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September 9, 2025

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How to start a leggings manufacturing business: A step-by-step guide

Leggings are now one of the most popular clothing choices, not in India but worldwide. It is very versatile as it can be worn with every clothing item, and it's made from different fabrics like cotton, polyester, Lycra, which give different variety suited for each preference. From a toddler to an adult woman, everybody wears it; there is no age limit. For startups, it creates an opportunity to enter into the apparel industry and start a business, and one of the businesses they can open is a leggings manufacturing business. To do that, businesses need to take some steps, like market research, registration, arranging investment, setting up machines, and planning how to reach customers. This article is a guide on how to start a leggings manufacturing business in 9 steps, what is leggings market size is in India and the process of manufacturing leggings.

Legging Market in India

Leggings are loved in India since they are comfortable, all-purpose, and affordable. They come in various styles to match any occasion or mood and can be paired with t-shirts, coats, jackets, tank tops, or ethnic wear, and they also fit into fitness workouts as gym, yoga, or other sports. The report suggests the revenue of India's Tights & Leggings market is worth US$364.27m in 2025, and the volume of leggings is calculated at 336.7m pieces in 2029.

This indicates that the tights and leggings market in India is developing very fast because of the growing awareness among fashion-conscious customers.

Types of leggings

Leggings are of various types and patterns. Here is a list of major types

Sheer leggings: They are light, semi-sheer leggings providing a perfect look for warm weather or a stylish look

Churidar leggings: These are traditional Indian leggings that fit tightly and come with extra length and gather at the ankles, usually worn with kurtas, tunics, or ethnic tops.

Capri leggings: These are short leggings that go down to mid-calf level, i.e between the knee and ankle length. It is a balance between full-length and short-length leggings

Stretchable leggings: They are made using stretchable fabric like cotton-spandex or nylon-lycra that fits closely to the body, almost like a second skin

Ankle fit leggings: The leggings that come above the ankle length

Stirrup leggings: They are fitted close leggings with a strap that goes under the foot to hold on, thereby making them perfect for skiing, horse riding and other outdoor activities

Jeggings: It is a mix of jeans and leggings made from denim fabric, resembling tight jeans

How to Start Your Own Legging Manufacturing Business in 9 Steps?

Here is by step-by-step process to start your own leggings manufacturing business

‍Market research

In market research the business should study the target market - whether they will supply to B2B buyers, retail chains, sell under own D2C brand or focus on exports, product range: what and how many styles of leggings the business are targeting, target customer: who are target customer segment based on age and interest, unique value proposition i.e finding gaps in market and creating unique value based on that and competitors to know who is in the same niche, their strengths, weaknesses, and how they sell their products.

‍Registration and licensing

Every business needs to be registered. They can register themselves as a sole proprietor, LLP (Limited Liability Partnership, or Pvt.Ltd.Here are some licenses businesses need

In India, GST registration is required under the GST Portal.

Get a factory license in case of space in an industrial zone.

Apply for the Import and Export Code under the Director General of Foreign Trade, in case of exporting the leggings.

Select a brand name, check domain availability, and register a trademark.

Estimation of Investment

To estimate investment, include costs like machines and equipment required for production, along with the raw materials for one full production cycle, salary and wages for at least 3 months, rent or space cost, and other essential expenses like electricity and office supplies, and budget for advertising and marketing to promote products must be considered.

Fundraising options

You have estimated the cost, and the business can raise money through bootstrapping (Invest your own savings), business loans, angel investors (individuals who provide capital for start-up businesses), and government grants.

Customer relationship

Reach out to the potential customer, supplier or retailers based on the target market for selling the products and build a relationship from the start with them.

Monthly production capacity

Decide monthly production capacity, like how many pieces need to product per month and how many hours per day and how many days in a month they need to work (for example, let's assume the business has decided to produce around 50,000 per month, with 9 hrs a day and 25 days per months and according to this only, business will buy machines and hire workers.

Factory & Equipment setup

Rent or use your own space for factory setup, buy machines from reliable suppliers, and the different common types of machines are (Zigzag Sewing Machine, Flat Lock Machines, Single Needle Lock Stitch Machine, Flat Lock Machines), set up cutting tables and office space, hire manpower like tailors, workers, merchandisers, helpers and supervisors who supervise them. In every manufacturing process, manpower is required.

Manufacturing process

Next step is to collect orders from your customers and start the manufacturing process. Below this section, there is a guide on how to manufacture leggings.

Market the manufacturing business

To scale business and attract new potential customers, it is important to do marketing of the business, i.e., where and how you will find customers, whether through retailers, online platforms, direct promotions, or simply talking to people, creating awareness about your business and building a network.

How are leggings manufactured?

The legging manufacturing starts from getting the fibre and ends with ready-made leggings sent to customers. Here are the steps to manufacture leggings for the business.

Getting orders: It starts from getting orders from customers or raising an order by figuring out based on market demand.

Estimating fabric and raw material: For the designs, calculate how much fabric and material is needed, make a list of materials and fabric needed to source with the total quantity required of the order, for eg per piece 190 grams of fabric is needed and need to produce 1000 pieces, then need to source 190 kg of fabric, i.e. (1000x190/1000). Common types of material include fabric like spandex (Lycra), cotton, polyester blend, polyester, silk and other materials like stitching thread in colours, waistband elastic, buttons, zips, labels, and polybags for packaging.

Sourcing materials: Source the raw material and trims as needed. One can buy from a retail shop, a knitting plant or retail shops in case of a small quantity.

Planning Production: Make a rough plan for when to start cutting, stitching, and finishing so the order is ready on time.

Cutting fabric: Cut the fabric according to the design and order (by size and colour). Always keep extra pieces in case some get damaged in the middle of the process.

Stitching leggings: The Next step is allocating work to the stitching section, i.e tailors.

Finishing Process: In this process, an inspection is done to check the quality of stitching and fabric, and the measurement sizes, and trim extra threads, iron the leggings, and then fold, add tags ( labels like size label, brand label and care label for customer )and waist cords if needed.

Final deliver: Last steps are packing the leggings into bags, then processing the order and dispatching the order to customers.

Conclusion

Starting a legging business can be a smart choice but it could be challenging also but not for the ones who plan properly, register themselves as business under proper laws and regulations, arrange the right equipment, focus on quality, build a good customer relationship, stay updated with market trends, close look on competitors and right marketing strategies With these things checked you can build a reputable and high profitable manufacturing business in India.

FAQs

How big is the leggings market worldwide?

In 2025, the revenue in the Tights & Leggings market worldwide amounts to US$14.20bn and the estimated annual growth rate of 2.41% (CAGR 2025-2029)

Who are leading the leggings manufacturing business in India?

Some of the leading leggings manufacturers in India include Trendmalls Industries, S R Health & Hygiene, Shrija Creation, Mehrang Exim, Gunatit Leggings, Gunja Textiles

What registrations and licenses are needed for business setup?

Businesses need MSME (Udyog Aadhaar), GST, factory license (if in an industrial area), Import Export Code (for exports), and a trademark for the brand name.