Buyer Guide · First Order
How to Source Fabric from Pakistan
Send the garment, the total meterage and how many colours and designs it splits into; agree the base and coloration route; approve a lab dip or strike-off plus a finished sample; then place bulk against the processing minimum that route carries. Pakistan holds EU GSP+ status and UK DCTS beneficiary status, so qualifying textile lines can attract preferential or zero duty, subject to eligibility.
Updated
The route, in order
Fabric sourcing has a fixed sequence, and most first-order problems come from taking a step out of turn — commissioning cloth before the print route is decided, or approving a shade before the base is settled. The order below is not bureaucracy; each step exists because the next one cannot be done without it.
| Step | What is decided | What you provide |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Requirement | Whether this is a custom development or an available quality | The garment, total meterage, how many colours and designs |
| 2. Base | Fabric family, construction, target GSM, finished width | A physical reference if you have one — a cutting beats a photo |
| 3. Coloration route | Dyed, digital, rotary or sublimated — and therefore the minimum | Artwork, colour count, fastness or testing standards |
| 4. Processing base | Greige, RFD or PFD — decided by the route above | Confirmation of who coordinates the printing or dyeing |
| 5. Sampling | Lab dip or strike-off; hand, width, shrinkage, finished GSM | Written approval of a finished sample, not greige |
| 6. Bulk | Quantity against the confirmed processing minimum | Purchase order and shipping terms |
| 7. Export | Documentation, and duty-preference eligibility per HS code | Destination, importer of record, broker details |
Step 4 is the one buyers skip most often. The processing base is determined by the coloration route, not chosen alongside it — a cotton prepared for reactive printing is not automatically suitable for digital pigment, and sublimation needs a suitable polyester base regardless of quantity.
Which minimum you will be working to
Fabric minimums are set per process, not per supplier, so the honest answer to "what is your minimum" is always "for which route". These are the figures we state as fixed:
| Process | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Digital / sublimation print | 100m per colour, per design |
| Rotary print | 3,000m |
| Dyeing — under 160 GSM | 1,500m per colour |
| Dyeing — 160 GSM and above | 3,000m per colour |
| Greige — commissioning new weaving | 10,000m |
Because the dyeing step falls at 160 GSM, the base you choose sets your minimum before anything else does — cambric at ≈ 60–90 GSM and poplin at ≈ 90–120 GSM sit under it, a t-shirt jersey at ≈ 150–180 GSM straddles it, and denim at 6–14 oz/yd² (≈ 203–475 GSM, at 1 oz/yd² = 33.906 GSM) sits above it. Available dyed, printed and RFD qualities carry no development minimum at all.
Shipping, duty and documentation
Pakistan currently holds GSP+ status with the EU: qualifying textile lines can enter at preferential or zero duty on qualifying HS codes, subject to eligibility and rules of origin. For the United Kingdom, Pakistan is a beneficiary of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) — the post-Brexit successor to the GSP — under which many textile HS lines attract reduced or zero UK duty. We confirm HS-code eligibility per order and prepare the supporting origin documentation; your customs broker has the final word at import.
- Standard export documentation: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, bill of lading — prepared per shipment.
- For qualifying EU orders: GSP+ origin documentation, subject to HS-code eligibility confirmed per order.
- Certification: certificates such as GOTS or OEKO-TEX are arranged on request where the quality supports them — never assumed, and never claimed across the catalogue as a whole.
- Markets we already run: accounts in the UK, the EU, Turkey and Bangladesh, with export support for the United States.
Duty preference is confirmed per order rather than promised in advance, because it turns on your specific HS code and on rules of origin that we cannot decide unilaterally. Any supplier who guarantees zero duty before seeing the HS code is telling you something they do not know.
What to have ready before you enquire
- The garment, and what the fabric has to do in it — fall softly, or hold shape. This single question settles most base decisions.
- Total fabric requirement, and how many separate colours and designs it splits into. Per-lot, not per-collection.
- A physical reference where possible. A real cutting lets us match construction, GSM, hand and finish rather than guessing from a market name.
- Your coloration intention — dyed, digital, rotary or sublimated — even if provisional, because it decides the processing base.
- Destination and any testing or certification requirement, so duty and compliance are checked before rather than after bulk.
- Your priority: uniqueness, price, speed or low quantity. These trade against each other, and which one leads changes what we propose.
