The mistake in apparel packaging is measuring the garment. What goes in the box is the fold, and the fold is a decision your packing team makes, not a property of the shirt. Fix the fold first, then the box dimensions follow from it.
Typical folded footprints
| Garment | Folded footprint | Depth per unit |
|---|---|---|
| T-shirt, retail fold | about 8 to 10 in by 10 to 12 in | about 1 to 1.5 in |
| Button shirt with board | about 8 to 9 in by 11 to 13 in | about 1.5 to 2 in |
| Hoodie or sweatshirt | about 11 to 13 in by 13 to 15 in | about 2.5 to 3.5 in |
| Leggings and activewear | about 7 to 9 in by 9 to 11 in | about 1 to 1.5 in |
These are working ranges from common retail folds. Fabric weight moves them substantially, so fold three production garments, stack them, and measure what you actually get.
Why depth is the one that bites
Cotton and fleece compress under a hand and then recover. Pack a two-piece set into a box sized to the compressed stack and the lid bows within a day, the print creases along the bow, and the pack looks damaged before it reaches anyone. Add clearance on depth, and add more of it per unit as you add units to a multipack. If the box has to stay slim for letterbox delivery, choose thinner garments or a compression fold rather than shaving the depth of the box.
Interior or exterior, say which
Give us interior dimensions when the fit matters, which for apparel it almost always does. On a two piece lid and base box, the lid must clear the base, so the exterior grows. On a die cut mailer the difference is small but real. Every remake we see on apparel work traces back to this one ambiguity.
Multipacks and gift sets
A two-piece set or a three-pack is not the single box made deeper. Garments stacked on top of each other slide, so a divider or a shallow tray keeps them separated and stops the pack looking half empty when the lid comes off. If the set mixes garment types, for example a hoodie and a tee, measure the stack in the exact order you will pack it, since a thick item under a thin one gives a different height than the reverse.
Format by channel
- Ecommerce: a roll end tuck top mailer, printed inside, closes without tape and survives the carrier.
- Retail shelf: a tuck end carton or a window box that shows fabric color.
- Gifting and premium: a two piece rigid box with a tissue wrap inside.
- Multipack: a deeper carton with an internal divider so the units do not shuffle.
Ordering and lead time
The minimum is 100 boxes per size, which lets a clothing brand run one box per drop instead of standardizing on a compromise size. Unit pricing starts at about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote. The die is included, so a size built around your specific fold costs no tooling.
Turnaround is stated per product in three lanes: Rush (expedited production plus air freight), Standard (air) and Cost saver (sea). Production runs from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 days for delivery, and specialty imported rigid work can reach about 12 weeks.
Get sized and quoted
Send your folded measurements and quantity through the quote form. Related: custom apparel boxes, shirt boxes and mailer box dimensions for the ecommerce format.
