Small apparel brands rarely fail to buy packaging because of the unit price. They fail because of setup: a die charge, a plate charge and a minimum that assumes you sell thousands of units a month. Removing the setup charge and setting the minimum at 100 boxes changes what is possible for a first drop.
Size from the folded garment
Do not size from a size chart. Fold the garment the way your packer will fold it, in the tissue or bag you actually use, and measure that stack. Then add clearance so the lid closes without pressing the fabric, because a compressed garment arrives with creases the customer reads as poor quality.
| Garment | What drives the box size |
|---|---|
| T-shirt or single tee | The folded footprint, depth is minimal so a shallow box looks intentional |
| Hoodie or knitwear | Depth, because bulk not footprint is the constraint |
| Shirt or blouse | Fold width, and whether a collar support is used |
| Multi-item order | The stack of everything together, measured as one block |
| Accessories with a garment | Whether they sit alongside or under, which decides depth |
If several products go in the same box, size around the largest realistic combination rather than running a box per SKU. Fewer sizes ordered deeper is cheaper at every volume.
Which construction suits a short run
- Die cut mailer. Ships flat, folds in seconds, protects in transit, and takes print across the inside as well as the outside. This is the default for direct to consumer apparel.
- Two-piece rigid. Heavier feel for premium pieces and gifting, longer lead time and a higher unit cost.
- Folding carton with a sleeve. Useful when you want a retail face and a shipping outer separately.
- Printed inside. On a small run this is where the money is best spent, because the interior print is the moment the customer photographs.
What a 100 unit run actually gets you
Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, and a 100 unit run will sit above that bulk figure because the volume is small. What it will not carry is a tooling charge. Included on every order: the die, the plates, design support on the dieline, free US shipping and a digital proof before anything prints. Because the die is kept to the spec, a reorder at a larger quantity uses the same dieline with no new setup.
Turnaround for a launch date
Production runs from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery. Three lanes are quoted per product: rush, which combines expedited production with air freight at a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job, standard by air, and cost saver by sea. Specialty imported items, including wrapped rigid boxes, can run up to about 12 weeks. For a first drop, count backwards from your launch date and leave room for proof approval, which is the step small brands most often underestimate.
Get started
Send your folded garment measurements and the quantity you want to test to /quote/. For the category overview see custom apparel boxes, and for reference footprints see apparel box dimensions.
