How to Start a Clothing Brand Without Paying $18 Per Unit in Air Freight Regret

The Idea Lab
May 16
2 min read

Trying to start a clothing business and not get wrecked by last-minute costs?

Get smart about production timelines, quality control, and supplier communication inside Garment Sourcing 101.

Me after paying $3 per unit and $18 a piece for 空运 (air freight) because the factory finished 30 days late.

And yes — I still had to say thank you.

You’d think paying for production means you’re in control. That the factory runs on your deadlines. That if you say, “We need delivery by July 10th,” it’s locked in.

Reality?

They’ll finish when they finish.

And if you’re not actively managing the process from day one, that “July 10th” becomes “sometime mid-August… maybe.”

Now you’re rushing. Clients are waiting. And guess what?

You’re paying $18 per unit to air-ship t-shirts that cost you $3 to make.

The Part of Production No One Warns You About [start a clothing brand]

When people ask how to start a clothing brand, they’re usually thinking about product design, branding, or social media.

But the real risks come later — during production.

Especially if you:

Don’t have a realistic critical path
Rely on vague factory timelines
Assume “two weeks” means two calendar weeks and not post-fabric-arrival-maybe-inshallah

If you’re trying to start a clothing business and you’re not tracking every stage — from fabric booking to pattern approval — you’re leaving the schedule (and your cash flow) to chance.

Air Freight Is a Band-Aid for a Bad Process

Air shipping isn’t just expensive. It’s a symptom.

It means something upstream went wrong:

Sampling was late
Materials weren’t sourced in time
Production slipped — and you didn’t catch it early enough

Most factories aren’t deliberately dragging their feet. But if you’re not tracking progress, holding check-ins, or asking the right questions, production delays become your bill to pay — not theirs.