Let’s have a frank chat about something most UK fashion brand owners discover the hard way: finding a reliable clothing manufacturer in China or Vietnam is nothing like browsing Alibaba on a Saturday afternoon. The sourcing process is layered, the quality variables are real, and the compliance requirements for textiles imported into the UK are more rigorous than most first-timers expect.
But here’s the reality — UK fashion brands that get this right are building products at £3–£12 per unit that retail for £40–£180. The margin opportunity is significant. The risk comes from doing it without a clear framework.
This guide is for UK-based clothing brand founders, product directors, and buyers who are either starting out with overseas manufacturing or who’ve had a rough first experience and want to do it properly the second time around. We’ve helped UK clothing brands source everything from premium knitwear and activewear to workwear and childrenswear — from factories in Guangdong, Fujian, and Ho Chi Minh City alike.
By the time you finish reading, you’ll understand the difference between China and Vietnam as sourcing destinations, what compliance requirements apply to clothing imported into the UK, what MOQs and lead times to realistically budget for, and how to structure your sourcing process to avoid the most common pitfalls.
Clothing manufacturer sourcing is the process of identifying, vetting, sampling, and entering into a production relationship with a factory or cut-make-trim (CMT) facility that will manufacture your garments to your specifications. For UK brands, this typically means working with factories in China or Vietnam under private label or OEM arrangements, with finished goods imported through Felixstowe, Southampton, or London Gateway.
The UK fashion industry sources the overwhelming majority of its manufactured goods from Asia. According to HMRC trade data, clothing and textile imports from China to the UK were valued at over £7.2 billion in the 12 months to March 2025. Vietnam’s share has been growing rapidly — UK-Vietnam trade reached approximately £9.6 billion in 2024, with garments representing a significant proportion of that figure.
The economic logic is clear. A mid-weight women’s jacket that costs £8–£15 to produce in Guangdong (including fabric, trims, and CMT) can retail in the UK for £60–£150. The same jacket produced domestically would cost £35–£70 just in manufacturing, making most retail price points unviable. This isn’t a race to the bottom — it’s how global supply chains work, and UK fashion brands that source well compete with the best in the world.
What’s changed in 2025–2026 is the environment around sourcing. The UK-China trade relationship — worth approximately £87 billion in 2024 — has stabilised following the Starmer government’s diplomatic reset with Beijing, creating more confidence for UK importers. Simultaneously, Vietnam’s attractiveness has surged as brands look to diversify away from single-country dependency, supported by the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which progressively eliminates tariffs on Vietnamese goods entering the UK.
We’re seeing more UK clothing brands operate a China + Vietnam split: China for more complex, embellished or performance-fabric garments where factory expertise and material access is superior; Vietnam for simpler cut-and-sew basics and knitwear where UKVFTA duty savings make the economics particularly compelling.
Both China and Vietnam produce a wide range of clothing categories for UK import, but they each have distinct strengths:
| Category | China Strength | Vietnam Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Knitwear & jumpers | Excellent | Good |
| Activewear / athleisure | Excellent | Growing fast |
| Woven shirts & blouses | Excellent | Excellent |
| T-shirts & jersey basics | Good | Excellent |
| Outerwear & jackets | Excellent | Limited capacity |
| Swimwear & lingerie | Strong | Moderate |
| Sustainable / organic cotton | Good | Strong growth |
| Childrenswear | Excellent | Moderate |
This is genuinely the most common question we field from UK clothing brands, and the honest answer is: it depends on your product, your volumes, and your compliance priorities. Let’s break it down properly.
China has an unparalleled ecosystem for garment production. The fabric mills, trim suppliers, embroidery houses, and logistics infrastructure are all concentrated in clusters — Guangdong for woven goods and denim, Zhejiang for knitwear and silk, Fujian for sports and performance fabrics. This vertical integration means shorter lead times within China and easier sampling. China also has the workforce capacity to handle very large runs (50,000+ units) and the technical expertise for complex construction or technical fabrics.
