What is lead time?
Lead time is the time from approved sample and artwork to the order leaving the factory — production only, not shipping. Ours is 7–10 days for decorated stock garments and 10–14 working days for cut-and-sew orders; a custom dye lot adds roughly 7–10 days. Sampling comes before it; shipping comes after.
Why it matters
It is the number an event or a launch date is planned around, and the one most often misunderstood — lead time starts at approval, not at enquiry. Add sampling before and shipping after to get a delivery date.
On our floor
7–10 days is real for stock garments with locked artwork and sizes. The commonest delay is a size change after the marker is made.
Common questions
- What is your lead time?
- 7–10 days on decorated stock garments; 10–14 working days for cut-and-sew; a custom dye lot adds roughly 7–10 days; from approved sample.
- Does lead time include shipping?
- No. Add 3–7 days by air or 3–5 weeks by sea to most destinations.
- Does lead time include sampling?
- No — about a week for a stock-garment sample, two for cut-and-sew, before lead time starts.
- Can you rush an order?
- For confirmed dates, often. Ask on the enquiry.
Related terms
MOQ
MOQ — minimum order quantity — is the smallest run a factory will produce for one style. It exists because every order carries fixed costs…
pre-production sample
A pre-production sample — PPS — is one complete garment made to the final specification on the same line, from the same fabric, with the…
marker
A marker is the plan for laying out every pattern piece — for every size in the order — across the width of the fabric so that the least…
Incoterms
Incoterms are the standard trade terms that say who pays for and is responsible for a shipment at each stage — from the factory door to…
Where this applies
Book a call
Twenty minutes with the people who make it — the garment, the quantity, the date.
Put it to work
Send us what you have — a garment, a logo, a rough quantity — for a quote within a working day, or book a call and we will talk it through.
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