Minku Apparel ships every order worldwide on DDP terms, meaning Delivered Duty Paid door-to-door with freight, duties, and taxes handled for you. Your finished garments arrive at your address in the USA, UK, or Europe with no customs bill to settle and no broker to chase, so importing feels as simple as a domestic delivery.
For a brand, shipping is where overseas manufacturing usually gets complicated. DDP removes that complexity entirely: we manage the export, the freight, and the import clearance, and you receive boxes at your door. This page explains how DDP works, the transit times to expect by region, and how we keep your order moving.
What DDP Actually Means
DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid, an international shipping term where the manufacturer takes responsibility for the goods all the way to the buyer’s door, including import duties and taxes. The alternative, DDU or Delivered Duty Unpaid, leaves you to clear customs and pay duties yourself, often with a courier holding your order hostage until you do. We ship DDP so you avoid all of that.
Transit Times by Region
Most orders move by air freight for speed, with sea freight available for large volume runs where timing is flexible. These are typical door-to-door transit windows once your order leaves our factory after production and QC.
| Region | Air freight (DDP) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USA | 5-8 days | Primary market. Delivery to all states, coast to coast. |
| UK | 5-8 days | Post-Brexit VAT and duties handled under DDP. |
| Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain | 6-9 days | EU import cleared, delivered to the door. |
| Sweden and wider EU | 6-9 days | Duties and VAT handled DDP. |
| Canada and Australia | 6-10 days | Door-to-door with duties covered. |
These windows cover the shipping leg only. Add your production and sampling time to plan a full timeline; our how it works page shows the complete schedule from tech pack to delivery.
Shipping to the USA
The USA is our primary market, and we ship DDP to every state. Air freight typically delivers in five to eight days, with import duties and any applicable fees handled on your behalf. Whether your brand is based in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, or anywhere between, your order arrives ready to sell.
Shipping to the UK
Since Brexit, UK imports involve VAT and customs steps that catch out many overseas sellers. Under our DDP service those steps are handled for you, so a London or Manchester brand receives goods door-to-door with nothing extra to pay on arrival. It is overseas manufacturing without the post-Brexit paperwork.
Shipping to Europe
For EU brands, we clear import into the destination country and deliver to the door with duties and VAT covered. Transit to Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, and Stockholm typically runs six to nine days by air. One DDP shipment, one clear cost, delivered to your studio or warehouse.
Packaging and Protection
Your garments ship folded and packed in your branded polybags, then boxed for transit protection. We label and document every shipment accurately for smooth customs clearance, and provide tracking so you can follow your order from factory to door. For brands that need it, we can arrange split shipments or delivery to a fulfilment centre.
Planning Around Shipping
To hit a drop date, build the shipping window into your calendar alongside sampling and production. A typical full timeline runs six to ten weeks from approved sample to delivered order. If you have a firm launch date, tell us early and we will plan production and freight to meet it. Start with a custom quote that includes DDP shipping to your city, or review MOQ and pricing to see how freight fits the total cost.
Air Freight Versus Sea Freight
Most orders move by air because speed protects a drop date, delivering in days rather than weeks. For large-volume runs where timing is flexible, sea freight lowers the freight cost per unit at the expense of a longer transit, typically several weeks door to port to door. We advise on the right mode for your order size and deadline when we quote, and both options are handled DDP with duties covered, so the choice is about time and cost, never about customs risk.
Tracking and Documentation
Every shipment is tracked and documented. We label cartons accurately, prepare the commercial invoice and customs paperwork correctly for smooth clearance, and provide tracking so you can follow your order from our factory to your door. Accurate documentation is what keeps a DDP shipment moving without hold-ups, and it is a step careless shippers skip. You always know where your order is and when it will arrive.
Split Shipments and Fulfilment
Growing brands often need flexibility in where goods land. We can split a single order across destinations, ship directly to a third-party fulfilment centre, or stage a delivery to match your launch calendar. If you sell into more than one market, we can route stock accordingly. Tell us your fulfilment setup when you order and we will plan freight around it.
Import Compliance and Labelling
Different markets have different labelling and compliance expectations, from fibre-content and care labelling to country-of-origin marking. We apply the labels your market requires as part of private-label finishing, so your garments arrive retail-ready and compliant. This matters for brands selling through retailers or marketplaces with strict intake standards, and it is built into how we finish every order. See finishing options on our clothing manufacturing hub.
Planning Your Full Timeline
Shipping is one leg of the journey, so plan it alongside sampling and production for a realistic launch date. A full timeline typically runs six to ten weeks from approved sample to delivered order. If your drop date is fixed, share it early and we will schedule production and freight to meet it. Start with a custom quote that includes DDP shipping to your city, and review the whole process on how it works.
Customs Clearance, Handled
Customs is where most overseas orders slow down, and it is exactly what DDP removes from your plate. We prepare accurate commercial invoices and customs documentation, declare goods correctly, and pay duties and taxes on your behalf, so your shipment clears without you fielding a call from a broker or a courier holding your boxes. For UK brands that means post-Brexit VAT and duty handled; for EU brands it means import cleared into the destination country; for US brands it means delivery to any state without a customs bill. You receive the goods, not the paperwork.
Protecting Your Order in Transit
Your order is packed to protect it on a long journey, boxed and cushioned so garments arrive crease-managed and clean in their branded polybags. Shipments are tracked end to end, and if a rare transit issue arises, we work with the carrier to resolve it quickly. Plan your freight window alongside production using our how it works timeline, and get a DDP-inclusive figure through our quote form.
Right-Sizing Your Freight
Not every order needs the fastest freight, and not every brand wants to wait on the cheapest, so we help you choose the mode that fits your deadline and quantity. A time-sensitive drop moves by air for delivery in days, while a large restock with a flexible date can travel by sea to lower freight cost per unit. Either way the shipment is DDP, tracked, and delivered to your door with duties handled, so the only real decision is time against cost. We recommend the right option when we quote your order through get a quote.
Shipping Built Into Every Quote
Because our quotes are DDP, shipping is never a separate worry you have to solve after production. The figure you approve already carries freight, duties, and taxes to your door, so the moment your order is made it has a clear, paid path to your address. That integration is what makes overseas manufacturing feel manageable for a brand without a logistics team. Get a DDP-inclusive figure for your city through our quote form, and plan the full timeline on how it works.