Wholesale Sportswear from China
Sportswear is a printing business attached to a garment business, and buyers who treat it as one or the other get caught. Sublimation quality decides whether the shirt survives twenty washes, and garment construction decides whether the size chart means anything. Both fail quietly at the factory and loudly in your reviews.
The category has a hard calendar. Team kit orders cluster before league seasons, and retail activewear follows the same January and August windows as the rest of apparel. Capacity at the good sublimation houses in Jinjiang books out weeks ahead of those deadlines.
Select Trade has run jersey and activewear programs out of Fujian and Guangdong for five years, for club teams and retail chains in Europe and South America. Below are the clusters, the price bands, and the checks that keep a kit order on schedule.
Where the factories are
| Cluster | City | Strengths | Typical MOQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team jerseys and kits | Jinjiang (Fujian) | Sublimation at speed; full kit sets | 50 to 100 sets |
| Activewear and leggings | Dongguan, Guangzhou (Guangdong) | Nylon-spandex knits, flatlock seams | 500 pieces |
| Sports bras and tops | Shantou (Guangdong) | Fine-gauge knits, lace and trim work | 1,000 pieces |
| Sports shoes | Jinjiang and Putian (Fujian) | Volume footwear with mature tooling | 600 to 1,200 pairs |
| Socks and accessories | Datang (Zhejiang) | Knitted socks, headbands, wristbands | 1,000 pairs |
Jinjiang is the volume end: knit, cut and sew at speed, with sublimation lines that run team orders in days. Guangdong covers the higher-spec activewear where fabric weight, flatlock seams and trim quality separate a $4 shirt from a $9 one.
Price ranges you should expect
| Product type | Factory price range | MOQ | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sublimated jersey | $3.80 to $8.50 | 50 pieces | 15 to 25 days |
| Full kit (shirt and shorts) | $7.50 to $16.00 | 50 sets | 20 to 30 days |
| Leggings | $4.20 to $9.80 | 500 pieces | 30 to 40 days |
| Sports bra | $2.80 to $6.50 | 1,000 pieces | 30 to 40 days |
| Training jacket | $9 to $22 | 300 pieces | 35 to 45 days |
Control sublimation with a wash test, not a look
Approve a printed sample, then wash it five times and compare against the reference. Fading, bleed at color boundaries and white specks in solid areas are the three failures that appear. Insist on the same test on goods from the production run, because the sample line and the bulk line are rarely the same printer.
Fix the size chart before bulk, in centimeters
Chinese size charts, EU charts and US charts disagree by more than a size in this category. Supply your own measurement table in centimeters, have the factory confirm it on a physical sample in each size, and require that table on the packaging. A size dispute is the most common claim in activewear and the cheapest one to prevent.
Where the negotiation room is
Fabric weight and trim hold the margin. A 150 gsm polyester jersey and a 180 gsm one cost different money and wear differently, so put the weight in the spec and quote both. For team kits, the number of logos and the number of name-and-number prints move the price more than the fabric does.
Quality risks specific to this category
Color drift between the body and the sleeve panels, seams that pucker under stretch, and prints that crack at the shoulder seam. All three are visible on a stretched sample at inspection. Ask the inspector to stretch every seam on the sampled units.
Product lines in this category
One page per product we source here, with its own specifications, minimums and inspection points.
- Sublimated jerseys: fabric weight named, print fastness tested, names and numbers matched to artwork
- Full kits, shirt and shorts: colour lots matched across shirt and shorts, size curves checked per set
- Leggings: named fabric weights, squat-proof opacity and flatlock seams tested
- Sports bras: support levels named, straps and band elastics tested per lot
- Training jackets: fabric and coating named, zippers and plackets tested per lot
Frequently asked questions
What MOQ for a custom team kit?
Sublimation makes small runs viable: most Jinjiang houses start at 50 pieces per design, because the print is digital and there is no screen cost. Retail activewear with cut-and-sew patterns sits near 500 pieces per style and color.
Which certificates apply to sportswear?
No mandatory certification applies to plain garments, but fiber content labeling is legally required in the EU, US and UK, and azo dye restrictions apply in the EU. Retail chains usually add their own restricted-substance list, so get the fabric test report before bulk.
How are name and number prints handled?
As a separate heat transfer after cutting, which is why they cost per piece and why the font matters. Supply the font and the layout in vector form, and expect a small per-unit charge beyond roughly 15 characters.
Can I order one sample kit before bulk?
Yes, and you should. A sample kit in your real sizes costs more per piece than bulk and takes one to two weeks. It is the cheapest way to catch a pattern problem before 500 units of it exist.
Get a live quotation
Send us the team list, the sizes and the date of the first match, and we will come back with the right factory, the realistic price band and a schedule that fits the season. See the industries we cover, read our sportswear sourcing guide, check our services, or use the contact page for a free quote.
Request a quotation
Tell us the product, the target quantity and the port you ship to. Our minimum order is 1 piece, and mixed models are welcome. We come back with factory options, real prices and MOQs within two business days.
