The best underwear manufacturers are knit specialists, and that single fact decides most of your shortlist before you email anyone. Fortune Business Insights estimates the global underwear market at $96.69 billion in 2025, heading for a projected $137.40 billion by 2034 at a 3.91% CAGR.
Almost half of that demand, 48.61% by the same estimate, sits in Asia Pacific. That is where most of the machine parks built for briefs, boxers and trunks actually live. It is also why a shortlist drawn from general apparel directories usually sends you to the wrong door.
This directory profiles 10 underwear manufacturers across Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Israel, Portugal and the United States. It is an editorial map built from company disclosures, stock-exchange filings and official sources, not a roster of factories OneAim owns. Where a figure is self-reported, we say so.
Heads up: We're OneAim, a group of 100+ documented clothing manufacturers across 15+ countries. The companies below are independent underwear and intimates makers listed on public sources, not members of our group. OneAim's role is separate: route your brief to a documented factory in our group built for your product.
Key Takeaways
- Underwear is knit, not woven. Coverstitch, flatlock and elastic-attaching machines define an underwear factory. An outerwear plant will quietly do a bad job of it.
- The market is large but the estimates are soft. Fortune Business Insights puts it at $96.69 billion in 2025; rival firms publish figures tens of billions apart, so treat any single number as an estimate.
- Sri Lanka punches far above its size. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board says the island supplies nearly 5% of global undergarment demand.
- Three of the biggest names are publicly listed. Regina Miracle (HKEX 2199), Crystal International (HKEX 2232) and Delta Galil (TASE) publish audited financials.
- No one in this roster publishes an MOQ. Underwear minimums are driven by knit fabric, which you buy by the roll, so ask before you assume.
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What counts as underwear, and how is it different from lingerie?
Underwear is the everyday category: men's and women's briefs, boxers, trunks and knit basics, the elastic-waistband products people buy in multipacks. Lingerie is the intimates category built around the bra: cups, underwires, moulding, hooks and eyes, hardware. They look adjacent on a shelf and they're almost entirely different on a factory floor.
A bra is an engineered assembly of 20 to 40 components; a brief is a knit body, an elastic waistband and a gusset. If you're sourcing bras rather than briefs, start with our lingerie manufacturers guide, because several of the biggest intimates factories in the world are bra-led and will treat a brief program as a side order.
Why is underwear a knit-specialist business?
Because underwear is cut from circular-knit jersey or rib, not woven cloth, and knit fabric demands a different machine park. Cotton, modal, bamboo viscose and microfibre, usually with 5% to 10% elastane for recovery, all stretch under the needle. A shirt factory has the wrong machines and the wrong operators for that behaviour.
Three machines define the category. Coverstitch produces a stretchable hem that survives hundreds of wash cycles. Flatlock butts two fabric edges together for a flat, chafe-free join, which matters when a garment sits against skin all day. Elastic-attaching machines apply the waistband. So ask a blunt question before you send a tech pack: does this factory own coverstitch and flatlock machines, or will it fake the seam with an overlock and hope you don't notice?
Four details separate a good underwear factory from a bad one: seam type, waistband construction, gusset execution and elastane recovery. The gusset, a separately cut panel often lined in cotton, is among the hardest parts to grade and sew consistently across a size run.
The waistband is the other big lever. Exposed jacquard elastic reads as premium and costs more; covered elastic is cheaper and quieter. Elastane recovery after washing is the category's number one failure mode. None of that shows up in a photo, which is why sampling matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Citation capsule: Underwear is a knit-specialist business. Briefs, boxers and trunks are cut from circular-knit jersey or rib with 5% to 10% elastane, joined with coverstitch and flatlock seams that lie flat against skin, then finished with an elastic-attached waistband and a separately cut gusset. A woven-outerwear factory has neither the machines nor the operators for it.
How did we choose these manufacturers?
We built this list from primary sources: company websites, stock-exchange filings, and official bodies including BGMEA, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the South Carolina Department of Commerce. Where a headcount, capacity or client list is a marketing claim rather than a filing, we attribute it rather than assert it.
We didn't rank one to ten, because "best" depends on your category, volume and market. We also cut one candidate: a Turkish manufacturer that appears in export directories but whose own website we couldn't read to verify a single claim. A shorter list of verifiable factories beats a longer one padded with names we can't stand behind. And since no company here publishes a minimum order quantity, we publish none.
