Custom Activewear Manufacturing: What Brands Should Prepare Before Ordering

Ordering custom activewear involves more than choosing colours and adding a logo. Before a manufacturer can provide a useful quotation, your brand needs to define the products, intended use, fit, quantities and finishing requirements.

A collection of leggings and sports bras needs a different brief from a range of loose-fitting gym T-shirts and training shorts. Clear specifications help the manufacturer assess suitable materials, identify missing details and prepare samples that reflect your requirements.

This guide explains what brands, wholesalers and gym businesses should prepare before placing a custom activewear order—from selecting an initial product range to approving sizing, private labels and packaging.

Define Your Activewear Range and Intended Use

Start with a product list that explains what you want to manufacture and how customers will use it. “Gym wear collection” leaves too many details open for a reliable quotation.

For each style, identify the garment, intended activity and key design features. For example:

• Training shorts: specify length, waistband, pockets and whether a liner is required.
• Leggings: define waist height, leg length, pocket placement and coverage expectations during movement.
• Sports bras: describe the intended activity, desired support, strap construction, lining and whether removable pads are required.
• Gym T-shirts and tank tops: specify a fitted or relaxed shape, body length and preferred neckline.

Avoid relying on descriptions such as “premium quality” or “high performance” without explaining what they mean for the product. State the features you need the manufacturer to assess and demonstrate through sampling.

For an initial collection, prioritise the styles you are ready to develop and purchase. List optional products separately so they do not become part of the quotation by assumption.

Prepare a Clear Specification for Each Style

Give each product a style name or code and keep its requirements in one document. This can begin as a simple manufacturing brief and become a more detailed technical specification as decisions are agreed.

Include:

• Front and back sketches or clearly annotated reference images.
• Fabric composition, construction and GSM, if selected.
• Colour references for fabric, panels and trims.
• Garment measurements and the size range.
• Details of seams, pockets, waistbands, straps and fastenings.
• Logo artwork, dimensions and placement.
• Label and packaging requirements.
• Quantities broken down by colour and size.

Reference photographs help explain a design, but they do not replace measurements or construction details. Mark exactly which features you want to use and which should differ.

If you are still choosing materials, describe the required feel, stretch, coverage and intended activity. Ask the manufacturer to propose options, then record the selected fabric in the specification after reviewing samples.

Date each revision and use a version number. When you change a measurement, fabric or logo position, identify the change clearly and confirm that the manufacturer is working from the latest approved document.

Agree on Fit and Sizing Before Bulk Production

Size labels such as small, medium and large do not define a consistent fit across brands. Give your manufacturer a measurement chart and explain whether each style should feel relaxed, close-fitting or compressive.

Distinguish body measurements from finished-garment measurements. State which you are providing, use one measurement unit consistently, and include diagrams showing where measurements should be taken. For stretch garments, specify whether measurements are taken with the garment relaxed or under an agreed amount of stretch.

Review fit samples on people who represent your intended customers. Check the garments during relevant movements, such as bending, reaching and squatting, rather than judging fit only while standing.

Pay particular attention to:

• Waistbands that roll, slip or dig in.
• Seams that pull or cause discomfort.
• Leggings that lose coverage during movement.
• Tops that restrict the shoulders or ride up.
• Bra bands and straps that feel uncomfortable or unstable during the intended activity.

Agree on acceptable measurement tolerances and how measurements will change between sizes. Approving one medium sample does not confirm the fit of the full range; discuss which additional sizes should be sampled before production.

Break Down Quantities and Confirm the MOQ

Prepare an order breakdown for each style, colour and size. A total of 100 garments is not enough information if the manufacturer does not know how those pieces are divided.

For example, an order for 40 training T-shirts could contain 20 black and 20 navy pieces, with each colour divided into specified sizes. Add those quantities to your order sheet and check that the totals match your quotation.

Ask how the minimum order quantity applies: to the overall order, each style, each colour or another agreed grouping. Do not assume that a low advertised MOQ allows every combination of products and colours.

Rid Star Industries has a minimum order quantity of 10 pieces/sets. Share your proposed breakdown so the available combinations can be confirmed for your order.

Clarify what counts as a set when ordering coordinated products. A leggings-and-bra set, for example, needs an agreed specification for both garments and confirmation of whether different top and bottom sizes can be paired.

