Clothing is soft, which sounds easy and is not. A soft product has no fixed dimensions until you decide how it gets folded, and the fold decides the box. Get the folding standard written down first, then the box design follows in an afternoon.
Start with the folded footprint
Fold the garment the way your team will actually fold it, on the board or tissue you plan to use, then measure it. Do this with the largest size you sell, not a medium, because the box has to fit an XXL as well as a small.
| Garment | What to measure | Clearance to add |
|---|---|---|
| Folded shirt or tee | Folded width and length on your folding board | Enough that the lid closes without compressing the fold line |
| Knitwear and hoodies | Folded footprint plus stack height, which is the variable that surprises people | Extra depth, since bulk compresses unevenly and springs back |
| Trousers and denim | Folded length at the longest inseam you stock | Length clearance, not width |
| Socks and small goods | Unit footprint times the pack count | Partition space if units should not tangle |
| Footwear | The shoe at its largest size, toe to heel and at the widest point | Depth for the pair plus tissue |
Standard reference footprints are collected on apparel box dimensions, and shirt specific guidance sits on shirt boxes.
Which build for which channel
Direct to consumer orders that ship on their own need a corrugated mailer with a self-locking front, because that box is the shipper and it takes the full handling. Retail and gifting want a flatter paperboard or rigid two-piece box, which looks better on a shelf and under a tree but should travel inside an outer carton. Wholesale into a store often means a plain shipper outside and branded inner boxes inside, which is two SKUs, not one.
Finish choices that hold up in transit
- Matte lamination handles scuffing from courier belts better than gloss.
- Uncoated kraft hides abrasion by looking rough on purpose.
- Foil and spot UV look best in a small area, since large panels show every mark.
- Tissue, a sticker seal and a printed inside panel cost little and change the opening more than a heavier board does.
Minimum, price and lead time
The minimum is 100 boxes, which lets a small label run one size properly instead of buying a warehouse of generic boxes. Bulk pricing starts at about $0.48 per unit, set by size, board, print coverage and finish and confirmed on your quote. The die and plates, design support, free US shipping and a digital proof before printing are included, so adding a second size later does not restart the tooling bill.
Turnaround is quoted per product across three lanes. Rush is expedited production plus air freight, standard is air, and cost saver is sea for the lowest freight cost and the longest wait. The floor is from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 for delivery, and specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks. Production runs at West Chicago in the United States and Guangzhou in China.
If you are ordering for a full season across several sizes, ask about run pricing on wholesale apparel boxes. Otherwise send your folded measurements, quantity per size and drop date to /quote/ and we will draw the dieline to your garment.