Who are the leading underwear manufacturers?
Brandix (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, and the strongest single source in this roster. Brandix publishes a dedicated underwear product line covering men's and women's underwear, with moulding and zonal-compression construction and reusable period underwear. That is an on-site disclosure, not a directory listing.
Brandix reports around 43,000 associates across 38 facilities in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, a self-reported figure spanning all its categories. Best for established, high-volume underwear programs.
MAS Holdings / MAS Intimates (Sri Lanka)
MAS was founded in 1987 as an underwear manufacturer. MAS Intimates remains the group's largest division, covering underwear, bras and shapewear with design hubs in New York, Hong Kong, London and Sri Lanka. It is the archetype of the vertically integrated knit intimates supplier.
MAS says it employs around 37,000 people across 14 facilities. That figure and its client roster come from the company and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, not from independent audit. It is a scale option, not a startup route.
Hirdaramani Group (Sri Lanka)
A broad-range manufacturer running 33 factories across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam, covering knit and woven, casual and intimate garments. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board names it one of the country's three main intimate-wear exporters alongside Brandix and MAS.
Its sustainability record is genuinely documented: it opened what it calls the world's first purpose-built eco-friendly apparel factory, LEED Gold certified, in 2008. Intimates sit inside a wider offer, so it is not an underwear pure-play.
Regina Miracle International (Hong Kong / Vietnam)
An intimate-wear manufacturer with its major production base in Vietnam plus operations in Shenzhen. Its own site lists panties alongside bras, sports bras and shapewear, so underwear is in scope, though the business is bra and shapewear led.
Its advantage for diligence is transparency. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (code 2199) since 2015, it reported revenue of about HK$7,717.7 million at a 22.5% gross margin for the year ended 31 March 2026. Bras, not briefs, lead the mix.
Crystal International Group / Crystal Martin (Hong Kong / Vietnam)
Crystal Martin, founded in 2004, is the intimates arm of Crystal International, with plants in Bac Giang, Vietnam since 2012 and group facilities across Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Intimate apparel is one of five reporting segments.
Group-wide, Crystal reports roughly 80,000 workers and over 470 million garments a year. But that spans all five segments and is not an underwear volume figure. It is listed on HKEX (2232), so its financials are checkable. The client lists circulating online trace to directories, not to disclosure.
Delta Galil Industries (Israel)
The clearest example here of a true private-label underwear manufacturer at scale. Delta Galil's largest revenue segment is Private Label: underwear, leisurewear and sleepwear made for other brands and retailers.
Publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, it reported revenue above US$2.045 billion in 2024 with roughly 25,000 employees, per its own investor relations disclosures. Two caveats: it is far too large for an emerging brand, and it owns brands as well as making them. So it competes with some customers.
Clover Group International (Hong Kong / China / Cambodia)
Founded in 1956, reportedly with seven sewing machines, Clover makes innerwear, lingerie, stockings, socks and athleisure across mainland China and Cambodia, using in-house and contracted production.
Forbes reported in 2013 that Clover was then the largest bra maker for Victoria's Secret and also supplied Gap Body and Lane Bryant. That reporting is over a decade old and should not be read as a current client list. Clover is bra-led, so treat it as the China and Cambodia intimates option, not an everyday-underwear specialist.
Hemingway Sewing Solutions (Hemingway, South Carolina, USA)
The standout for domestic US sourcing and the best fit for the technical argument above. Hemingway is a knit specialist: high-end men's and women's underwear, t-shirts, performance wear and thermals, with full-package service covering development, prototyping, cutting, sewing including flat seaming, and packaging.
The South Carolina Department of Commerce announced a $3.3 million investment there creating 242 new jobs in March 2022, though that figure is a commitment, not confirmed headcount. Trade press reports an affiliation with circular knitter Beverly Knits, which the company's own site does not state.
Impetus Portugal (Barcelos, Portugal)
The EU anchor of this roster. Impetus has made underwear since the early 1970s, when it started with briefs. It now produces underwear, nightwear and loungewear alongside technical workwear and sportswear, seamed and seamless.
It runs three integrated production units in Portugal covering knitting through packaging, including an in-house knitting department, a real advantage on quality control and lead times. Impetus reports around 880 workers and roughly 5 million units a year and calls itself Portugal's largest producer in the sector. Those are its own claims.
