# Transparency — Where Your ₹1,299 Goes

*Full supply chain cost breakdown of a Supima cotton t-shirt.*

*Boring Label · boringlabel.com · hello@boringlabel.com*

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## Full Cost Breakdown

Based on our MRP of ₹1,299. Every rupee accounted for.

| Category | Amount (₹) | % of MRP |
|----------|-----------|----------|
| Supima Cotton (Raw Material) | 260 | 20% |
| Pre-Shrinkage Loss (12-15%) | 35 | 2.7% |
| Knitting & Dyeing | 78 | 6% |
| Finishing (Mercerisation, Bio-polish, Enzyme Wash) | 55 | 4.2% |
| Cutting & Stitching (Skilled Labour) | 52 | 4% |
| Quality Testing & Inspection | 15 | 1.2% |
| Packaging & Labels | 18 | 1.4% |
| Transportation (Sourcing → Dyeing → Warehouse) | 45 | 3.5% |
| Shipping to Amazon FBA | 40 | 3.1% |
| Amazon Marketplace Fee (~25%) | 325 | 25% |
| Marketing & Customer Acquisition | 95 | 7.3% |
| GST (5% on MRP) | 62 | 5% |
| **Our Margin (before tax)** | **~119** | **~9.2%** |
| **Total (MRP)** | **₹1,299** | **100%** |

Our pre-tax margin is roughly ₹119 per shirt — about 9%. In an industry where brands routinely mark up 3-5x, we chose to invest in the cotton instead of the marketing.

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## Why Supima Cotton Costs More

### 1. The Cotton Itself
Supima cotton costs ₹800–1,200/kg compared to ₹200–300/kg for standard cotton. Minimum order: 1,000 kg (1 metric ton) to access 100% certified Supima.

### 2. The Shrinkage Tax
Supima naturally shrinks up to 15%. We pre-wash 2–3 times before cutting. 12–15% of raw material is lost. Most brands skip this and let customers discover the shrinkage.

### 3. Multi-Layer Finishing
Mercerisation, bio-polish, enzyme wash, compressive shrinkage — four separate finishing processes. Fast fashion uses zero.

### 4. Skilled Craftsmanship
Double-needle stitching, colour-matched thread, individual QC. 2–5% rejection rate per batch.

### 5. The Amazon Tax
30% marketplace fees + 5% GST + ~5% shipping + ~5% transportation = operating at 10–20% margin before fixed costs.

### 6. Transportation
~10% of costs go to moving materials between facilities — from cotton sourcing to dyeing units, finishing to warehouse, warehouse to Amazon FBA.

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## Production Timeline

Total: 45–55 days per batch (~4,000 t-shirts)

1. **Sourcing Supima Cotton** — 2–3 weeks (imported from USA, min 1,000 kg)
2. **Yarn Spinning** — 1 week (combed and ring-spun)
3. **Knitting** — 3–4 days (180 GSM single jersey)
4. **Pre-Shrinkage** — 2–3 days (washed 2–3 times, 12–15% material loss)
5. **Dyeing & Mercerisation** — 3–4 days (reactive dyes, 5 core colours)
6. **Finishing** — 2 days (bio-polish, enzyme wash, compressive shrinkage)
7. **Cutting, Stitching & QC** — 4–5 days (2–5% rejection rate)
8. **Packaging & Dispatch** — 3–4 days (to Amazon FBA warehouse)

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## Fast Fashion vs Boring Label

### Fast Fashion (₹499)
- Raw Material: 15% (₹75) — short-staple cotton
- Manufacturing: 10% (₹50) — no finishing
- Brand Markup: 40% (₹200) — celebrity ads, mall rent
- Retail: 30% (₹150)
- Profit: 5% (₹25)

### Boring Label (₹1,299)
- Raw Material (Supima): 20% (₹260)
- Manufacturing & Finishing: 19% (₹253)
- Transportation & Shipping: 6.5% (₹85)
- Amazon + Marketing: 32% (₹420)
- GST: 5% (₹62)
- Our Margin: ~9% (~₹119)

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**Shop:** https://amzn.to/3P2XaNk

₹1,299 · Free returns · 30 washes guaranteed

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