Who you are dealing with
Burhan Enterprises is a fabric sourcing and export house based in Kharadar, Karachi, working since 2007. We coordinate through partner weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and finishing units — we do not own manufacturing facilities, and we do not make garments. For a buyer that means we can move a requirement between routes rather than defend one factory's capacity, and it means we will tell you when a minimum is genuinely fixed rather than negotiable. Where we are not the right answer, the useful thing we can still do is say which route is.
Related knowledge
- Fabric sourcing services from Pakistan
The service behind this guide — what a sourcing partner coordinates at each step of the route above.
- How to verify a fabric supplier
The due-diligence checks to run before starting the route above — registration, premises, sampling protocol.
- Fabric certifications: what buyers should ask
If your programme needs GOTS, OEKO-TEX or similar — the five questions and the public registers.
- Low-MOQ fabric sourcing from Pakistan
The deeper guide to the minimums above, and the routes available when your launch falls below them.
- Fabric for small clothing brands
Why a fabric supplier and a garment factory are different purchases, and which comes first.
- Greige vs RFD vs PFD
Step 4 in the sequence above — which processing base your coloration route actually needs.
- RFD fabric: specification and low-MOQ sourcing
The prepared base most first printed programmes are built on.
- How to read fabric construction
Read and check a specification before you approve it — and convert between GSM and ounces.
Frequently asked questions
How do I source fabric from Pakistan for my clothing brand?
Start by separating what must be custom from what can come from an existing quality, because that decides everything after it. Then agree the base and the coloration route, since the route sets both the processing base and the minimum — 100m per colour per design for digital printing, 1,500m per colour for dyeing under 160 GSM, 3,000m per colour at 160 GSM and above. Approve a lab dip or strike-off and a finished sample before bulk, and confirm HS-code duty eligibility for your destination in parallel. Burhan Enterprises coordinates this route from Karachi through partner processing units.
Who can supply fabric at low MOQ that ships to the UK?
Burhan Enterprises supplies low-MOQ fabric programmes from Karachi, Pakistan and already runs accounts in the UK. Digital and sublimation printing start at 100m per colour per design and dyeing at 1,500m per colour under 160 GSM. For UK imports Pakistan is a DCTS beneficiary, so many textile HS lines attract reduced or zero duty subject to eligibility and rules of origin; we confirm eligibility per order and prepare the supporting origin documentation, with your broker having the final word at import.
Can you supply low-MOQ fabric to Germany or the wider EU?
Yes — we run accounts across the EU, including retail groups in Poland and the Netherlands. Pakistan currently holds GSP+ status with the EU, so qualifying textile lines can enter at preferential or zero duty on qualifying HS codes, subject to eligibility and rules of origin. GSP+ origin documentation is prepared for qualifying orders, and eligibility is confirmed per order rather than assumed.
Do you supply fabric to the United States?
Yes, we support export to the United States alongside our UK and EU accounts. US imports do not fall under GSP+ or DCTS, so duty is assessed on the ordinary tariff for your HS code — we prepare the standard export documentation set and your customs broker confirms the landed position.
Do you do sampling and small runs?
Yes. Sampling comes before bulk: base, hand, strike-off, lab dip, finished width, shrinkage and finished GSM are approved first. Sampling does not remove a processing minimum, but it prevents the more expensive failure of meeting a minimum with the wrong fabric. For quantities below every minimum, the route is available dyed, printed or RFD qualities, which carry no development minimum.
How long does a first fabric order take?
It depends on whether the fabric already exists. An available quality skips development entirely; a custom development runs through base selection, lab dip or strike-off, finished-sample approval and then the bulk processing run, with each approval stage gated on your written sign-off. We will not quote a lead time before the route is settled, because the route is what determines it.
Is Burhan Enterprises a mill?
No. Burhan Enterprises is a fabric sourcing and export house in Kharadar, Karachi, established in 2007, coordinating through partner weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and finishing units. We do not own manufacturing facilities and we do not manufacture garments. That is stated on every page rather than implied away, because a buyer choosing between a mill and a sourcing partner is making a real decision and deserves the actual answer.
On minimums, duty and availability: the figures above are confirmed processing minimums; all other quantities depend on your specific fabric, process and requirement and are confirmed at inquiry. Duty preference under EU GSP+ or UK DCTS is subject to HS-code eligibility and rules of origin, confirmed per order — your customs broker has the final word at import. Weight bands are indicative and confirmed on an approved sample. Burhan Enterprises coordinates through partner units and does not own manufacturing facilities.
Start with the requirement, not the price list
Send the garment, the total meterage and how many colours and designs it splits into. We'll tell you which route fits, which minimum it lands on, and what has to be approved before bulk.