Apex Lingerie Limited (Gazipur, Bangladesh)
The Bangladesh intimates option, and an explicitly bra-focused one. Its own site lists sports bras, bandeau, padded and soft bras rather than briefs or boxers, so shortlist it only if your program spans bras.
Apex appears in the BGMEA member directory, and its certification stack is a genuine differentiator: GOTS, OEKO-TEX, BSCI, SMETA, Sedex, SGS and Control Union. Its stated 66-plus lines, 2.0 million pieces a month and 4,700-plus employees are self-reported and unverified.
Here's how the ten manufacturers compare at a glance.
| Company | Location | Category focus | Verifiability | MOQ (public) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandix | Sri Lanka | Underwear line (moulding, zonal compression) | Company underwear page | Not published |
| MAS Holdings / MAS Intimates | Sri Lanka + 3 countries | Underwear, bras, shapewear | Company + Sri Lanka EDB | Not published |
| Hirdaramani | Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam | Knit/woven incl. intimates | Company + Sri Lanka EDB | Not published |
| Regina Miracle | Hong Kong / Vietnam | Bras, shapewear, panties | Listed, HKEX 2199 | Not published |
| Crystal International (Crystal Martin) | Hong Kong / Vietnam | Intimates (1 of 5 segments) | Listed, HKEX 2232 | Not published |
| Delta Galil | Israel, global | Private-label underwear at scale | Listed, TASE | Not published |
| Clover Group | Hong Kong, China, Cambodia | Innerwear, lingerie, socks | Company site (bra-led) | Not published |
| Hemingway Sewing Solutions | Hemingway, SC, USA | Knit underwear, tees, thermals | Company + SC Dept. of Commerce | Not published |
| Impetus Portugal | Barcelos, Portugal | Underwear, nightwear, seamless | Company site | Not published |
| Apex Lingerie | Gazipur, Bangladesh | Bras (intimates) | Company + BGMEA directory | Not published |
Source: company websites, HKEX and TASE disclosures, BGMEA member directory, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, and South Carolina Department of Commerce, 2022 to 2026. Headcounts, capacities and client lists are self-reported unless drawn from a filing; confirm current details directly.
How big is the underwear market, really?
Big, and less precisely known than the headline numbers suggest. Fortune Business Insights estimates the global underwear market at $96.69 billion in 2025, rising from $101.08 billion in 2026 to $137.40 billion by 2034 at a 3.91% CAGR, with Asia Pacific holding 48.61% of it.
Here's the honest caveat. Competing research firms put the same 2025 market anywhere from the low sixties of billions to just under one hundred billion, a spread of roughly 60%. This genre is estimate, not measurement. Cite one vendor by name, never blend two.
Why does Sri Lanka dominate underwear and intimates?
Because three vertically integrated groups, Brandix, MAS and Hirdaramani, built a knit intimates cluster there over four decades and kept design and development onshore. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board says the country supplies nearly 5% of global undergarment demand and is the second-largest exporter of undergarments to both the USA and the EU, at around 10% of supply to each market. That EDB page carries no date, so read those figures as an official but undated claim.
The scale behind it is real: Sri Lanka's apparel exports passed US$5 billion for the first time in 2025, reaching about US$5.32 billion, up 8.7% on 2024, according to industry reporting. The practical read is simple. If you need engineered construction at volume, Sri Lanka has more of that capability per square mile than anywhere on earth. If you need 500 cotton boxer briefs, it's the wrong door to knock on.
How big are these factories, and does size matter to you?
Enormously varied, and yes, it matters more than most founders expect. This roster runs from a US contract manufacturer that committed to 242 jobs in 2022 to Asian groups reporting tens of thousands of workers. A plant built to run a million pieces a month isn't indifferent to your 800-unit order; it's structurally unable to schedule it profitably.
The chart below plots self-reported headcount. Read it carefully: several figures are group-wide across all product categories, not underwear headcount.
What is the MOQ reality for underwear?
There isn't a published one anywhere in this roster, and we won't invent one. Every company here declines to state a minimum publicly, which is itself informative. Underwear minimums are driven by knit fabric, and fabric is bought by the roll, not by the metre. Your real floor is the smallest sensible dye lot in your chosen yarn and colour, not the sewing line.
