Wholesale Knitted Underwear From Bangladesh: Lots, Packs and Prices

Wholesale knitted underwear from Bangladesh is not bought as single garments. It is bought as wholesale lots: a quantity of one style, in one fabric and colour, divided into size-ratio packs and shipped in export cartons. The lot, the pack and the carton set the price, so an enquiry stating only a total quantity cannot be quoted accurately.

The supply base behind those lots is the knitwear sector. Knitwear exports reached $5.963 billion in July to September 2026, up 6.88 percent year on year, within ready-made garment exports of $10.578 billion, according to data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).¹ The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), established in 1996, is the apex trade body for the knitwear sector and represents approximately 2,540 knitwear member factories.²

This guide covers the wholesale route only: how lots, packs and cartons are defined, how price is structured by volume, and what to confirm in writing. For factory types, see knitted underwear manufacturers in Bangladesh. Minimum order quantity has its own guide.

How wholesale lots, size-ratio packs and cartons work

What should I know first about knitted underwear?

A wholesale lot is defined by four fixed points: style, fabric and colour, the size ratio inside each pack, and packs or pieces per carton. Change any one and the factory quotes a different lot, with a different cutting plan, packing workload and unit price.

The lot. A lot is the quantity produced in one run for one style and colour. Dyeing, cutting and elastic attachment are organised by lot, so the lot is the unit the factory prices. Two colours of the same brief are two lots, even when they ship together.

The size-ratio pack. Underwear is rarely ordered in equal numbers per size. A size ratio states how many pieces of each size go into one pack or inner bundle, so the factory cuts and packs to the ratio instead of sorting loose pieces at the end. State the ratio per colour, because each colour is cut separately.

Retail and inner packs. A pack may be a single garment in a polybag, a retail multi-pack, or an inner bundle only the warehouse sees. Each format carries its own labels, inserts, barcodes and packing labour, printed or bought in its own run. State which pack the consumer receives and which pack the carton holds.

The carton. The export carton fixes how many packs or pieces ship in one box, and the packing list records quantity, weight and packing information per shipment.³ Agree pieces per carton, packs per carton and whether mixed sizes or colours may share a carton.

Classification and labelling travel with the lot. In the Harmonized System, heading 6107 covers underpants, briefs and similar articles for men or boys, knitted or crocheted.⁴ Heading 6108 covers briefs and panties for women or girls, knitted or crocheted, split by fibre, including cotton and man-made fibres.⁵ If you sell into the European Union, Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 covers textile fibre names and related labelling of fibre composition.⁶ See the HS code for knitted underwear guide.

Example figures: a buyer orders 9,600 men's briefs in one colour, as size-ratio packs of eight pieces in the ratio 1-2-2-2-1 across five sizes: one piece in the smallest size, two in each middle size and one in the largest. The order is 1,200 packs, and at 24 packs per carton the shipment is 50 cartons. Example figures only: they show how lot, ratio and carton connect, not a standard lot size or price.

Why this matters for buyers and sellers

For the buyer, the wholesale structure decides what arrives in the warehouse. A ratio that does not match your sales pattern leaves surplus sizes that cannot be reordered alone without a new lot. Mixed-colour cartons save freight space but make a shortage in one colour harder to isolate.

For the seller, the lot protects the run. Fabric dyed for your colour, elastic cut to your waistband and labels printed with your brand cannot be sold to another buyer. A ratio or pack change after cutting is a new instruction with its own cost.

Two controls keep a wholesale order checkable. The first is an inspection plan agreed before production. ISO 2859-1 defines a system of acceptance sampling plans for inspection by attributes, indexed by acceptance quality limit (AQL) for lot-by-lot inspection.⁷ AQL is the maximum average percentage of defective items considered acceptable during random sampling, and it determines sample sizes and acceptance or rejection thresholds.⁷ The second is one delivery term for every quotation: the Incoterms 2020 rules set out 11 rules with a clear allocation of cost, risk and obligations.⁸

Step-by-step: how it works

1. Write the wholesale specification first. State style, fabric composition and weight, elastic type and width, size chart, size ratio per colour, pack format, labels, barcodes and pieces per carton.

