Activewear is one of the fastest-growing fitness and fashion sectors. Customers now want functional apparel, not just pretty ones. Performance textiles, such as moisture-wicking leggings, breathable sports bras, and durable track trousers, define an activewear brand’s quality and success.
Every high-performing garment requires careful fabric procurement. Finding the proper material is science and art. Understanding fabric technology, finding reliable suppliers, assessing performance measures, and meeting sustainability targets are required. This article covers the fundamental processes for selecting high-performance textiles that fulfill market and brand standards for sportswear sourcing.
Understanding the Activewear Fabric Landscape
Activewear demand has increased owing to health consciousness, athleisure trend, and sports culture. This spurred fabric innovation. Popular activewear textiles include:
Polyester and its blends: Known for durability, wrinkle resistance, and moisture-wicking.
- Nylon (Polyamide): Offers a silky feel and excellent strength.
- Spandex (Elastane or Lycra): Provides stretch and recovery.
- Cotton Blends: Though not as moisture-resistant, blended cotton is used in athleisure.
- Bamboo, Tencel, and Recycled Polyester: Used for eco-conscious activewear lines.
These materials have different qualities and are typically blended to achieve the right combination of comfort, usefulness, and beauty. Start by establishing the end-use and performance requirements to source efficiently.
Step 1: Define the Fabric Performance Requirements
Define product line performance to start your sourcing journey. A sports bra needs high stretch, moisture management, and form retention, while a yoga pant needs compression, four-way stretch, and breathability.
Common activewear performance features:
- Ability to wick moisture
- Speedy drying
- Recover and stretch
- Protection from UV
- Resistance to odour
- Durability and anti-pilling
- Biodegradability, organic, recycling
Define these parameters to reduce your supplier search and test textiles faster. Define your fabric aims before generalizing.
Step 2: Select the Right Fabric Construction
Fabric structure affects performance during activity. Warp and weft knits are popular in sportswear due to their stretchability and breathability. Tricot-like warp knits are tight and robust for compression apparel. Weft knits like jersey are soft and stretchy, excellent for yoga or lounging.
Outerwear and structural items employ woven textiles, though less often. They resist wind and water better.
Knit or woven depends on your needs and product category. This fabric engineering skills will distinguish your items in a competitive industry.
Step 3: Research and Identify Credible Suppliers
Once your fabric demands are known, start supplier research. The true fabric sourcing problem begins here.
Explore ISPO Munich, Performance Days, Texworld USA, and Intertextile Shanghai. Thousands of performance textile mills exhibit at these expos. Many provide online directories or virtual displays if going in person isn’t possible.
Select vendors from textile-innovative regions. Competitively priced high-performance textiles are made in Taiwan, South Korea, China, Turkey, and Pakistan. Find fabric R&D-invested providers with in-house laboratories or testing certificates.
Step 4: Evaluate Fabric Quality Through Sampling and Testing
Always order fabric samples before a substantial order. Test performance, not just feel and appearance.
Consult textile labs or suppliers for test results based on standards like:
- ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
- AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists)
- ISO standards for abrasion, stretch, colorfastness, and more
Testing criteria may include:
- Recovery takes time
- Post-wash pilling resistance
- Speed and ability to wick moisture
- Weight/strength
- UV protection measures
Additionally, evaluate fabric behaviour during prototyping. Cut or stitched fabrics may shrink, curl, or lose integrity. These tips prevent manufacturing surprises.
Step 5: Consider Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs) and Lead Times
New or tiny sportswear businesses struggle with MOQs. High-tech textiles require expensive yarns, coatings, and dyes, raising MOQs.
Negotiate early to comprehend:
- What is each colour and style’s MOQ?
- Will they support low-volume sampling?
- Combine orders across SKUs or collections?
Lean startups may not work with MOQ-obsessed suppliers. Long lead times—often 90 days or more—can also delay launches. Select suppliers with ready-to-ship inventory or flexible MOQ and timeframes.
Step 6: Prioritize Certifications and Sustainability
Consumers are more sensitive about clothing origins. Ethical and sustainable brands stand out in crowded markets.
Make sure fabric providers offer:
- Non-toxic Oeko-Tex® certification
- GOTS for natural fibres
- GRS for recycled polyester/nylon
Responsible production and environmental safety with Bluesign®
Ask suppliers about water, dyeing, carbon emissions, and labour rights. Today, sustainable sourcing is expected.
Step 7: Stay Updated on Fabric Innovations
High-performance fabrics evolve. Innovations like:
- Temperature-regulating phase transition materials
- Bioceramic-infused muscle recovery textiles
- Conductive, strong graphene fabrics
- Silver or copper antimicrobials
- Polyester recycled from ocean trash (SEAQUAL®)
Attend trade exhibitions, subscribe to fabric innovation publications, or work with sourcing brokers who deal with mills and R&D departments to stay current.
Innovation-driven brands dominate premium sportswear.
Step 8: Partner with Reliable Sourcing Experts
Startups and small-to-mid-sized companies find sourcing daunting. Sourcing specialists, representatives, and agents are crucial. They coordinate brand-factory communications, logistics, and quality control.
Unlike commission-based brokers who emphasize volume over value, transparent sourcing partners support your long-term success.
TexNex Inc – Your Strategic Partner in Fabric Sourcing
Working with a representative that understands the supply chain, fabric technology, and market expectations may make or break sportswear sourcing.
TexNex Inc. represents four premium Pakistani textile firms in North and South America, not commission-based agents. We link brands and suppliers to develop long-term, high-performance relationships.
We assist businesses find innovative fitness materials including polyester-spandex mixes, anti-bacterial knits, and recycled yarns. We handle sample, production, QC, and logistics for D2C brands and worldwide athletic lines, maintaining transparency.
We decrease sourcing risks and provide access to world-class production facilities and R&D-driven fabric mills in Pakistan at TexNex Inc. Compliance, technological expertise, and prompt delivery are our textile partners’ credentials.
You develop a sustainable, scalable sportswear brand with TexNex, not simply cloth.
Final Verdict
The core of sportswear is cloth. Design may attract customers, but performance keeps them coming back. With more fitness-conscious, sustainability-aware customers, sportswear businesses must go beyond aesthetics and incorporate performance textiles.
Fabric sourcing is not standardized. Deep investigation, connection development, and technical knowledge are needed. Understanding global supply chain dynamics and partnering with smart scalers is necessary.
Smart sportswear sourcing gives you an edge whether you’re a startup or an established company expanding into activewear. When you’re ready to take the next step, TexNex Inc. is a trusted partner.