So adding a colour costs far more than adding a size. A new colour means a new dye lot and a new run of matching elastic. Brands that launch with six colourways discover their minimum is really six minimums. Ask each factory for its fabric minimum, not just its garment minimum, and get both in writing.
Citation capsule: No major underwear manufacturer in this directory publishes a minimum order quantity. Underwear MOQs are set upstream by knit fabric, which is bought by the roll and dyed in lots, so a brand's real floor is the smallest viable dye lot in its chosen yarn and colour. Adding a colourway multiplies the minimum; adding a size does not.
For the mechanics of negotiating a floor you can actually fund, read our minimum order quantity clothing guide.
What drives the cost of an underwear unit?
Fabric and trims drive it, not sewing labour, and that surprises most founders. A brief is a small garment with a short sewing cycle. The cut-and-sew minutes are modest. So squeezing the sewing rate moves your unit cost far less than the choices you make upstream of the sewing line.
Five levers do most of the work, and you set four of them in the tech pack rather than in the negotiation.
| Cost lever | Why it moves the price | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Yarn and knit quality | Combed cotton, modal and micro-modal sit above carded cotton; gauge and gsm change fabric consumption | Your fabric spec |
| Elastane content | Recovery-grade elastane costs more than the minimum needed to pass a stretch test | Your fabric spec |
| Waistband type | Exposed jacquard elastic is woven to your brand and priced as a bespoke trim; covered elastic is a stock item | Your design |
| Colour count | Each colourway is a separate dye lot in fabric and in matching elastic | Your range plan |
| Sewing minutes | Flatlock and coverstitch construction, gusset and label placement all add cycle time | Your construction spec |
Analysis: OneAim Apparel sourcing practice, 2024 to 2026. Directional cost levers, not a price list. No manufacturer in this directory publishes unit pricing publicly.
The practical consequence is that two brands can send the same silhouette to the same factory and get quotes that are not close. One asked for a branded jacquard waistband in six colours and the other did not. Fix the range plan before you chase the sewing rate.
How do you vet an underwear factory before you sample?
Ask the machine and fabric questions first, then the commercial ones. A factory that answers the technical questions crisply has run the category; a factory that redirects straight to price has not. Work through this order.
- Machines on the floor. Does the factory own coverstitch, flatlock and elastic-attaching machines, or does it subcontract those operations? Ask which operations leave the building.
- Knit supply. Does it knit in-house, like Impetus, or buy fabric? In-house knitting shortens lead times and tightens quality control on gsm and recovery.
- Fabric minimum. Ask for the fabric minimum per colour, not just the garment minimum. That is your true floor.
- Recovery testing. Ask what wash-and-recovery protocol the factory runs on elastane blends, and ask to see the report on your sample.
- Waistband and gusset spec. Ask whether they quote exposed jacquard or covered elastic, and how they construct the gusset. Silence here is the loudest signal you will get.
- Verifiable identity. Prefer a listed company, a member directory entry or a government announcement over a marketing page. Every profile above notes which one applies.
- A paid sample. Never place a purchase order on a photograph. Underwear failures show up after washing, not on the sampling table.
Citation capsule: To vet an underwear manufacturer, confirm it owns coverstitch, flatlock and elastic-attaching machines rather than subcontracting them; ask whether it knits fabric in-house; request the fabric minimum per colour rather than the garment minimum; ask for the elastane wash-and-recovery protocol; and pay for a sample before any purchase order, because elastane failures appear after washing rather than at first inspection.
Which underwear manufacturer fits your brand?
Match three things: category, volume and market. If your program is briefs, boxers and knit basics, the true underwear specialists here are Brandix, MAS, Impetus and Hemingway. If it spans bras too, Regina Miracle, Clover and Apex come into scope, and our lingerie manufacturers guide is the better place to start. For retailer-scale private label, Delta Galil is the archetype.
Then match geography to your buyer. Impetus is the shortest lead time to European retail, with in-house knitting behind it. Hemingway is the domestic US route, and our apparel manufacturers USA directory covers the wider domestic field. Sri Lanka and Vietnam carry the deepest capability and the biggest volumes.
If your range also runs into compression, base layers or performance knits, the machine park overlaps heavily with our activewear manufacturers directory, and the country-level trade-offs are set out in where to manufacture clothing in 2026. Whichever way you go, get a paid sample before a purchase order.
