Summary: a private label jean's price is roughly fabric first, labour second, laundry third — then hardware, trims and logistics. Quantity moves every line. Rather than quote misleading averages, here is the anatomy, so you can read any factory's quotation like an insider.
1. Fabric — the largest single line
A jean consumes roughly 1.3–1.6 metres of denim depending on fit and size run. Weight, composition and mill provenance set the metre price: a 14.2 oz selvedge costs a multiple of a standard 11 oz stretch. Wide-leg fits consume more cloth than slims — geometry is money.
2. Construction — stitched labour
Every operation is seconds on a line: five-pocket construction, felled seams, chain-stitched waistband, bartacks. A minimal jean might carry ~40 operations; a workwear piece with double knees and utility pockets carries far more. When you add a detail, you add operations — knowingly is the only good way.
3. Laundry — where character costs
A quick rinse is minutes in a drum. A hand-scraped, whiskered, acid-tinted vintage cast is a labour-intensive choreography of stones, enzymes, chemistry and skilled hands. As a rule: the more "years of wear" a wash fakes, the more real hours it contains. Custom PFD garment-dyeing sits at the premium end — and reads that way on the shelf.
4. Hardware and trims
Original YKK zips and shanks cost more than anonymous copies — and never cost you a returned garment. Leather patches, woven labels, embroidery, printed pockets: each is small alone; together they are a real line item that also defines your brand. Spend here beats spending on complexity nobody sees.
5. Quantity — the multiplier on everything
Setup costs — pattern, marker, line configuration, wash recipe development — are fixed; quantity divides them. The jump from 300 to 1,000 pieces moves unit price far more than any negotiation. This is why factories ask about your program, not just your first order.
6. Logistics and duties
From Istanbul, EU deliveries move fast and duty-advantaged under the Customs Union; US deliveries choose between air speed and sea economy. Landed cost — not ex-factory price — is the number your margin actually meets.
How to get a sharp quotation
- Fix fabric weight/composition and wash reference before asking prices.
- Ask for two or three quantity brackets in the same quote.
- State target landed cost honestly — a good factory engineers toward it.
Send those three things through the Order Atelier and our pattern room returns a structured quotation within 24 hours.