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For a lot of people, T-shirts are a form of communication and what you wear can be as effective in expressing your lifestyle as your conversation, the places you visit and the music you like.
But the value of the printed T-shirt goes much further than that. In Australia, a young man who had been unemployed as a graphic designer for over a year was hired after the CEO of a design company saw him wearing a T-shirt he’d designed himself, on the street. There are many ways of promoting yourself, your business or your belief system through printed clothing and it can be as effective as taking out an advert in your local paper!
If you or one of your friends is a talented artist but struggles to get exhibitions or commissions, a short run of their most attractive or striking design, printed on a T-shirt, can draw public attention as well as validating their talent and making them feel that they are valued. If you are the artist, why not try to get half a dozen of your paintings, sculptures, photographs etc printed on T-shirts, and wear them to public events – many people find it difficult to promote themselves but if you’re wearing your art on your chest, it can be much easier to find a way to open the conversation about your work and maybe even make a sale or win a commission.
T-shirt printing is a cost-effective way to test the waters if you want to move into the creative industries. You don’t have to rent a shop and hire staff so the risk can be reduced. You can simply set up a cottage business selling your T-shirts on etsy or Folksy to build up a following. If you’re a naturally artistic person you’ll probably find it easy to choose the right images and T-shirt blanks to give the best impression, but it’s still worth listening to your T-shirt printer because they often have long experience in what actually works on fabric, and what doesn’t
Bands and musicians in particular benefit from having a teeshirt that promotes their name and music and allows their fans to show their loyalty to the next chart-topper.
Athletes can also show their aims and successes on teeshirts. If you’re running the London marathon or aiming to sail round the world, get some T-shirts printed with strong attractive images and a short text on the back of the tee, or underneath, saying what you are going to do – it’s a great way to pick up support and funding.
Founded in 1851 and registered as a trademark in 1871, Fruit of the Loom is one of the world’s oldest retail brands and it’s famous for its age, its stability and the way that the brand has expanded across the world and into new areas (in 2007, for example, it began to manufacture women’s underwear.
Perhaps the two most famous aspects of Fruit of the Loom though, are its logo, which was adapted from a painting produced by the daughter of one of its customers in 1856, and its guarantee: If you are not satisfied with any Fruit of the Loom product, return it to Fruit of the Loom. You will receive a new one, if available, or your money back.
Perhaps most famous for its T-shirts, Fruit of the Loom clothing is equally valuable when used for uniform and promotional clothing. This is because the unconditional guarantee, plus the excellent value for money, make Fruit of the Loom garments cost-effective as well as being stylish and durable. This makes it the first choice of many schools, allowing children to enjoy wearing stylish uniform or sports clothing while their parents can relax, secure in the knowledge that the keen pricing means it won’t cost a fortune to replace items as they are outgrown.
Fruit of the Loom also produces a great range of T-shirts and polo-shirts suitable for use as promotional clothing.
Every business owner wants his or her staff to think and act like a team player – today’s weather is a case in point: top teams have either made it to work, or where that hasn’t been possible, they’ve found ways to work at home, despite the snow, because they are committed to the company and its profitability. How do you create a team that turns up and does the job whenever possible?
Successful teams share a common characteristic – every person in the team knows their own role and understands how it fits together with the role of other team members. You can encourage this understanding by giving your team a clear and accurate job description and ensuring that it is reviewed annually. At Innocent, all team members define their own job title, such as Chief Squeezer, Happy Health Supervisor etc. While that may be too whacky for many teams, you can pick out the key skills of each staff member had have them embroidered or silk-screened onto polo or T-shirts. If one team member makes great coffee, give them a Coffee Maestro top, if another is your punctuation person, give her a Grammar Wizard polo shirt to show that her key skills is appreciated. People really shine when they know they are being recognised.
Competitive teams are a fantastic way to encourage your people to work better together. Simply divide them into two teams, one with red T-shirts one with black tees. Tell them that at the end of the quarter, the highest producing team will get a reward. At the end of three months, shift team members around, perhaps having a green team and a yellow team in polo shirts this time, making sure you mix the old teams up well and tell them that the team that saves the most money or comes up with the best recycling plan at the end of the quarter, will be the winner. Making teams on this basis allows your staff to get to know each other and think about how they can work better together.
When it comes to those rewards, think about team events such as a party, a big dinner or picnic, or other similar events that encourage the team-building behaviour to continue. Use the event to give your staff a thank you T-shirt or polo shirt that they can wear to work with a message that recognises their achievement.
Knowing what’s happening in the marketplace, and what can be expected to appear over the horizon, is key to keep your business successful. Events that can help those in the T-shirt, Corporate Clothing and Promotional Wear industries to master the future include:
January 7th – 9th 2009
PSI Düsseldorf
http://www.psionline.de/
Location: Düsseldorf Germany
28 – 29 January 2009
Trade Only National Show – Coventry
Location: Ricoh Stadium, Coventry, UK
17 – 18 February 2009
International PROMOTA Show – Birmingham
Location: NEC, Birmingham, UK
01 – 03 March 2009
Printwear & Promotion 2009 – Birmingham
Location: NEC, Birmingham, UK
http://www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
24 – 26 March 2009
Promotional Marketing Exhibition 2009 – London
Location: Royal Horticultural Halls, London, UK
http://www.promotionalmarketingexhibition.co.uk
1-2 April 2009
Workwear & Corporate
Clothing Show & Conference
Hall 10 NEC Birmingham,UK
http://www.workwearshow.co.uk
15th – 17th September 2009
PSI Paris
http://www.psi-paris.com
Trade show image courtesy of jasonebaines at flickr under a creative commons licence
is the UK’s largest online clothing wholesaler* and we are looking for partners around the world.