Vietnam’s ascent as a garment manufacturer has been remarkable. It is now the world’s third-largest garment exporter, and for UK brands, the UKVFTA means progressively lower import duties on Vietnamese clothing (see Section 7 for the full breakdown). Vietnamese factories — particularly around Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang — are strong on cut-and-sew basics, woven shirts, and denim. English is more widely spoken than in smaller Chinese factories, and many facilities have already invested in international compliance certifications.
| Factor | 🇨🇳 China | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Typical MOQ (private label) | 300–1,000 units per style | 500–2,000 units per style |
| FOB cost (basic tee) | $2.50–$5.00 | $2.80–$5.50 |
| Production lead time | 45–75 days after sampling | 60–90 days after sampling |
| Sea freight to UK | 25–35 days (to Felixstowe) | 30–38 days (to Southampton) |
| UK import duty on clothing | 12% (standard UK Global Tariff) | 0–6% (UKVFTA, reducing to 0%) |
| Fabric sourcing ecosystem | Exceptional — vertically integrated | Improving but more reliant on imports |
| Technical complexity | Handles complex construction well | Best for simpler cut-and-sew |
| Sustainability certifications | GOTS, OEKO-TEX available | Growing GOTS and SA8000 adoption |
| Geopolitical risk | Moderate (improving post-reset) | Lower — strategic diversification |
| Language / communication | Mandarin primary, some English | Better English in larger factories |
One frequently overlooked issue with Vietnam is that the country still imports 50–60% of its fabric from China. This can affect lead times and means some “Made in Vietnam” products have significant Chinese material content — which has compliance implications for rules-of-origin under UKVFTA (see Section 7). This is where working with a sourcing agent who knows both markets becomes genuinely valuable.
If you’re sourcing from China, geography matters more than most new importers realise. The main clothing-producing regions each have specialisms:
Here’s where most UK clothing brand owners start getting overwhelmed — and rightly so. The landscape of directories, trade shows, agents, and platforms is genuinely confusing, and the risk of landing with the wrong factory is high if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Alibaba, Global Sources, Made-in-China.com. These give you broad access but require significant due diligence — you cannot take a supplier’s self-reported credentials at face value. Most listings are trading companies, not factories.
Use with cautionCanton Fair (Guangzhou, April & October), Texworld (Paris, February & September), CHIC (Beijing). Excellent for seeing physical samples and meeting factories face-to-face. Expensive in time and travel for UK brands.
High quality leadsOther UK fashion brand owners are often willing to share manufacturer contacts for non-competing product categories. UK fashion brand communities on LinkedIn and industry events are worth investing in.
Trusted, freeUK-based or in-country agents with existing vetted factory relationships. The fastest route to quality-verified manufacturers with proven track records for your product category — and they manage communication, sampling, and QC.
Best for new brandsBe wary of any factory that: refuses to show you their production facility; can’t provide references from current clients; sends samples that look different from their portfolio photos; demands full payment in advance; is slow to respond to detailed technical questions about your spec; or provides a business address that doesn’t match any registered entity in Chinese company records.
One of the most common sources of frustration for UK clothing brands is discovering mid-process that the economics don’t work the way they assumed. Let’s put some real numbers on the table.
| Garment Type | China MOQ (per style) | Vietnam MOQ (per style) | FOB Price Range (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic tee / jersey top | 300–500 units | 500–1,000 units | $2.50–$6.00 |
| Woven shirt / blouse | 300–600 units | 500–1,000 units | $5.00–$14.00 |
| Knitwear / jumper | 200–500 units | 500+ units | $8.00–$22.00 |
| Activewear / leggings | 300–500 units | 500–1,000 units | $4.00–$12.00 |
| Outerwear jacket | 300–800 units | 700–1,500 units | $18.00–$55.00 |
| Denim jeans | 500–1,000 units | 1,000–2,000 units | $8.00–$18.00 |
| Childrenswear (per style) | 300–600 units (across sizes) | 600–1,200 units | $3.00–$10.00 |
Most manufacturers will allow MOQs to be split across a size run (e.g. 300 units spread across XS–XL). The key constraint is usually the fabric minimum — if your factory needs 200 metres of fabric per colour and your style uses 1.5m per unit, your practical minimum is around 133 units per colour. Darker colours often have lower fabric minimums than custom or reactive-dyed shades.
