Joggers Wholesale Supplier in Canada: Factory Notes

# Joggers Wholesale Supplier in Canada: What We Tell Every Buyer Before the PO You are comparing a $6.80 FOB price from a Vietnamese factory with a $7.40 quote from us, and then a freight forwarder in Vancouver tells you the duty rate is different than you expected. That landed-cost math is where most Canadian orders stall. We have run this calculation for Amazon sellers in Toronto, gym owners in Calgary, and startup brands in Vancouver for over 20 years from our Zhejiang floor. So let us skip the fluff and walk through the market signals, the customs paperwork, and the fabric weights we actually recommend for Canadian winters. --- ## Market demand signals Canadian jogger demand is not identical to the US market. We see three clear signals from our existing Canadian clients and from what our buyers ask us to replicate: 1. **The "sweat-to-street" shift is stronger in Canada.** Our clients selling to Canadian consumers report that joggers are no longer only for the gym. They are worn for commutes, coffee runs, and casual office days. That means the fabrication needs to look clean, not just feel athletic. Brushed-back polyester fleece in 280–320 GSM dominates this category. It drapes better than basic French terry and does not pill after five washes. 2. **Canadian buyers order darker colors and more "season-less" weights.** Black, graphite, deep navy, and olive account for roughly 70% of what we ship to Canadian addresses. We also produce a lot of 240–260 GSM joggers with a smooth face for transitional seasons. A pure 400 GSM winter sweatpant is a smaller slice of the market than US buyers assume. 3. **Amazon FBA sellers are scaling smaller test orders.** We see Canadian Amazon sellers placing 150–300 piece test orders to validate a color or a cut before committing to a container. Our [low-moq-sportswear](https://www.alpinario.com/low-moq-sportswear) program exists precisely for this pattern. It is rare for a Canadian startup to open with a 2,000-piece order. Your first PO should not be a bet; it should be a measurement. The operational takeaway: demand exists, but it is fragmented across gyms, e-commerce, and boutique fitness studios. A wholesale model that forces you to buy 500 pieces per color per size is a risk. We built our factory around the opposite assumption. **Comparison: How we handle small Canadian test orders vs. typical wholesale minimums** | Order type | Our MOQ per color/size | Lead time from sample approval | Typical factory minimum | |---|---|---|---| | Sample / fit test | 1 piece | 3–7 days for sample, then standard production | 20–50 pieces for "sample" | | Amazon test batch | 300 pieces, mixed sizes | 4–6 weeks | 1,000–3,000 pieces | | Established restock | No minimum reapplied | 4–6 weeks | 500 per color | That table is not marketing. It is how our production planner schedules the floor. --- ## Import duties & shipping Let us give you the numbers that actually matter for a Canadian landed cost. These are not a substitute for a formal customs broker quote, but they match what our Canadian clients have shown us on their entry paperwork over the last 24 months. - **Duty rate for polyester knit joggers:** Under HS code 6104.63, the MFN duty rate for Canada is approximately **18%** on the FOB value. This is higher than the US rate. Some Canadian buyers assume NAFTA-style preferences apply to China. They do not. - **GST/HST:** You will pay **5% GST** at the federal level, plus provincial sales tax depending on the destination (e.g., 7% PST in BC, 8% PST in Saskatchewan, 13% HST in Ontario). - **Shipping cost estimate:** A 300-piece batch of joggers (about 120 kg after packing) shipped via sea freight from Ningbo to Vancouver costs roughly **USD $450–$650** in ocean freight plus local trucking. Air freight is faster but adds **USD $3.50–$5.00 per kg**, which can double your unit cost. Plan for sea unless you are testing a design. - **FBA prep:** We can pre-apply FBA labels and ship directly to an Amazon Canada warehouse. This saves you from paying a 3PL to relabel in Canada, which typically costs **CAD $1.50–$2.50 per unit**. Here is the step list our operations team runs with every Canadian first-timer: 1. You send us your target retail price. 2. We subtract your Amazon/retail margin and Canadian sales tax assumptions. 3. We quote an FOB price that builds in the 18% duty so there are no surprises at the border. 4. We confirm whether you need FBA labeling or poly-bagging with a "Made in China" sticker. 5. We ship on your forwarder account or ours — either is fine, but we need the Canadian importer of record name before the cargo leaves Ningbo. Do not guess the duty rate. Ask your broker for a ruling on your exact composition. If you use a cotton-poly blend, the classification may shift to **6103.43** with a different duty rate. We can adjust the fabric blend to help you optimize, but we will not invent a false country of origin to dodge tariffs. --- ## Price tiers Pricing depends on GSM, fabric finish, and trim complexity. These are current FOB USD prices for a basic jogger with an elastic waistband, drawcord, and two side pockets. No embroidered logo, no reflective tape. | Fabric & weight | FOB price per piece (USD) | Best for | MOQ | |---|---|---|---| | Polyester fleece, 280 GSM | $6.80–$8.00 | General gym wear, Amazon basics | 1 piece | | Brushed-back fleece, 320 GSM | $8.20–$9.50 | Canadian fall/winter, street-leisure | 1 piece | | Nylon-spandex woven, 220 GSM | $9.80–$11.50 | Running, compression, performance | 1 piece | | Cotton-poly blend, 240 GSM | $10.50–$12.00 | Lifestyle, boutique brands | 1 piece | A few nuances directly from our costing sheet: - **Why the 1-piece MOQ matters in your price tier.