If you are a clothing distributor holding stocks of polo shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other clothing products, you could be the perfect partner for us. We’re seeking companies to work with in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the USA.
We offer:
The opportunity to dramatically increase your online sales
We sell your product ranges on line through our web sites
We pass the orders to you for fulfilment.
What’s the catch?
We collect payments online, deduct our commission and pass the orders to you – it’s as simple as that. There really is no catch, we are online specialist and we have customers all over the world who want to buy the products we sell, but import taxes and transport charges means that it is not economically worthwhile to supply from our UK distribution centre.
What’s your commitment?
Supply us with pictures of your product range and product description
Fulfil orders as they arrive
Answer any customer enquiries.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email: partners@polo-shirts.co.uk today!
* – based on statistics from Hitwise.co.uk
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear but also a range of ‘utility’ clothing including T-shirts, sweatshirts and other active and casualwear. Establishing in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there are Fruit of the Loom factories across the USA, South America, Europe and North Africa.
Fruit of the Loom’s main business is in manufacturing underwear, printable polo-shirts and fleece clothing. In fact they supply most of the activewear industry, casualwear, women’s jeanswear and childrenswear.
Signature Style
Because Fruit of the Loom sells its products to others ranging from major discount chains who retail it without printing, and mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and screenprinters, all of whom overprint the clothing – called blanks – before retailing it, the signature style of the company is that it has no style. It’s one of the biggest anonymous success stories in retailing – and for most people, the only time they know that their garment is Fruit of the Loom is when they look at the neck label.
Why we love them
Fruit of the Loom offers an unconditional guarantee on all the products it sells. In fact, word for word, here’s what they say: If you are not satisfied with any Fruit of the Loom product, return it to Fruit of the Loom. You will receive a new one, if available, or your money back.
The brand is also loved for its weird logo of Fruit Guys – made up of an apple, purple and green grapes, currants and leaves (yes, you’d be right to think those last three are all the same thing) its animated advertisements have been popular in the USA for decades.
Dissenting voices
Around the world, there have been concerns about this company’s overseas labour – in previous years it has been criticised by the International Textile Garments and Leather Workers Federation as having “a history of virulent anti-union activity” as well as subjecting employees to long hours, “poverty pay” and dangerous conditions. This condemnation has been particularly levelled at the El Salvador factories.
Software developers Worldweaver Ltd have a competition for the best game demo made using the DX Studio platform. It’s an ideal contest for the well-dressed geek, or perhaps the geek who would like to be well dressed! You have to unleash your inner gamer and come up with a complete demo by 20th December and the prizes are impressive: the winner gets £1,000 cash, a Commercial Pro DX Studio license (whatever that means) and a limited edition DX Studio Polo Shirt and USB key. Runners up will receive a Non-commercial Pro DX Studio license, Polo-Shirt and USB key. Winners will be announced on 22nd December. More details at www.dxstudio.com
And a Hawaiian shirt company has broken its own world record. Hilo Hattie made the world’s largest Aloha shirt in 1999 and this year they have repeated the challenge, making a sixteen foot tall shirt to celebrate the University of Hawaii – exactly why the university should be celebrated this year isn’t clear, but the shirt big and bright and definitely not the kind of thing you should wear in the workplace if you’re hoping for promotion!
Stand bookings for the 2009 Workwear & Corporate Clothing Show organised by are gaining momentum. Compared to last September, stand bookings are up by over 60% and 80% more net space has been sold, showing that this area of British manufacture, trade and retail is on the up.
The 2009 show takes place at
The associated 2009 Conference will address one of the most important issues facing workwear and corporate garment manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and buyers today: sustainability. It starts on 2nd April and will bring together ten inspiring speakers to present on the three key areas of sustainability: environment, social and economy
There’s been a scandal about pictures taken of Prince Harry playing polo which were blown up and used by polo and sportswear brand Hackett as part of an advertising campaign. The posters of the Prince were fifteen feet tall and were displayed at the Soto Grande Polo tournament in
The Hackett brand is a sponsor of the polo tournament, but the posters didn’t mention this, seeming instead to imply that Prince Harry was endorsing the brand’s clothing line. There’s no information yet as to whether Hackett intends to use the picture which shows a moody looking Harry, hands on hips, in a dramatically lit moment, in magazine or billboard advertising.
The Palace has made a strongly worded statement saying that posing for snaps with a sponsor is one thing but ending up ‘on a socking great advert’ is something else. Harry’s Clarence House office also confirmed that the Prince has not been consulted about the use of the image and would not have given his consent.
Prince Harry courtesy of Hackett blog
The hutongs (alleys to you and me) of Beijing have a new police force – of sorts. They are called ‘Public Security Volunteers’ and there are more than 400,000 of them – arranged into neighbourhood groups that are serving the Olympic security forces which include a mixture of police, over 100,000 ‘counter-terror troops’ and more than 300,000 CCTV cameras. The PSVs patrol litter-dropping, inappropriate clothing and spitting in the street – but by the locals, not the expected foreign visitors! Despite the attempt to distinguish the new PSVs from the old ‘neighbourhood committee’ by giving the new volunteers a snazzy red and white striped polo-shirt to wear when ‘on duty’, there’s a lot of concern in the populace – the former committees were a mixture of spies and party members who reported on the irregular activities of their neighbours, and caused many a midnight arrest or disappearance for ‘re-education’.
The PSV polo-shirts are a big sign of changing China – they are sponsored by the Yanjing beer company, which would have been unthinkable a decade ago, and while every volunteer has been given one, less than half actually wear them. The other half have been put on the black market, still in their original wrappings, as part of the
Beijing street cleaners in new uniforms
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