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The True Cost of a Garment

Complete cost breakdown for 6 garment types. Discover where every euro of your purchase goes: raw material, manufacturing, transport, margin.

7 items
cost categories broken down per garment
3-8%
of the final price goes to raw material in fast fashion
x4
more material value in a Misciano garment vs fast fashion
Published on
See the breakdown

Where does your money go?

Select a garment type to see the complete production cost breakdown. Compare the Misciano vs fast fashion split.

Misciano

Fast fashion

Raw material
Spinning / Weaving
Manufacturing
Finishing / Quality control
Transport / Logistics
Brand margin
VAT (20%)

What this means

Full comparison table

Silk dress Cashmere sweater Cotton t-shirt Jacket / Blazer Silk scarf Wool trousers
MFF MFF MFF MFF MFF MFF

Data based on our actual production costs, the IFM 2025 report on textile industry costs, and the Economic Observatory of the French Fashion Institute.

Our Methodology

How we broke down the real price of each garment, cost by cost, from raw material to VAT.

Calculation Principles

Material Cost

Material cost = Weight x Price/kg material x Quality coefficient

Manufacturing Cost

Manufacturing = Labor time x Country hourly rate + Finishing

Actual Margin

Margin = Retail price incl. VAT - Total production costs - VAT

Data Sources

Our breakdowns are based on:

IFM - French Fashion Institute

Economic observatory of the textile-apparel industry. Production cost and margin data by market segment (luxury, premium, fast fashion).

INSEE - Production Price Survey

Industrial production price indices for the textile sector. Labor costs by manufacturing country (France, Italy, China, Bangladesh).

Première Vision Market Data

Textile raw material quotations (raw silk, raw cashmere, cotton, merino wool) updated biannually.

Misciano Internal Data

Our own supplier invoices and actual production costs over 5 seasons. Full transparency on our value chain.

Références

  • IFM - Economic Observatory (ifmparis.fr)
  • INSEE - Textile production price indices (2025)
  • Première Vision - Raw Material Price Index (2025)
  • McKinsey - State of Fashion Report (2025)
  • Kearney - Reshoring Index & Cost Analysis (2024)

Related Resources

The breakdowns presented are sector averages based on our sources. Actual costs vary by supplier, manufacturing country and order volumes.

For Journalists and Bloggers

Cite this study in your articles. Data is free to use with attribution.

Key Figures

3-8%
of the final price goes to raw material in fast fashion
50-57%
brand margin in fast fashion, vs 8-15% at Misciano
x4
more material value in a Misciano garment vs fast fashion
22-35%
of Misciano price is dedicated to raw materials

Citation Formats

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Press Contact

For journalists requesting additional data or an interview:

[email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the real cost breakdown of your garments.

Why does raw material represent only 3-8% of fast fashion prices?
Fast fashion prioritizes volume and low prices. Brands use synthetic materials (polyester, acrylic) purchased in bulk at rock-bottom prices: 2-5 EUR/kg versus 80-300 EUR/kg for silk or cashmere. The rest funds brand margin (50-57%), marketing and distribution. At Misciano, raw material represents 22-35% of the final price because we use premium natural fibers sourced in Europe.
How do you justify Misciano’s 8-15% margin?
Our 8-15% margin covers operating costs (team, rent, logistics, customer service, website) and reinvestment in textile R&D. Fast fashion operates with 50-57% margins, traditional luxury 60-70%. Our direct-to-consumer model (no distributor middleman) allows fair prices despite high production costs.
Where does the data for this breakdown come from?
Our data combines three sources: (1) French Fashion Institute (IFM) reports on production costs by segment, (2) INSEE textile production price indices, (3) our own supplier invoices over 5 seasons. Raw material prices validated by Première Vision quotations. Fast fashion data from McKinsey State of Fashion and Kearney Reshoring Index reports.
Why does transport represent only 2-5% of the price?
Container shipping for textiles is extremely inexpensive per unit: about 0.20-0.50 EUR per garment from Asia. Even air freight remains marginal (1-3 EUR/piece). At Misciano, European manufacturing (Italy, Portugal) further reduces this cost.
Is European manufacturing really more expensive?
Yes, significantly. Hourly manufacturing costs: 2-4 EUR/h in Bangladesh, 5-8 EUR/h in China, 12-18 EUR/h in Portugal, 18-25 EUR/h in Italy. For a dress requiring 3-4h of work: 8-16 EUR in Asia vs 54-100 EUR in Europe. This explains why manufacturing represents 18-25% of Misciano prices (vs 8-12% in fast fashion).
What does finishing and quality control include?
This covers: pressing and shaping, quality buttons and closures, labeling (composition, care, origin), piece-by-piece quality control (seams, alignment, defects), and packaging. At Misciano, every piece is individually inspected, representing 5-8% of the final price.
How does a cashmere sweater price break down?
For a 145 EUR Misciano cashmere sweater: raw material 32% (46 EUR, cashmere and merino wool blend), spinning 12% (17 EUR), manufacturing 16% (23 EUR, European workshop), finishing 7% (10 EUR), transport 5% (7 EUR), margin 11% (16 EUR), VAT 17% (25 EUR). Fast fashion equivalent at 25 EUR: material 6% (1.50 EUR, acrylic), margin 54% (13.50 EUR).
Can I use this data in my articles?
Yes! Our data is free to use under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 (attribution required, non-commercial). Use the APA/MLA/Chicago citation formats provided. For raw data, HD infographics or interviews, contact [email protected]. Guaranteed response within 24h.
Why is VAT such a significant portion of the final price?
French VAT on clothing is 20%, applied to the pre-tax price. In our breakdown, VAT represents 10-17% of the final price depending on the garment. It applies uniformly whether the garment costs 10 EUR or 500 EUR.
How can a 39 EUR garment be profitable?
Fast fashion relies on three levers: (1) volume: orders of tens of thousands to reduce unit cost, (2) cheap materials: polyester at 2-3 EUR/kg instead of silk at 80-120 EUR/kg, (3) low-cost manufacturing: South Asian workshops at 2-4 EUR/h. Even on a 9.99 EUR t-shirt, gross margin is 4-5 EUR (50%). Our Cost Per Wear Calculator shows premium garments cost less long-term.