Plastic-free private label activewear. Mill and fabric.

Building a bio-based program normally means sourcing two suppliers. A fabric supplier for the bio-nylon. A separate mill for cut-and-sew. Two quotes. Two sample cycles. Two audit chains. Two chain-of-custody records. Two invoices. Two points of failure when a spring buy is on the line.

The full bio-based fabric family

OHZEHN-TEX is not a single fabric. It is a platform. Different weights, different stretch and rebound characteristics, different hand feels for different garment categories. The most-used builds in the private label program are the ones below.

For the full fiber-level story on the bio-nylon platform, see bio-based nylon for activewear and the castor-oil polyamide detail at castor-oil polyamide activewear. For the pricing math and unit economics at scale, bio-based nylon pricing. For how OHZEHN-TEX compares to alternative bio-based performance platforms, OHZEHN-TEX vs Kintra.

What a private label program looks like in practice

The most common shape is a retail buyer commissioning a private label spring or fall program. Retail target price, target margin, and buy window are fixed. The buyer wants a plastic-free story on the tag that will hold up under regulatory pressure from California, the EU, and the UK, without the price premium crushing the target margin.

The workflow:

We quote against baseline OHZEHN-TEX 220 or the relevant build.

First proto, fit review, PP sample sign-off. Every sample lab-tested in-house against retailer methods.

The brand-side version of this workflow is identical, minus the compliance-officer step. For established brands, the difference is that the plastic-free spec becomes a marketing story on the PDP, the hangtag, and the packaging.

PFAS-free manufacturing: chemistry input control, not post-testing

A PFAS-free manufacturer controls inputs upstream, screening every dye, finish, and DWR against a restricted-substances list. Post-production testing catches PFAS after money is spent. Ohzehn Textiles is PFAS-free by input design at our mill in Fuzhou. This matters for California AB 1817 (50 ppm threshold, Jan 2027) and EU REACH PFHxA (Oct 2026).

Pricing and unit economics

The premium narrows at scale as fixed knit and dye cycle costs amortize.

Garment-level premium is smaller than fabric-level premium, because fabric is only one line of the landed cost. Use the landed-cost calculator to model the full stack against your target retail price.

Retail buyers running the numbers should read the pricing thesis at bio-based nylon pricing, which lays out the cost curve and the case for pricing plastic-free programs at a modest tag premium rather than an outsize one.

Who runs the program

JJ Chen, co-founder and Chief Operations Officer.

Kelvin Liu, co-founder. Contact: hello@ohzehn.com.

Dougie Taylor, co-founder.

How to open a program

If you are a retail buyer, email Kelvin at hello@ohzehn.com with the program brief and target ship window.

Frequently asked questions

What is a plastic-free private label activewear program?

A private label program in which the retailer or brand owns the SKU and label, and the mill delivers finished garments built on plastic-free performance fabric rather than conventional polyester, nylon, or elastane.

What does 'plastic-free' actually mean at the fabric spec level?

Bio-based means the fiber content is not petroleum plastic.

What is the price premium versus conventional polyester or nylon?

The premium narrows sharply at scale.