What Is MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)?

The smallest quantity a manufacturer will produce per style, color, or order.

MOQ, or Minimum Order Quantity, is the smallest number of units a manufacturer is willing to produce in a single run. MOQ is usually set per style and color combination rather than per order overall — a single style split across five colors typically carries a per-color MOQ, not a per-style one, since each color requires its own cutting lay and, if custom, its own dye lot. MOQ exists because production has fixed setup costs (marker making, machine changeover, dye-lot minimums) that only become economical above a certain volume. Standard-fabric, standard-color styles carry lower MOQs than custom fabric or custom Pantone-matched colors, since the latter are also bound by the mill's own minimum dye-lot or weaving run.