The minimum number of units a manufacturer requires a customer to buy per design, color, or order.
MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) is a production constraint enforced by traditional apparel factories. In conventional manufacturing, screen printing, custom fabric dyeing, pattern grading, and sewing line setups require significant upfront labor and machinery preparation costs. To amortize these setup expenses, factories demand high MOQs (often 500 to 1,000 units per color or design). This creates a massive financial barrier for emerging designers, creators, and D2C brands, forcing them to lock up capital in unverified inventory that might not sell. The Print on Demand (POD) model completely disrupts this traditional manufacturing constraint by leveraging digital printing (DTF and DTG) and automated fulfillment systems, allowing brands to manufacture and ship exactly 1 unit (Zero MOQ) after an end-customer has already purchased it online.