UK clothing brands routinely underestimate how long the sourcing process takes, particularly when managing it without an agent. Here’s a realistic timeline for a private label clothing order:
Total elapsed time from first supplier contact to goods in your UK warehouse: typically 5–8 months for a first order. If you need autumn/winter stock, start conversations in February/March at the latest.
UK clothing imports are subject to a specific set of labelling, fibre composition, safety, and customs requirements. This is where UK fashion brands frequently get caught out — either at customs or after launch when Trading Standards raises concerns.
Clothing sold in the UK must meet UK-specific requirements that are no longer identical to EU CE/REACH regulations. Since Brexit, the UK has its own regulatory framework. Labelling requirements in particular differ from EU rules. Selling non-compliant clothing in the UK can result in Trading Standards enforcement action, product recalls, fines, and reputational damage.
The UK Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 require all textile products sold in the UK to carry a label showing:
UK REACH restricts certain substances in clothing, including azo dyes that release certain aromatic amines, formaldehyde in resin-finished garments, flame retardants in childrenswear, and heavy metals in dyes and trims. Your manufacturer should be able to provide OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification or equivalent chemical testing reports.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| EORI Number | Required for all UK importers. Apply via HMRC — free and typically issued within 5 working days. |
| UK Import Duty (China) | Most clothing from China attracts 12% import duty (UK Global Tariff, HS chapters 61 & 62). |
| UK Import Duty (Vietnam) | UKVFTA: Significantly reduced or zero duty for goods meeting rules-of-origin requirements. |
| VAT on Import | 20% UK VAT applies at point of import but is recoverable as input tax if your business is VAT-registered. |
| Customs Declaration Service (CDS) | HMRC’s CDS system handles all UK import declarations. Your freight forwarder will typically manage this. |
| Certificate of Origin | Required to claim UKVFTA preferential duty rates. The factory must provide an EUR.1 certificate. |
This section is where brands most often cut corners — and most often pay for it later. The sampling and QA process is not a bureaucratic hurdle; it’s the mechanism by which you ensure what arrives at your UK warehouse is actually what you ordered.
A tech pack (technical specification package) is the document you send to a factory that contains everything they need to produce your garment. A good tech pack includes:
First physical garment made to your spec. Often in a substitute fabric. Purpose: check construction, fit, and proportion. Cost: £30–£150 per sample.
Made in correct or very close fabric. Address fit, measurement, and construction comments from Stage 1. May require 2–3 rounds. Cost: £30–£150 per sample.
Made in actual production fabric with all correct trims and finishing. This is your sign-off sample. Do not approve until you’re 100% satisfied.
Before your goods leave the factory, a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is essential for any order over approximately 500 units or £5,000 in value. A third-party inspection company will visit after at least 80% of goods are packed, draw a random sample using AQL statistical methodology, and produce a detailed report covering measurements, appearance, workmanship, labelling, and packaging. Cost is typically £200–£350 per inspection day.
The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which came into force in January 2021, is one of the most significant trade agreements available to UK clothing importers — and most brands haven’t fully taken advantage of it yet.
Under the UKVFTA, the agreement progressively reduces UK import duties on Vietnamese goods. For clothing specifically (HS chapters 61 and 62), this represents a material cost saving versus sourcing the same garments from China, where the standard UK Global Tariff rate of 12% applies.
| Clothing Category | UK Duty (China) | UK Duty (Vietnam, UKVFTA 2025) | Target Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knit garments (Chapter 61) | 12% | 0–9.6% | 0% |
| Woven garments (Chapter 62) | 12% | 0–9.6% | 0% |
| Textile accessories (Chapter 63) | 12% | 0–6% | 0% |
To qualify for UKVFTA preferential duty rates, your clothing must meet the Rules of Origin requirements. For most garments, this means the product must be manufactured in Vietnam using a “two-stage transformation” — typically, fabric woven from yarn through to finished garment, all within Vietnam or the UK.
The problem: If your Vietnamese factory imports fabric from China (which many do — Vietnam imports approximately 55–60% of its fabric from China), that fabric may not satisfy the rules-of-origin requirement. You must verify with your factory whether they use Vietnamese-origin or UKVFTA-qualifying fabric.
