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Hi Aissam 😀
Here are some answers to your great questions, hope this gives you a bit more clarity:
1. For the manufacturers to give you a somewhat accurate price quote they do have to see your designs and know the fabric width and price. Yes, it is true that they could actually steal your design. You can however place a sentence in your tech packs: Confidential property of…. or have the manufacturer sign an Non disclosure agreement before they see your designs. However the manufacturers are very used to working this way, and not much is new under the sun as to say in their world. They get requests like this probably several times a day:)
2. It all depends on the MOQ and the material you are using. For a t-shirt probably somewhere in between 2-10 dollars/piece depending on the material, design etc. For a short somewhere like 5-15 dollar/ piece also depending on material and design.
3. For your weather conditions I would assume you want primarily: cooling effect and quick dry effect. Cotton mix is usually used in more casual styles and not so much for very active sweaty activities and polyester/spandex in performance apparel because of the quick dry capabilities and lightness of the material. Yes, poly/spandex in leggings is very common and a good option. Bear in mind the stretch of the different materials combined in one garment, you want them to stretch equal amount to give comfort and freedom of movement. Have you checked out Drirelease? http://drirelease.com
Polyamide is a more durable alternative to polyester. can be somewhat more expensive but a much better option in strength. Would use that for bottoms.
To develop your own material takes a long time and you need a lot of testing. There are amazing materials on the market that would make your life easier and that have been tested. For a startup I would not recommend to start developing your own materials specially if you don’t have enough material knowledge. The fabric combos you have mentioned are fine for what you are trying to achieve and you will for sure find great existing materials.
If you will work with big and known fabric suppliers there is no need to worry about this kind of thing. They have a reputation to keep and would not jeopardise this for a startup. If you are working with unknown suppliers then yes this could happen. To easier know, ask the suppliers for which brand they work with.
You need to know what you are looking for and also define what sustainability aspects you want in your manufacturing and your materials. Define for yourself what you mean by sustainable. Will you be 100% sustainable and this will be your number one priority or will you just start with using sustainable materials and manufacturing? It is better to nominate materials yourself that you have sourced to the manufacturing then let the manufacturer source locally for you. This way you have no idea of the traceability and you can literally get anything and nothing. If you can’t explain to your supplier what you want because you lack the terminology, bring competitors samples with the similar intended material. This way they will visually see what you mean and they can get a closer sourcing to your wish. Have a look at the How to start a sustainable brand webinar under Sustainability to help you get a grip of your sustainability implementation