Tet 2027 and Garment Production: A Planning Calendar for Apparel Buyers
Tet falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027. For apparel buyers producing in Vietnam, the date on the calendar is the smallest part of the story. Factory output slows in the weeks before the holiday, Chinese fabric mills close at the same time, and full production capacity takes weeks to return afterward. Buyers who plan around the whole disruption ship on schedule. Buyers who plan around the official days off usually find the gap was far wider.
This guide sets out the 2027 dates, explains why the production impact runs well beyond the holiday itself, and works backward from Tet to the decisions buyers need to make this autumn. The dates below are planning ranges based on typical Vietnam export factories. Every program should confirm its own dates with its production partner.
Who this guide is for
Brands, uniform programs, and institutional buyers with production planned in Vietnam between December 2026 and April 2027, typically at 3,000 or more units per style. Programs of that size carry the most exposure to the Tet calendar, because they need the most fabric, the most line time, and the longest runway.
When Tet Falls in 2027
Tet, the Lunar New Year, is Vietnam's most important holiday and the single largest interruption on the country's production calendar. In 2027 the first day of the new year falls on Saturday, February 6. Chinese New Year falls on the same day.
The official public holiday schedule for 2027 has not been finalized. Vietnam's government sets the Tet holiday each year, usually announcing it between October and December. Two options have been proposed: seven days, from Thursday, February 4 through Wednesday, February 10, or ten days, from Friday, February 5 through Sunday, February 14. The seven-day option has the support of the national labor federation. We will update this guide when the schedule is confirmed.
Fixed dates
Tet and Chinese New Year: Saturday, February 6, 2027. Lantern Festival, when many Chinese mills resume full operation: Saturday, February 20, 2027.
Pending
Official Vietnam holiday: February 4 to 10 (seven days) or February 5 to 14 (ten days). Expected to be confirmed between October and December 2026.
Either way, the planning answer barely changes. The official holiday accounts for one to two weeks. The effect on production runs closer to six.
Why the Production Impact Runs Longer Than the Holiday
Much of Vietnam's garment workforce comes from rural provinces and works in the industrial zones around Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and other production centers. Tet is when workers travel home, often for the only extended family visit of the year. That movement shapes the factory calendar on both sides of the holiday. Our guide to seasonal production planning covers how Tet fits into the wider booking cycle; the points below are specific to 2027.
Before Tet: output tapers
In the two weeks before the holiday, workers begin leaving early, line efficiency drops, and factories concentrate on finishing orders already in progress. New cutting largely stops. For 2027, buyers should treat late January as the end of normal output, not February 4.
After Tet: capacity returns in stages
Most factories reopen within about a week after the official holiday ends, but reopening and full output are different milestones. Line teams take time to reassemble, and a share of workers change employers after the holiday, so factories hire and train replacements before lines return to full speed. A recovery period of two to three weeks is typical. For 2027, full capacity is most likely in early March.
Upstream: Chinese mills close at the same time
Vietnam imports a large share of its apparel fabric, much of it from China. Chinese mills wind down in late January and many do not return to full operation until after the Lantern Festival on February 20. Fabric that has not shipped from China by mid-January is unlikely to reach a Vietnamese cutting table before March. A factory can restart on schedule and still have nothing to cut.
Freight: space tightens before the holiday
Exporters across the region try to ship before the break, so container space and trucking capacity tighten from mid-January. Freight for pre-Tet shipments should be booked as early as the production schedule allows.
The 2027 Planning Calendar, Working Backward
The most reliable way to plan around Tet is to start from the last practical ex-factory date and work backward through each stage. The stage durations below match the ranges in our guide to apparel production lead times in Vietnam: bulk production of four to six weeks, final inspection of one to two weeks, and custom fabric lead times of eight to twelve weeks.
Late September to early October
Practical cut-off for ordering custom-dyed or custom-developed fabric for a pre-Tet shipment. Custom fabric ordered after mid-October is unlikely to arrive and pass inspection in time.
Early November
Practical cut-off for stock fabric orders, and the point to confirm the factory has booked line time for the program before Tet.
Mid to late November
Pre-production samples approved and trims confirmed. Bulk cannot start until the sample approval is complete.
