Buyers ask for a price, but quotations only become comparable once broken into blocks. A polo shirt’s landed cost is assembled from six layers, each with its own logic and negotiation surface.
1. Fabric: usually the largest block
Composition (cotton vs blends), yarn quality (combed vs carded), GSM and total yardage set the biggest variable. A 20 GSM shift or a carded-for-combed substitution changes both cost and perceived quality — always compare quotes on identical, written fabric specs. The fabric guide details GSM and yarn decisions.
2. CMT: cut, make and trim
Labor for cutting, sewing assembly and standard construction. It scales with construction complexity: a tipped collar, welt placket and contrast yoke add operations against a plain two-button polo. Volume per SKU improves line efficiency more than total volume scattered across many colors.
3. Decoration
Embroidery is priced by stitch count and position, with one-off digitizing; screen printing by screen setup and colors; patches and transfers each have their own cost curve. Method-by-method comparison: embroidery vs screen printing.
4. Trims and branding
Buttons, woven neck labels, hem tabs, hang tags, care labels and packaging inserts each carry unit cost and often order minimums. Custom-molded buttons may need tooling; printed/tagless labels avoid woven-label minimums at launch.
5. Sampling and setup (amortized)
Proto/PP rounds, pattern grading, lab dips and embroidery digitizing are mostly one-off. They inflate first-order piece cost and disappear on repeats — one reason larger opening quantities lower average cost.
6. Packaging and freight
Polybags, folding, carton configuration, retail gift packing, then the trade term: ex-factory, FOB port, CIF or door-to-door change where the invoice ends. A cheap EXW quote plus air freight can land more expensive than a higher FOB quote by sea. Compare FOB vs EXW.
Why two factories quote different prices for “the same” shirt
- Different assumed fabric: composition or GSM quietly downgraded
- Decoration and labels excluded (“garment only”)
- One includes sample fees, the other bills them separately
- Different trade terms — FOB vs ex-factory is not the same price
- Different assumed MOQ, which changes fabric purchase economics
The levers you actually control
| Lever | Cost effect |
|---|---|
| Fewer colors, deeper per-color volume | Better dye-lot and line efficiency |
| Right-spec GSM, not heaviest possible | Avoids paying for weight customers won’t feel as quality |
| Fewer logo positions and print colors | Cuts both setup and per-unit labor |
| Standard trims on launch order | Avoids label/button tooling minimums |
| Sea freight booked early | Often beats air freight savings many times over |
For minimum-order economics and a checklist to evaluate quotes, see the MOQ & pricing guide and wholesale ordering.