2. State the lot split, not only the total. Give quantity per style, per colour and per pack format. A total without a split cannot be priced as a lot.

3. Ask for the price basis in writing. Ask whether each quote is per piece, per pack or per dozen, which packing is included, and which lot size the price assumes.

4. Approve samples in the production pack. Order a pre-production sample in your actual fabric, colour and elastic, then check the packed unit as your customer will receive it: label, barcode and carton marks.

5. Confirm the carton specification. Record pieces per pack, packs per carton, solid or mixed cartons and carton markings on the purchase order.

6. Agree inspection and delivery term before you confirm. Write the inspection level and AQL values into the purchase order, following ISO 2859-1,⁷ and state one Incoterm and named place for every quotation.⁸

How wholesale price is structured by volume

A wholesale price is a structure, not a single number. Each part moves differently as volume changes, which is why this guide states no prices: a price from another lot, fabric or pack format does not describe your order.

Fabric and elastic per piece. Fabric, waistband elastic and leg elastic are consumed per garment, so this part follows the piece count. A higher elastane content, a wider woven waistband or a branded elastic raises it at every volume.

Fixed set-up spread over the lot. Pattern work, dye lot set-up, waistband set-up, label and barcode print runs and carton printing are fixed for the lot. Spread over a larger lot, the fixed part per piece falls; over a small lot, it rises. This is the main reason unit price falls as quantity per style and colour rises, and why splitting one order across many colours raises the price at the same total.

Packing labour per pack and per carton. Polybagging, multi-pack assembly, ratio sorting, labelling and carton packing are charged by the work done. A retail multi-pack with inserts costs more packing time than a plain inner bundle, at any volume.

The delivery term. Prices on different Incoterms include different costs, because the Incoterms 2020 rules allocate cost, risk and obligations differently for each rule.⁸ Compare wholesale quotes only on the same term and named place.

Read every quotation in the same order: price basis first, then lot size assumed, then pack and carton included, then term. A lower price on a different basis is a different offer. For the minimum under each lot, read the minimum order quantity definition.

Costs, timelines and documents

What are the typical costs and timelines?

There are no typical wholesale costs or timelines a guide can state as fact. Each factory prices your fabric, elastic, ratio, pack format, label and carton runs and the delivery term you choose,⁸ and minimum order quantity has its own guide, so this guide does not restate minimum figures.

For timelines, sampling depends on fabric and elastic availability and correction rounds, and bulk production on dyeing, cutting, packing labour and carton supply. Ask for sampling, fabric ready, production, packing and inspection dates as separate lines, because an order can be sewn on time and still wait on printed packs or cartons.

Which documents are needed?

For export clearance in Bangladesh, goods may not be loaded unless an export declaration, the Bill of Export or Shipping Bill, is submitted to Customs and approved.³ Enclosed documents include the export contract or purchase order where there is no export letter of credit, the commercial invoice, the packing list, the EXP form certified by an authorized dealer, and a certificate of origin issued by the EPB or a Chamber of Commerce and Industry.³ For a wholesale order, the packing list carries your carton specification into the shipment, so check pieces per carton against it before loading.

Bangladesh-specific rules and tips

Confirm association claims at the source. If a supplier claims BKMEA membership, confirm it with the association itself. BKMEA represents the knitwear sector and its member factories,² so membership signals an active knitwear business, not the lot size or price on offer.

Keep one legal name across every paper. The export declaration names the exporter and the foreign buyer,³ so the name on the trade licence, quotation, proforma invoice and payment account should match.

Ask which inputs are imported for your lot. Branded waistband elastic, modal or synthetic yarns and printed pack materials may be bought in for your specification, and an imported input can set the earliest production date. Ask before you fix the ratio, because a late change can strand printed packs.

Agree the ratio before cutting, in writing. Once a lot is cut to one ratio, sizes cannot be rebalanced without a new lot. Put the ratio per colour on the purchase order.

