White-label and private-label clothing are two distinct industry terms that often overlap or get mixed up, so we’ve created this quick guide.
- Starting a white-label clothing business allows you to offer various products without full-scale clothing manufacturing.
- Private-label products offer more control and can lead to higher profit margins.
Services like Printify make it easy and cost-effective to design and sell custom clothing on popular eCommerce sales channels. Let’s dive into both options to help you make the best choice for your business.
What is white-label clothing?
These garments are product blanks made by a third-party manufacturer, which you can customize with your own branding.
This type of product branding is often carried out through a service that purchases products directly from the manufacturer.
Benefits:
- 100% free with Printify. Customize and list products in your store. You pay for order production only after you make a sale.
- No order minimums. Since each product is customized separately, you can place orders starting with one item.
- No inventory. Outsourcing order fulfillment, packaging, and shipping to print-on-demand manufacturers frees up space and saves funds you’d spend on stock-keeping units.
- Sales channels. Print-on-demand dropshipping services offer automated integrations with popular sales channels, freeing you to focus more on marketing your brand.
These products frequently come with an inside label that lists information on size, material, and country of origin. The label can include the manufacturer’s name, but some Print Providers go as far as offering an option to add your own inside label.
Choose this type of product manufacturing as an affordable and efficient way to launch a clothing brand.
Quick tip
If you’re selling products on-site or want to handle product packaging and shipping, order personalized merch in bulk to save on shipping costs.
What is private label clothing?
Private label clothing is product blanks sourced from a private label manufacturer, which you can customize with your own branding. So, where’s the difference?
Overall, private label brands have more hands-on experience in creating the base product by partnering up with the manufacturer.
Benefits:
- Customization. Private-label clothing brands can change certain aspects of the produced garments, like product design, materials, color variants, and more.
- High profit margins. Working with the manufacturer directly allows your store to negotiate better pricing for your private-label products.
- Fully-branded products. Since it goes beyond adding your designs to an existing product, private labeling enables you to create products that are exclusively yours.
- Customized quality control. Through direct communication with the manufacturer, you can make sure each item meets your brand standards, resulting in a more consistent and high-quality product.
Capitalize on these advantages to create a private-label clothing line that resonates with your target audience and reflects your brand vision and identity.
Quick tip
Check out our guide on private label dropshipping for a more detailed analysis of private labeling.
Make it happen today!
White label clothing vs private label clothing
The decision between starting a white or private-label clothing brand becomes a lot easier once you’ve clearly defined your business objectives. Consider creating a business plan.
Both private label and white label options allow you to add your brand name to product blanks, but they differ in the degree of involvement and control you’ll get in the production process, as well as the associated costs.
- Private label clothing gives you a chance to change the base product in a way that best suits your clothing line, while white label apparel gives you a selection of products to customize with your own branding.
Once you start, consider that private label brands are met with higher order minimums – brainstorm storage solutions for your product stock.
The good news is that you can skip keeping inventory by branding the high-quality clothing offered by print-on-demand services.
The main difference is how involved you want to be in the production process and whether you have a solid starting capital to launch your company.
Start a white label clothing business with Printify
Partner up with the best print-on-demand platforms in the industry to create products with your own brand name in a few simple steps.
Our growing Product Catalog of high-quality product blanks makes white labeling easy.
Quick tip
Look for the Bestseller tag to find the most trendy styles that are selling like hotcakes at this very moment.
Sign up
To launch your brand into the world of eCommerce, you need to take your first step – create an account on Printify.
Add an email and create a password to sign up, or use your Gmail account to sign in.
After you’re taken to your Printify Dashboard, navigate to the user account icon in the top left → My account to add your contact details – full name, email, and phone. Be sure to also add an address that will get printed on your invoices.
Once done, select Payments from the list on the left → Add credit/debit card. Adding a payment method to your account makes sure that your orders go through fulfillment as swiftly as possible.
You can also add a balance to your account from PayPal.
Select your products
First, you’ll need to choose the right products for white-label printing to sell to your specific customer niche in your store. This involves doing some prior market research.