Frequently Asked Questions About Underwear Manufacturers
Who are the biggest underwear manufacturers in the world?
Brandix and MAS Holdings in Sri Lanka, Crystal International and Regina Miracle in Hong Kong and Vietnam, and Delta Galil in Israel are among the largest. Delta Galil reported revenue above US$2.045 billion in 2024, with private-label underwear, leisurewear and sleepwear as its biggest segment. Regina Miracle and Crystal are both listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
What is the minimum order quantity for underwear manufacturing?
None of the ten manufacturers in this directory publishes one. Underwear minimums are set by knit fabric, which is bought by the roll and dyed in lots. So your real floor depends on your yarn and colour count rather than on the sewing line. Ask each factory for its fabric minimum, not just its garment minimum.
Where is most underwear manufactured?
Asia Pacific held 48.61% of the global underwear market in 2025, according to Fortune Business Insights, and it holds an even larger share of production. Sri Lanka is the standout specialist: its Export Development Board says the country supplies nearly 5% of global undergarment demand and is the second-largest exporter of undergarments to both the USA and the EU.
Can underwear be manufactured in the USA?
Yes, though the field is small. Hemingway Sewing Solutions in South Carolina is a knit specialist producing men's and women's underwear, tees, performance wear and thermals, with flat seaming in-house. The South Carolina Department of Commerce announced a $3.3 million investment and 242 new jobs there in March 2022. Confirm current capacity and minimums directly with the company.
What's the difference between underwear and lingerie manufacturing?
Underwear is knit: briefs, boxers and trunks built from jersey or rib with coverstitch and flatlock seams, an elastic waistband and a gusset. Lingerie is bra-led and built from 20 to 40 engineered components including cups, underwires and hardware. Several large intimates groups do both, but most factories are genuinely strong at only one.
What fabrics are used for underwear?
Circular-knit cotton, modal, bamboo viscose and microfibre, almost always blended with 5% to 10% elastane so the garment recovers its shape after wear. Elastane recovery after repeated washing is the most common quality failure in the category. That's why fabric testing matters as much as seam inspection when you approve a pre-production sample.
What drives the cost of manufacturing underwear?
Fabric and trims, more than sewing labour. A brief has a short sewing cycle, so the levers that move unit cost most are yarn quality, elastane grade, waistband type and colour count. An exposed jacquard waistband is a bespoke trim; covered elastic is a stock item. Every extra colourway adds a dye lot in both fabric and elastic.
How do I verify an underwear manufacturer is real?
Look for primary sources. Regina Miracle (HKEX 2199), Crystal International (HKEX 2232) and Delta Galil (TASE) file audited financials. Apex Lingerie appears in the BGMEA member directory. Hemingway is backed by a South Carolina Department of Commerce announcement. Treat headcounts, capacities and client lists published only on a company's own site as marketing claims until you verify them.
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Sources used in this article
- Fortune Business Insights, Underwear Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, 2025 to 2034 forecast.
- Brandix, underwear product line, 2024 to 2026.
- MAS Holdings, products and capabilities, 2024 to 2026.
- Hirdaramani Group, capabilities, 2024 to 2026.
- Regina Miracle International (HKEX: 2199), company and results disclosures, financial year ended 31 March 2026.
- Crystal International Group (HKEX: 2232), company profile, 2024 to 2026.
- Delta Galil Industries, investor relations, 2024 results.
- Clover Group International, company information, 2024 to 2026. Forbes reporting, 2013, is the source for the historical Victoria's Secret, Gap Body and Lane Bryant client references; it is a decade old and not a current client list.
- Hemingway Sewing Solutions, capabilities, 2024 to 2026. The reported affiliation with circular knitter Beverly Knits comes from trade press and is not stated on Hemingway's own site.
- South Carolina Department of Commerce, Hemingway Sewing Solutions establishing operations in Williamsburg County, 2022.
- Impetus Portugal Têxteis, S.A., company information, 2024 to 2026.
- Apex Lingerie Limited, company information, 2024 to 2026; BGMEA member directory.
- Sri Lanka Export Development Board, intimate wear, undated.
- Sri Lanka Apparel, yearly export performance, 2025.
- OneAim Apparel internal sourcing and pipeline data, 2024 to 2026.
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