Mistakes and red flags

What are the most common mistakes?

Quoting a total instead of a lot. A total split later across colours, ratios and pack formats produces a different price, and suppliers will requote.

Comparing prices on different bases. Per-piece, per-pack and per-dozen prices cannot be compared without conversion, and a conversion can hide different pack content. Restate every quote on one basis first.

Approving a garment but not a pack. The unit your customer receives is the packed garment. An unapproved barcode, ratio label or carton mark is found at the warehouse, where correction means repacking.

Changing the ratio or pack after approval. Changes after cutting or printing restart the affected work. Record any agreed change, with its cost and date effect, on a revised quotation.

Treating a profile or a badge as verification. A profile does not test whether a factory can cut your ratio or pack your format, and a badge is not a guarantee of capacity, quality or delivery.⁹

Skipping inspection on a repeat lot. A repeat lot uses new fabric and elastic lots. Sampling under ISO 2859-1 checks a lot against an agreed AQL,⁷ and a repeat order is a new lot.

Checklist

Before you confirm, every line should be answered in writing.

• Specification sent: style, fabric, elastic, sizes, labels, packing.

• Lot split stated per style and per colour.

• Size ratio per colour on the purchase order.

• Pack format approved: pieces per pack, labels, barcodes.

• Carton specification confirmed: packs per carton, solid or mixed.

• Price basis stated, with the lot size assumed.

• Set-up and print-run costs itemized apart from unit price.

• Pre-production sample approved in its production pack.

• Inspection level and AQL values in the purchase order.⁷

• Quotations compared on same specification, basis and Incoterm.⁸

• Export set agreed: invoice, packing list, EXP form, certificate of origin, Bill of Export.³

How Exportain helps

On Exportain, browse suppliers and post a request for quotation (RFQ) on the RFQ board with your wholesale specification: lot split per colour, size ratio, pack format, carton specification and delivery term. Suppliers then quote against the same lot instead of a headline total. Each quotation is versioned and states unit price, MOQ, lead time, Incoterm, payment terms and validity,¹⁰ so ask each supplier to state its price basis and assumed lot size in the thread.

Read the badges for what they record. Exportain Verified means Exportain has checked identity, phone, email and business registration, and Export Verified means it has checked the Export Registration Certificate (ERC).⁹ Factory Verified means it has reviewed photos of the manufacturer factory, while Trading Company Verified means it has reviewed photos of the trading company office or warehouse.⁹ Verification is a document review by staff, free, and never granted by membership plans.¹¹ It is not a factory inspection,^{9 11} so sample, pack and inspection approval stay with you. See how supplier verification works on Exportain. When you accept a quotation, Exportain creates one order and issues one proforma invoice from the accepted terms.⁹

FAQs

What should I know first about knitted underwear?

Know your wholesale units first: the lot per style and colour, the size ratio per pack and the carton specification. Men's and boys' knitted briefs sit under HS heading 6107,⁴ and women's and girls' knitted briefs and panties under HS heading 6108, split by fibre.⁵

What are the typical costs and timelines?

There are no typical figures a buyer can rely on, because each factory sets its price and lead time for your fabric, elastic, ratio, pack format and delivery term.⁸ Ask for the price basis and assumed lot size in writing, and for each production date as a separate line.

Which documents are needed?

The order documents are the wholesale specification, itemized quotation and purchase order, with lot split, ratio, pack and carton specification on each. The export set is the Bill of Export, commercial invoice, packing list, EXP form certified by an authorized dealer, and a certificate of origin issued by the EPB or a Chamber of Commerce and Industry.³

What are the most common mistakes?

Quoting a total instead of a lot split, comparing prices on different bases or terms,⁸ approving the garment but not the packed unit, and reading a badge as a guarantee. A badge is not a guarantee of capacity, quality or delivery.⁹

Next steps on Exportain

Browse suppliers, then post your lot split, size ratio, pack format and carton specification on the RFQ board so suppliers quote the same lot. Before you confirm, read how supplier verification works on Exportain.