where can i purchase wholesale garments?

November 17, 2012 3:33 PM

I live in Canada. I am not a business. I would like to find trustworthy, extremely cost-effective companies from which I can purchase wholesale (by dozens or hundreds, not thousands, and with low or no minimum purchase) quantities of the following items:

Winter hats
Winter gloves
Wool, lined socks
Chemical hand-warmers
Chemical footwarmers
Scarves
Long underwear
Thermal undershirts
Very warm, very lightweight, very compact, very portable blankets
Sanitary napkins
Moist towelettes
Travel first aid kits

Ideally, I want (a) supplier(s) with a website, and I don't want to register with them to see the prices on their site. But if they're not online, that's ok too.

I would prefer if they are in Canada because shipping for this stuff is already gonna be a bitch. I'm going to be paying for all of this out of pocket and I won't be earning anything back, so the absolute lowest possible prices are a high priority.

Thanks!

posted by windykites to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Best answer: I have ordered variations of your list in Canada, and I think you best bet is to contact companies with your list and tell them what you stated here re cost, shipping and out of pocket expense and ask for a quote. Here are the ones I would start with:
IRL
Commercial Solutions
Deakin Equipment
posted by Snazzy67 at 3:54 PM on November 17, 2012

Best answer: For the clothing items, blankets and first aid kits, you should find a promotional products company in your town. There are dozens of them out there and they will sell you unbranded items. Quantity discounts are available. You can find someone near you at www.promocan.com . Heck show them your whole list, they may be able to help you with most of it.
posted by Deodand at 3:56 PM on November 17, 2012

Best answer: MEC carries nearly all the stuff you're after. Maybe you could ask them about getting a deal on seconds, returns and discontinued items. They may be able to hook you up with some of their suppliers too.
posted by islander at 5:19 PM on November 17, 2012

Best answer: If there's somewhere that the only barrier is that you're an individual and not a business, you can register a business name as a sole proprietor (not a corporation or a trademark, basically just a legal alias for your personal name) such as Windykite Productions. In Ontario this costs $60 (for five years) and you can have it done in ten minutes on the web site.
posted by winston at 7:44 PM on November 17, 2012

Best answer: I know it doesn't seem like it anymore, but if you think back, this is what Costco is for.
posted by Kololo at 9:45 PM on November 17, 2012

Response by poster: I've never been to Costco. Do they have this kind of stuff?
posted by windykites at 7:18 AM on November 18, 2012

Best answer: My Costco in Seattle has hats, gloves, wool socks, chemical warmers, scarves, thermal underwear, sanitary napkins, and baby wipes. The other items may be available, but I specifically know that those are. I just bought a ton of wool socks, at three pairs for $10 they're a great deal.
posted by KathrynT at 10:28 AM on November 18, 2012

Try a company like this. This site doesn't seem to have much of an online option but does seem to have a lot of the materials you are looking for, as it is an industrial safety type of store. This is located in Atlantic Canada but there are probably similar companies all over. We easily ordered some chemical ice packs (the ones you snap to activate) in bulk, but only about 30 of them.
posted by sarae at 12:03 PM on November 18, 2012

Are you looking to give these items away? Talk to MEC about their community funding programs.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 12:51 PM on November 18, 2012

In general, you can safely assume that Costco has EVERYTHING.
posted by Kololo at 4:25 PM on November 19, 2012