This week The Korea Post ran an opinion piece about a Chinese township that makes about one in five sweaters sold worldwide. That township is Dalang, in Dongguan, Guangdong. If you’re a brand owner or designer sourcing knitwear, this isn’t background trivia. It’s the reason your quotes, lead times and MOQs look the way they do.
1. What the news actually says
The Korea Post piece (August 7, 2026) points at something people in the trade already know: Dalang is the densest sweater production cluster on earth. Roughly 20% of the sweaters sold globally come out of this one town.
The number is worth sitting with. It means when you order a private label sweater from a Chinese factory, there’s a good chance that factory sits inside a few square kilometers of Dalang, surrounded by yarn suppliers, machine shops, washing plants and export forwarders.
That’s not a marketing claim. It’s infrastructure. Yarn is 20 minutes away. A broken machine part is fixed the same day. A pattern change that needs a new program runs on a Cixing or Shima Seiki machine down the street. The cluster exists because it’s been doing this since the 1980s, and it’s still the fastest place on earth to turn a sweater drawing into a finished carton.
2. What that means for you
You don’t need to build a factory to get the cluster’s output. You need a factory inside the cluster that works the way you work.
That’s the real takeaway from the news. The supply chain is not the problem. The problem is finding a partner with a low MOQ and the flexibility to test small before you commit big.
Most sweater factories in Dalang won’t touch an order under 500 pieces per style. Some won’t touch anything under 1,000. That closes the door on:
- independent brands testing a new silhouette
- capsule collections for a specific season
- market tests before a full production run
- retailers that want 3–5 styles in small quantities instead of one big style
If your brand runs on small batches, you’re not shopping for capacity. You’re shopping for a factory that says yes to 100 pieces.
3. Low MOQ is the point
Lewen Garment runs out of Dalang, and our MOQ is 100 pieces per style. We’ve held that number for 23 years.
Here’s what 100 pieces actually buys you:
| What you get | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Test a style with real sales data | One small run tells you what sells before you invest in a big one |
| Launch more styles per season | 100 pcs per style means you can run 5 styles instead of 1 |
| Control cash flow | Small first orders keep your working capital free |
| Iterate on fit and yarn | You can adjust after a real production run, not just a sample |
We run 100 Cixing automatic knitting machines, full gauge range from 3GG to 18GG, 65 stitching and ironing stations, and 50 Juki sewing machines. Monthly capacity is 100,000 pieces. So the low MOQ isn’t a limitation of the factory — it’s a policy. We take small orders and big orders with the same machines.
4. How flexible sourcing works in practice
Flexibility is a process, not a promise. Here’s the actual sequence when you work with us:
- Bring your idea — tech packs, AI, PSD, PNG or JPG reference images all work.
- Confirm details — yarn composition, elasticity, color, quantities, trims, effect.
- Sample — 7–10 days for a simple style. Complex styles take longer, and we’ll tell you how long before we start.
- Bulk production — 15–30 days once the sample is approved.
A few ways brands actually use this flexibility:
- Sample first, commit later. Get a real sample for $50 (design are free). Sample fees can be used to offset bulk purchase payments.
- Mix styles within a season. Run three cardigans and two pullovers at 100 pcs each instead of one style at 500.
- Adjust composition between runs. Start with an acrylic-nylon blend to test the market, move to a merino version once the style proves itself.
- Plan around the season. Sample in month one, small run in month two, full reorder in month three if it sells.
5. What this means for brands and designers
- MOQ reality check. A 500-piece minimum kills most new styles before they start. 100 pcs keeps the door open.
- Sample before you commit. A 7–10 day sample cycle is short enough to test multiple directions in one season.
- Gauge decides everything. 3–5GG for chunky, 12–16GG for fine knits. Make sure your factory covers the range you design in — we run all of it.
- Lead time is plan-able. 15–30 days bulk plus shipping means you can work backward from your launch date with confidence.
The township behind 1 in 5 sweaters is your supply chain. The question is whether your factory treats 100 pieces as a real order. Ours does.
FAQ
What is Lewen Garment‘s MOQ?
100 pieces per style. This applies to new styles and repeat orders, and it’s been our standard for 23 years.
How long does sampling take?
7–10 days for a simple style. Complex styles depend on the details — we confirm the timeline before we start.
Where is Lewen Garment located?
Dalang, Dongguan, Guangdong, China — the same township that produces about one in five sweaters sold worldwide.
Can I mix multiple styles to reach a minimum?
Yes. You can run several styles at 100 pieces each within the same season. We treat each style at 100 pcs as a valid order.
What gauges and yarns do you support?
Full gauge range from 3GG to 18GG, and we work with acrylic, nylon, wool, cotton and blended yarns depending on your spec.