** We can make a single sample at the same quality as a 3,000-piece run because our production line is set up for [private-label-activewear](https://www.alpinario.com/private-label-activewear) with a flexible cutting table. We do not have a separate "small order" room with lower standards. The same pattern maker, the same sewing team, the same QC checkpoints. - **Logo application moves the needle.** A woven label adds **USD $0.30–$0.60 per piece**. An embroidered logo adds **USD $1.20–$2.00**, depending on stitch count. A silicone heat transfer is similar at **USD $0.80–$1.50**. Do not choose embroidery for a technical running pant with a thin fabric — the backing can cause chafing. We will tell you this before you approve the mockup. - **Pantone color matching is free for your first revision.** We can match almost any Pantone color in polyester or nylon, but if you ask for a very unusual fluorescent shade, we may need to order custom dye lots, which adds 5–7 days. Standard blacks, navies, and heather grays ship without extra lead time. For a 300-piece order of 320 GSM brushed fleece with an embroidered logo, expect a total per-unit cost of **USD $9.70–$11.00 FOB**. Add duty, freight, and your local fulfillment, and your landed cost in Toronto is roughly **USD $14.50–$16.50** before Amazon fees. If your retail price is below CAD $49, your margin will be thin. We are telling you this now because it is easier to adjust the fabric weight than to explain a negative margin to your accountant later. --- ## Sizing preferences Canadian sizing is not the same as US sizing, and it is definitely not the same as Asian sizing. We maintain separate pattern blocks for North American markets. Here is what we adjust for Canadian wholesale orders: - **Rise length.** Canadian buyers prefer a **mid-rise to high-rise** jogger for women (roughly **25–27 cm rise** for a size M) and a mid-rise for men (**24–26 cm**). Low-rise joggers have almost no demand in your market. - **Inseam length.** A standard men's jogger to Canada is **74–76 cm** for a size M. Women's joggers are **68–71 cm**. If you want a cropped or "ankle-grazing" style, we shorten the inseam by **6–8 cm** and add a tighter leg opening. - **Taper and leg opening.** Canadian e-commerce buyers are returning more joggers because of too-wide leg openings. A leg opening of **15 cm (flat) for a size M** sells better than a relaxed 17–18 cm opening. The "fitted but not compression" aesthetic wins. - **Elastic waistband tension.** We use a **5 cm wide elastic** with a 1:1.2 waistband stretch ratio. This avoids the "sausage casing" look while keeping the pants up during a squat. Our QC team tests waistband recovery with a repeated stretch machine — every lot must survive **20,000 stretch cycles** with less than **3% width loss**. We also ask our Canadian clients to send us size charts from their current best-selling brand. We can reverse-engineer those measurements. This is standard for our [custom-sportswear](https://www.alpinario.com/custom-sportswear) workflow. You provide a reference garment, we measure it internally, and we adjust our blocks. If you are building a brand from scratch and have no reference, we use the measurements above. One more note: Canadian winter means your customers will wear joggers over thermal leggings. If you are targeting a serious outdoor crossover, we can make the jogger with a **wider thigh (add 2–3 cm)** to accommodate layering without making the calf baggy. That is a small pattern adjustment, not a custom pattern fee. Ask for it in your brief. --- ## FAQ **What is your MOQ?** One piece. You can order a single sample, a single size run, or a single color — the MOQ is always 1 piece. We do this because a flexible production line serves our whole client base better than a rigid minimum. We see the sample order as the start of a conversation, not a cost to be minimized. If you need 300 pieces for an Amazon test batch, we can do that too. If you later scale to 3,000 pieces, the unit price drops because we amortize pattern and cutting setup across a larger run. **What is the lead time to Canada?** For a sample: **3–7 days** from order confirmation to shipment from our factory, then **7–10 days** for DHL or FedEx to a Canadian address. For a production order of 300 pieces: **4–6 weeks** after you approve the sample. Then add **2–3 weeks** for sea freight from Ningbo to Vancouver or Prince Rupert. A total timeline from "we just sent you a sketch" to "goods landed in Vancouver" is roughly **8–10 weeks** if you approve the sample on the first round. If you need speed, we can air-ship a production batch as small as **100 pieces**, but the freight cost per unit will be significant. --- If you are pricing out a Canadian launch, use these numbers as your baseline. Then talk to our team about the actual blend, color count, and label plan. We have been in Zhejiang for over two decades, and we know the duty tables change — but the math of a well-priced, correctly-sized jogger does not. **[Request a Quote](mailto:support@alpinario.com)** with your target price point and volume, and we will send a landed-cost estimate for Canadian delivery within 24 hours. We can also point you to our [running-wear-wholesale-guide](https://www.alpinario.com/pages/running-wear-wholesale-guide) and our [compression-shirts](https://www.alpinario.com/pages/compression-shirts) page if your assortment goes beyond joggers.