Include likely reorder requirements in the discussion. Ask whether the same fabric, trims and colours are expected to remain available, and confirm how small repeat orders would be quoted.

Specify Branding, Private Labels and Packaging

Provide your logo artwork with its intended dimensions, colours and position on each garment. “Small logo on the chest” leaves room for interpretation; a marked drawing with measurements gives the manufacturer a clearer reference.

Choose the decoration method alongside the fabric and placement. For fitted activewear, ask to review the decorated area under stretch and check its feel against the skin. Approve the logo on the actual production fabric before confirming the full order.

If you are deciding between printing methods, our guide to sublimation vs screen printing for custom apparel explains the fabric, artwork and sampling considerations.

For private-label products, prepare a list covering:

• Brand labels and their attachment positions.
• Size labels that match the approved size chart.
• Fibre-content and care-label artwork.
• Hangtags, barcodes or product codes, where needed.
• Individual bags, size stickers and carton markings.

Identify your destination market when preparing label requirements, and confirm the final wording before labels are produced.

Packaging instructions should explain how the garments will reach your warehouse or retail operation. State whether coordinated pieces should be packed together, whether sizes should be separated, and which product identifiers must appear on each package.

Request photographs or a physical example of the agreed folding, labelling and packing arrangement. This gives both parties a reference for checking the finished order.

For a more detailed production brief, read our guide to private-label apparel labels and packaging, covering label placement, artwork versions, individual packing and carton identification.

Approve Samples Against a Written Checklist

Agree on what each sample is intended to confirm. An early fit sample may help assess garment shape but may not use the final colour, trims or branding. Ask the manufacturer to identify any differences from the proposed bulk specification.

Before production approval, review a sample that represents the agreed materials, construction and decoration. Check:

• Measurements against the approved specification.
• Fit and comfort during the intended activity.
• Fabric coverage when stretched.
• Seam appearance and comfort against the skin.
• Waistbands, pockets, straps and fastenings.
• Logo size, position and appearance.
• Labels and the agreed packaging arrangement.

Include washing checks using the proposed care instructions. Record any changes in dimensions, colour, garment shape or decoration. Agree on any additional testing needed to support the product claims your brand intends to make.

Send sample feedback as one clear list, supported by annotated photographs and measurements. Replace vague requests such as “make the fit better” with specific changes that the manufacturer can assess.

If a correction affects fit, fabric or construction, agree on whether another physical sample is needed. Keep the approved sample and dated specification as references for bulk inspection.

Confirm the Quotation and Delivery Plan

Request a quotation based on the latest specification and quantity breakdown. Ask the manufacturer to identify what is included and which items are charged separately, such as sample development, artwork preparation, labels, packaging and freight.

Check the quoted currency, payment schedule and quotation validity. If you are comparing suppliers, make sure they are quoting comparable fabrics, construction, decoration and quantities.

Build the delivery plan around agreed milestones:

• Sample preparation and dispatch.
• Buyer review and any revisions.
• Final sample and specification approval.
• Bulk production and quality inspection.
• Packing, dispatch and estimated transit time.

Ask what must be completed before the production lead time begins. Confirm whether the schedule depends on material availability, sample approval or receipt of the agreed payment.

Give your manufacturer the required arrival date and destination, rather than only your planned launch date. Allow time to receive, inspect and organise the stock before it goes on sale.

Agree on how changes or delays will be communicated and how any discrepancies found during inspection will be resolved. Keep these decisions with the approved order documents.

Prepare Your Custom Activewear Order with Rid Star Industries

A clear brief gives your manufacturer a practical starting point for discussing materials, sampling and pricing. Before requesting a quote, bring together your product list, design references, size requirements, quantities, branding details and delivery destination. Mark any undecided items so they can be discussed.

Rid Star Industries is a custom sportswear and apparel manufacturer based in Sialkot, Pakistan, serving international brands, wholesalers, gyms and other B2B buyers. Our product range includes gym T-shirts, tank tops, shorts, leggings, sports bras, hoodies and tracksuits, with private-label and custom packaging options.

Our minimum order quantity is 10 pieces/sets. Share your proposed styles and quantity breakdown so we can confirm the options for your project.

Before approving your sample, follow our guide to reviewing a custom apparel sample for practical checks on measurements, stitching, decoration and final sign-off.

Request a custom activewear quote to submit your requirements and upload your artwork.