Consider a UK brand ordering 1,000 women’s woven shirts with an FOB value of approximately £7,100:
*Assumes full rules-of-origin compliance. Rates indicative — always confirm with HMRC’s Trade Tariff tool.
On this example order, the UKVFTA saves approximately £550 in duty. At scale, across multiple orders per year, this becomes a meaningful competitive advantage for UK clothing brands.
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Our team has sourced clothing from both markets for UK brands. We’ll give you an honest assessment of which makes more sense for your specific product, volumes, and margin targets.
Book a Free 30-Minute Call →At Epic Sourcing, we’ve helped UK fashion brands source everything from premium knitwear and activewear to childrenswear and workwear — from vetted factories in China and Vietnam. Our team is based in the UK (London office: 71-75 Shelton St, WC2H 9JQ) with in-country sourcing operations in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Ho Chi Minh City.
£699
Source from our pre-vetted clothing manufacturer network. Select from existing styles with your branding applied — fastest route to market for UK clothing brands testing a new category.
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Full custom development to your tech pack specifications. We manage factory selection, sampling, compliance review, QC, and shipping from China or Vietnam.
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Full-service management for established UK clothing brands scaling to multi-SKU ranges. Dedicated sourcing manager, IP protection, ongoing factory relationship management.
The safest approach is a multi-step verification process rather than relying on platform reviews alone. Request the factory’s business licence (营业执照) and check it against China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (qichacha.com or aiqicha.com). Verify the registered business scope includes manufacturing — not just trading. Request references from existing customers, ideally European or UK brands producing similar garments. Use a third-party inspection company to conduct a factory audit before placing your first order. Legitimate factories will not object to any of this. Those that do are telling you something important.
For most clothing imported from China, the UK Global Tariff rate is 12% (HS chapters 61 and 62, covering knitted and woven garments). This is applied to the customs value (typically CIF). For clothing from Vietnam, the UKVFTA progressively reduces duties — in many categories the rate has already reached 0% for goods meeting rules-of-origin requirements. UK VAT at 20% applies at import but is reclaimable as input tax for VAT-registered businesses. Always verify the specific duty rate for your exact HS code using HMRC’s UK Trade Tariff tool before budgeting.
For a genuine private label order (custom fabric, your label, custom specs), realistic MOQs from Chinese factories are typically 300–500 units per style per colour. Some smaller factories catering to independent brands will go as low as 100–200 units, but you’ll pay a premium per unit and have fewer fabric options. Vietnamese factories generally start higher, at 500–1,000 units per style. If your volumes are very low (under 200 units), white label sourcing often makes more economic sense as a starting point. As you scale, per-unit costs drop significantly at 500+ units per style.
You can source directly, and many established brands do once they have trusted factory relationships. The challenge for UK brands doing it for the first time is language (most factory owners in China’s garment hubs don’t speak conversational English), time zone management, understanding of local business norms, and the ability to verify claims and identify problems before they become expensive. A sourcing agent earns their fee by shortening your learning curve, reducing risk on the first few orders, and handling factory communication that would otherwise consume significant management time. For first-time clothing brand founders, we’d almost always recommend starting with an agent.
Standard sea freight transit times from China to UK main ports (principally Felixstowe, which handles approximately 48% of UK container traffic, and Southampton) are typically 25–35 days for direct or single-transhipment services via major Chinese ports such as Shanghai, Ningbo, or Guangzhou. From Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City or Hai Phong), expect 30–38 days to Southampton or Felixstowe. Add 3–7 days for UK customs clearance and inland delivery. Air freight is an option for urgent orders, but at approximately 4–8 times the cost of sea freight it dramatically affects your landed unit economics for most clothing categories.
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Book a free 30-minute consultation with the Epic Sourcing UK team. We’ll look at your product, your target volumes, and your timeline — and give you an honest assessment of what’s possible, what it’ll cost, and where to start.
No obligation. No sales script. Just practical sourcing advice from people who’ve done it for hundreds of UK brands.
Epic Supply Chains UK Ltd · 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ · hello@epicsourcing.co.uk