Early December
Bulk fabric received and inspected at the factory. Cutting begins by about December 7 for a program of average complexity.
December 7 to January 15
Bulk production. Buyer-side questions and approvals should be cleared by December 18, before the Western year-end holidays slow responses.
January 11 to 22
Final inspection and packing. About January 22 is the last practical ex-factory date before output tapers.
Late January to February 14
Pre-holiday slowdown, then the official holiday. Chinese mills are closed or winding down across this entire window.
February 15 to early March
Factories reopen and rebuild line teams. Chinese mills resume after February 20. Full capacity is most likely in early March.
For a pre-Tet shipment with custom fabric, the most important decisions of the season are made in early autumn.
Two Ways to Plan Around the Shutdown
Every program producing in this window takes one of two paths. The choice depends mostly on fabric: where it comes from, and whether it is already on order.
Ship before Tet
Suited to programs with fabric ordered by early October, approved samples by late November, and a delivery need in February or March. Requires firm quantities now and a booked production window before the holiday rush fills it.
Start after Tet
Suited to programs still finalizing fabric or samples. Use the holiday period for development, place fabric so it arrives in early March, and plan bulk production from mid-March with ex-factory in April.
The riskiest position sits between the two: a program that aims for pre-Tet production but commits too late to secure fabric and line time. That program typically starts cutting in January, loses its line when the workforce leaves, and finishes in March anyway, at higher cost and with a split shipment. Deciding early which path a program is on is the single most useful planning step a buyer can take this autumn.
Pricing follows the same logic. Capacity in the pre-Tet window is in high demand, and factories price accordingly. Programs planned into the post-Tet restart often negotiate from a stronger position, a point covered in our guide to apparel costing and FOB pricing.
What to Settle Before the Holiday
Whichever path a program takes, the following should be confirmed before factories close. Each item is harder to resolve once the holiday begins, and several depend on people who will be away for two weeks or more.
- Production path: pre-Tet or post-Tet, agreed with the factory in writing.
- Fabric position: mill, order date, and ship date for every fabric, with Chinese-sourced fabric flagged separately.
- Specifications: a production-ready tech pack and approved samples, so no open questions sit unanswered during the break.
- Inspection and freight: final inspection dates and container bookings for any pre-Tet shipment.
- Restart plan: for post-Tet programs, the expected reopening date, when full capacity returns, and when fabric will be in-house.
- Contacts: who is reachable on each side during the holiday, and how urgent issues will be handled.
The approval gap
Western buyers often underestimate how much of the pre-Tet window overlaps with their own year-end holidays. A program in bulk production from early December loses about two weeks of buyer response time between Christmas and New Year, just as the factory is working toward its last ex-factory date. Clearing approvals by mid-December keeps that overlap from costing the shipment.
Repeat Programs Have the Advantage
Factories allocate the pre-Tet window to programs they know. A style with graded patterns, approved fabric sources, and trained operators needs almost no ramp-up, which makes it the lowest-risk booking a factory can take during its busiest weeks. Buyers running repeat production programs in Vietnam can usually secure pre-holiday capacity with less notice than a new program, and they restart faster afterward because the line already knows the product.
For buyers launching a new program in Vietnam this season, the post-Tet path is often the better plan. It gives time for development, sampling, and fabric sourcing without compressing them into the busiest weeks of the year.
How Pham Fashion House Plans Around Tet
Pham Fashion House is a New York-based apparel production partner with operations in Vietnam. Tet planning is part of how we build every production calendar in the second half of the year. We confirm the holiday schedule and restart dates with each factory in our network, track fabric positions against the Chinese mill closure, and set approval deadlines with buyers well before either side's holidays begin.
For buyers weighing pre-Tet or post-Tet production, we can review the program, the fabric position, and the delivery need, and recommend the path that fits. Programs we manage typically start at 3,000 units per style, and an accurate timeline depends on finalized tech packs, quantity targets, and materials direction.
Vietnam apparel production partner
Planning production around Tet 2027?
Pham Fashion House helps established brands, uniform programs, and institutional buyers plan and manage garment production in Vietnam, including timelines built around the Tet shutdown. Programs typically start at 3,000+ units per style.
Plan Your Program