don’t worry, we have written another article to explore how to customize and produce your own brand of underwear. So if you want to know how many steps are needed to produce underwear or how long it often takes, please check 8 Steps to Customize Lingerie & Underwear in China.
If you want to sell online, you must choose your target online platforms according to your target customers. There are many online market platforms, such as Shopify, Amazon, eBay, etc., all of them have their own market scope, advantages, and disadvantages. Herein, I will pick some popular platforms to exemplify.
As a mature e-commerce platform, Amazon can provide a lot of relative support and services like FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon), which means you don’t have to rent a warehouse or deliver goods by yourself. And you need to ship your goods to the Amazon warehouse. It is well-known in America and Europe and owns large buyers flow every day. So if your target markets are developed countries in America or Europe, Amazon is waiting for you.
Since Amazon is the largest online retail market, the competition between the sellers could be very fierce. You may feel difficult to stand out, so let me tell you the key to the success on Amazon, that is concentration.
The concentration means you could not sell like 10 or 20 types of underwear to trial on which one is the best, but focus on 3 to 4.Try to upgrade and improve them on both quality and style, in this way can they become hot-sell.
Shopify is suitable for those who already have stable regular customers or know marketing with enough capital to open their own brand. Because it is just a website building tool, it’s not like Amazon that can provide you with relatively customer flows or other ancillary services. So you have to get your own customers by advertising on Facebook, Google or Youtube.
Lingerie on Shopify needs more energy and ideas to maintain. Besides quality, private label, fashion design, and the exquisite package also help you get closer to success. After your own lingerie brand is built, you can cooperate with stores to rent shelves for selling your products. Enhance your marketing ability and you will get surprising rewards.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Wholesale womens pajamas. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.