Guide
How to Manufacture Clothing in Cape Town
Every garment moves through the same production stages. Understanding each one makes it far easier to budget, compare suppliers and read a manufacturing quotation with confidence.
The production stages
- 1
Pattern making & design
A pattern maker turns your design into a graded pattern and a first sample. This is a once-off cost per style and is reused for every future production run.
- 2
Fabric supply
Fabric is bought per metre. Composition, GSM, colour and dye lot availability all affect price and lead time.
- 3
Cutting
A marker is planned to minimise fabric waste, the fabric is laid, and panels are cut for the full run.
- 4
Making & CMT production
The factory sews, trims and finishes each garment. This is your core CMT cost per unit.
- 5
Embroidery & printing
Branding is applied per placement. Embroidery requires a once-off digitising fee; screen printing requires screens per colour.
- 6
Labels, packaging & delivery
Woven labels, care labels, hang tags, polybags and courier costs complete the landed cost per unit.
Common questions
CMT manufacturing versus full-package production — what is the difference?
With CMT you supply the pattern, fabric and trims and the factory only cuts, makes and trims. With full-package production the manufacturer sources everything and delivers finished garments, which costs more per unit but requires less management from you.
How many T-shirts should a new clothing brand order?
Most new Cape Town brands start between 50 and 150 units per style. That is usually enough to meet factory minimums and lower the per-unit cost without carrying excessive stock.
How do I choose a clothing manufacturer in Cape Town?
Compare sample quality, minimum order quantity, lead time, machinery suited to your fabric type, communication and written quotations. Always approve a pre-production sample before bulk production.