Think about what kind of attire your customers are looking for, and take note of our recommendations.
We offer a wide selection of products ranging from t-shirts to pajamas, which should simplify finding the best products to brand and sell.
Here are a few popular examples:
Unisex heavy blend™ crewneck sweatshirt
The Gildan 18000 is a loose-fitting sweatshirt made from a medium-heavy cotton and polyester blend.
It has no side seams for extra comfort and will be an excellent canvas for your brand logo.
Unisex jersey short sleeve tee
The Bella Canvas 3001 t-shirt is an industry leader and one of our most notable bestsellers.
It’s produced from light 100% Airlume combed and ringspun cotton, using the latest technology in the field. It’s specifically designed to offer a comfortable fit and beautiful direct-to-garment prints.
Unisex heavy blend™ hooded sweatshirt
The Gildan 18500 is a classic fit hoodie made from a medium-heavy cotton and polyester blend.
The thick fabric blend with a spacious pocket and no side seams will offer your customers a relaxed fit in chilly weather. It’s also an excellent material for your most spectacular brand designs.
The Next Level 1533 is a slim-fitting tank made from a light cotton and polyester blend.
If you’re looking for something to please customers on a hot summer day, this is your clear choice. With side seams to hold the perfect shape and structure, it’s also a great product to put a logo on.
When considering baby clothing, it doesn’t get better than the Rabbit Skins 4424 bodysuit.
Made from light 100% cotton, it offers breathable comfort to any toddler. It’s an exceptional product to sport a logo or some of your most vivid designs.
Get to designing
Use our free Mockup Generator to upload or create unique product designs and generate high-quality mockups for your website.
Choose graphics, combine them with text in various fonts and colors, and make any necessary adjustments for the perfect design.
Take advantage of our integration with Shutterstock to easily create clothes with designs from a vast collection of quality images.
To start – open up a product page and click Start designing.
Pick where to sell
Choose a sales channel to sell your products. It’s important to consider which platforms your target customer audience uses.
We’ve set up automated integrations with some of the most popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces like Shopify, Walmart, Etsy, eBay, and more.
Go to the top right of your Printify dashboard → My new store → Add a new store to connect it to your Printify account.
Market your brand while Printify does the rest
Starting your custom clothing business with Printify allows you to focus on brand marketing while we handle the logistics of creating and shipping sold products to your customers.
Running successful marketing and advertising campaigns is one of the best ways to ensure stable business growth and a steady stream of money for companies using Print on Demand.
Printify is a cost-effective way to start a company, requiring no upfront investment.
Check out our Marketing Hints and Tricks to find what’s most suitable for your new clothing line.
Frequently asked questions
It’s just what it sounds like – clothing with a blank label. White-label products allow you to add your branding and designs to the product.
The benefits are clear – no startup costs, order minimums, or inventory management.
Join other successful companies that trust Printify as their white labeling solution over other manufacturers.
If you start a private label business, you’ll be sourcing clothes directly from private label manufacturers.
The main advantages of private labels are control over the base product and the potential to gain higher profit margins.
Keep in mind that private-label apparel has higher order minimums, which means you’ll need to place bulk product orders and find stock solutions.
The easiest way to start your own company is to use a service like Printify. Sign up to join other successful companies and start making money.
We’re the one-stop shop for all of your clothing brand owner needs – starting with guides on choosing a brand name all the way over to selling your own garments.
Once you have a good idea of what your customer is looking for – choose the baby clothing you want to sell, add your branding, and list it on your website.
Check out our customizable baby clothing collection to find your next bestsellers!
In conclusion
White label and private label clothing offer a wealth of opportunities for those wanting to start their own custom attire company.
While the two share similarities, both have unique advantages that serve different company models.
Private-label clothing allows for greater customization, while white-label products provide an easy start, among other things.
Whether you choose white or private-label clothing, the key to success is creating a brand identity, knowing your target audience, and delivering high-quality products that meet your customer needs.
