A garment factory quotes you a price per piece, and the number means something completely different depending on whether you are buying the fabric yourself or the factory is. Three production models sit behind almost every Vietnamese apparel quotation — CMT, FOB and ODM — and confusing them is how buyers end up comparing quotations that are not actually comparable.
💬 Working out which production model fits your order, and getting a quotation that states it clearly? Tell us what you are sourcing and we will help you read the offer.
What actually changes between CMT, FOB and ODM?
The three models sit on a single axis of how much the factory sources and owns before your design becomes a finished garment: CMT is cut-make-trim only, FOB is full-package production from fabric onward, and ODM adds the factory’s own design work on top of full-package production.
Under CMT (cut, make, trim), you or your agent supplies the fabric and trims; the factory’s price covers only cutting, sewing and finishing labour. You carry the fabric-sourcing risk and the fabric-quality risk yourself, but you also keep full control over exactly which mill, which dye lot and which trim supplier goes into the garment — useful where a brand’s fabric specification is exact and non-negotiable.
Under FOB (free on board), the factory sources the fabric and trims itself and quotes a single price that covers materials, labour, factory overhead and delivery to the Vietnamese port of export. You specify the garment; the factory decides which mill or trim supplier to use, within your specification. This shifts fabric-sourcing work off your desk, at the cost of losing direct control over exactly which mill supplies the cloth unless your specification names it.
Under ODM (original design manufacturing), the factory additionally contributes design work — a base pattern or a seasonal range you select from and then customise, rather than a design you hand over in full. This suits a buyer without an in-house design team, at the cost of the resulting garment looking more like the factory’s existing range than a fully original one.
Who actually buys the fabric, and why does that matter for cost?
Fabric is usually the single largest line in a garment’s cost, commonly over half of it, so whoever buys the fabric controls the biggest number on the quotation — and a CMT price and an FOB price are not comparable figures unless you also compare what each side paid for the cloth.
A CMT quotation that looks cheaper than an FOB quotation from a different factory is not automatically the better deal: add your own fabric cost, your own freight to get the fabric to the factory, and your own quality risk on that fabric before comparing the two totals. An FOB quotation folds all of that into one number, which is easier to compare at a glance but harder to audit — you cannot always see what the factory itself paid for the cloth inside that single price. And an FOB price only covers you to the Vietnamese port of export; what happens to cost after that point is a separate question, covered in Vietnam local charges by Incoterm.
Ask an FOB quotation to itemise fabric consumption per garment (how much fabric, at what width, goes into one piece) even where it will not itemise fabric cost. Fabric consumption is the number that lets you sanity-check the quoted price against a fabric cost you can find independently, and it is also the number a factory sometimes shades to its own advantage when a design allows some flexibility in how pattern pieces are laid out on the cloth.
💬 The same discipline applies across any Vietnamese quotation, not only garments — see how to compare Vietnamese supplier quotations, or send us the offers and we will read them side by side.
Does the production model change who is responsible for what?
Yes — CMT puts fabric-quality responsibility on the buyer, FOB and ODM put it on the factory, and this split should be written into the contract rather than assumed from the model name alone.
Under CMT, a fabric defect that only shows up after cutting and sewing (an off-shade dye lot, a weave fault that only appears under tension) is generally the buyer’s problem, because the buyer chose and supplied that fabric. Under FOB and ODM, that same defect sits with the factory, because the factory chose the mill. This is the practical reason a buyer moves toward FOB as order volume grows and in-house fabric-sourcing capacity does not scale with it — but it is also why an FOB contract should state fabric-defect liability explicitly rather than leaving it to be inferred from the model.
Sampling and approval stages sit on top of this regardless of model — a lab dip, a fit sample and a pre-production sample are the checkpoints where a fabric or construction problem should surface before bulk production, not after.
💬 Sunsho Trade sources garment production in Vietnam under whichever of these models fits an order, and manages the fabric-mill relationship where a buyer wants that off their desk. See our sourcing service, or get in touch with your specification.
How does the production model interact with rules of origin?
Under EVFTA the qualifying rule for most garments is “fabric forward” — the fabric has to originate in Vietnam (or, under EVFTA’s cumulation provision, in South Korea) — while CPTPP applies the stricter “yarn forward” rule, under which the yarn itself has to originate in a CPTPP member country; a CMT order built on imported fabric from outside those origin countries can fail either test even though the sewing itself happened entirely in Vietnam.
This is where the production model and the trade-preference question meet. A CMT buyer supplying their own fabric controls where that fabric was woven and can choose an origin-qualifying mill; an FOB buyer relying on the factory’s own fabric sourcing needs to specify the origin requirement in the purchase order, not assume the factory has already accounted for it, because a factory optimising for price alone may source fabric from wherever is cheapest regardless of the origin consequence to your shipment. Confirm with the factory, in writing, which mill and which country of fabric or yarn origin the order will actually use before production starts, and check that origin against the specific agreement your shipment will claim preference under.
Comparing the three models
The three models differ in who buys the fabric and trims, who carries the material and cost risk, and how much of the design the factory contributes.
| CMT | FOB | ODM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys the fabric | Buyer | Factory | Factory |
| Who designs the garment | Buyer | Buyer | Factory contributes design |
| Fabric-defect liability | Usually the buyer | Usually the factory | Usually the factory |
| Buyer’s control over mill choice | Full | Only if specified in the PO | Only if specified in the PO |
| Typical fit | Exact fabric specification, existing mill relationship | Scaling volume, no in-house fabric sourcing | No in-house design team |
Frequently asked questions
1. Is FOB always more expensive than CMT for the same garment?
Not necessarily, once fabric cost is included on both sides. CMT looks cheaper because the fabric cost is not in the quoted number; add it back in before comparing.
2. Can I ask an FOB factory which mill it sources fabric from?
Yes, and you should, particularly where a rules-of-origin claim depends on the fabric’s country of origin. State the requirement in the purchase order rather than assuming the factory will volunteer it.
3. What is the difference between OEM and ODM in this context?
OEM (original equipment manufacturing) in the garment trade generally describes full-package, FOB-style production to the buyer’s own design — functionally close to FOB. ODM adds the factory’s own design contribution on top of that.
4. Does CPTPP’s “yarn forward” rule mean the fabric has to be woven in Vietnam?
No — it means the yarn itself has to originate in a CPTPP member country; the fabric can then be woven in Vietnam or another CPTPP member from that qualifying yarn. This is stricter than EVFTA’s fabric-forward rule, which only requires the fabric-weaving stage to be in Vietnam or, under cumulation, South Korea.
5. If I am not sure whether my order will claim a trade preference, does the production model still matter?
Yes, for cost and quality-control reasons independent of origin — but if there is any chance you will want to claim a preferential tariff later, fixing the fabric or yarn origin at the time of production is far cheaper than trying to reconstruct it after the goods have shipped.
Checked on 25 September 2026.
Sources:
- EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), textile and apparel rules-of-origin chapter and cumulation provision
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), textile and apparel rules-of-origin chapter