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Wednesday, 26 September 2012

Eight Things to Consider When Buying Reunion T-Shirts

If you're planning a reunion (or any event) for the coming year, there are a million decisions to make. One important decision is what you will provide for a keepsake item. The goal is to make the reunion a fun, relaxed, carefree time, (with high attendance and participation) enjoyed by all. Making keepsake items as meaningful and personal as possible can be a motivator for participation so it's important to give attendees something that is stylish, functional and affordable.

Custom printed reunion t-shirts and caps are popular choices for keepsakes because they are all of the above. When ordering for a large group, it's important to keep costs down while obtaining quality merchandise and planning is the key to success.

It doesn't take much imagination to think of issues that can occur when ordering custom t-shirts for a large group. Talk to any reunion planner and they will probably agree that ordering shirts for a large group can be a challenge. I'm sure that if you talked to enough planners, you would hear stories about misspelled names printed on shirts, or ones where planners didn't order enough shirts to go around. You could hear even more about planners who waited until the last minute to order, who pulled their hair out trying to find a "fast" printing service with overnight delivery.

Each group has their own way of selecting and distributing these items to members. The most important message is to plan as early as possible and look at more than one factor (not only price) in selecting shirts for your group. Here are some tips; especially if you're new to reunion planning, that might save you both money and headaches.

When looking at t-shirts, first consider your group and your budget. What does your group like, in terms of style, quality, colors, etc? How much can you afford to spend per shirt? Check catalogs and online for shirts that you think will fit your needs.

When looking at shirts, consider fabric weight, colors and sizes available, delivery charges, quantity discounts, production costs (which includes artwork costs) and the base price.

Fabric weight. The weight provides an indication of the number of ounces per yard of material. For example, you may see a 5.4 oz. 100% cotton shirt. That means that the shirt provides 5.4 ounces per yard of fabric and will be a lighter material than a shirt that's say 6.1 ounces. The 5.4 oz shirt will be a good quality, middle weight shirt that works well in hotter temperatures. The 6.1 ounce shirt is considered a premium weight shirt and will be absorbent, while holding more heat. For a cotton shirt, it's good to make sure that it's pre-shrunk so that when it's washed there is minimal shrinkage.

Colors and sizes are important in terms of price. Shirts in colors are generally more expensive than white shirts. Some shirts have mid level pricing for "heathered" colors, like heather gray, ash etc. So if you're looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality, look at purchasing white (or heathered/neutral) shirts. In many cases, shirts that are larger in size than an extra large (XL) will cost more per shirt. Tall sizes are also extra in many cases. Also not all shirt styles are available in plus and tall sizes.

If you need to provide shirts for a wide range of sizes there are some shirt lines that carry "companion" shirts for men, women and children that are available in a range from youth to plus and tall. Don't mix brands if possible, choose shirts in the same brand with a wide range of sizes to keep colors consistent. Look at the available sizes and any additional costs for sizing when choosing your shirt.

Delivery time and charges can add tremendously to the cost. Planning ahead and ordering in plenty of time makes delivery a snap. Most companies provide expedited shipment that includes overnight and 2 or 3 day delivery... for a hefty fee. The shorter the delivery time, the more you pay.

Don't assume that the minute you hit the send button on your online order, or when you hang up from your phone order, that the delivery clock starts ticking. For example, if a company says the production time is seven days, don't assume that you can order seven days before your event and have shirts in hand to distribute.

Production time is the time it takes to print the item, and it's totally separate from delivery time. Production time is in working days and does not usually include weekends, holidays and peak times when the printer has more items to print. Once the item is produced (printed), it then leaves the factory via UPS, US Mail, FedEx, etc. for delivery to your location. Depending on your location and the service you select, it could take up to an additional ten days for your packages to arrive.

Also, it may take time for the printer to make any changes needed to make your art file camera ready. Plan to order t-shirts (and other custom printed items) at least 2-3 months before the date of your event. If in doubt, ask your printer.

Quantity discounts commonly apply for larger orders. The more items you order, the more you save. This is the tricky part of ordering t-shirts for a group that most people don't think about until they are actually ready to order.

How many size adult small, medium, larges, etc do you order? How many youth small, medium and larges do you order? How many plus and tall sizes do you order? Do you estimate the quantity and sizes and hope for the best or do you survey your group to determine what they want?

A rule of thumb in ordering for a group is to plan (there's that word again) in plenty of time to obtain information for decision making. It's important to know as far ahead as possible how many people will want t-shirts, how many and what sizes for each person, including any children (teens, youth and infants) that might be participating in your event.

Sending out surveys or order forms early in the process, will give you hard numbers that make it easier to determine what is needed and allows you to take advantage of quantity discounts. It also keeps you from being left with a large number of shirts after the reunion is over or worse, not having enough for all attendees. You can order a few extras for any unplanned guests that may show up at the last minute. But at least you won't order 200 shirts and be left with 100 or vice versa.

Production costs include the base price of the item (the shirt), the cost to set up equipment, run charges and art charges.

Set up charges are the costs associated with setting up equipment to print artwork onto your shirts or other items. There is usually a set up charge associated with each color and each location in your imprint. That's because as part of the printing process, multiple colored designs have to be separated into four colors (CMYK) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). You're charged for the resources needed to set each of those colors. This process also has to happen for each location in your imprint. In selecting a shirt, look at the set up charge for printing your items, the number of locations you want for your imprint and the number of colors in your imprint (up to four) and start adding. The cost for multiple color, multiple location imprints can add up really fast.

To save on printing production costs, you might consider having a one color imprint or reduce the colors to fewer than four. You might also consider having your imprint in one location.

Artwork can be your own design, as simple as your reunion name and date to a complex graphic design, logo, family crest or emblem. Most printing companies will have stock designs or graphic design services available, from supplying basic lettering to full service design. If you have an artistic person in your group, solicit their services or have a logo contest and select judges from your group to determine which design to use. Another option would be to hire your own graphic designer.

Artwork proofs. It's best to ask for a proof of your imprint before your artwork is finalized (if using a paid professional) and after it is received by your printer, before your shirts go into printing production. Some companies will provide proofs for free and others will charge a fee. Most firms will fax or email a proof, which shows the layout and wording used in your imprint. In my opinion proofs are worth every penny you spend for them, because you can make sure that everything is spelled correctly and arranged the way you want.

With most printing companies, it is your responsibility to make sure the artwork is correct and they won't be responsible for any misspellings or layout issues after the fact. Don't assume that they will offer a proof, but make sure to ask for one. To make sure that your imprint turns out the way you want, have several people from your group to proofread to make sure it's OK before giving the go ahead for printing the final product.

T-shirt funding. How are you going to pay for your t-shirts and other reunion keepsake items? One option is to take orders and receive payment before the reunion, in time to place your order. Upon arrival to the reunion, everyone gets the shirt (probably along with other goodies) in a nice little package with other reunion information like programs, maps, etc. This option provides the best way to determine the correct number of shirts and sizes needed, and it will allow you to take advantage of quantity discounts.

Another option is to include the shirt pricing in reunion dues for the year. Make the dues enough so that you have enough money about two or three months ahead of the reunion to order shirts. Everyone that pays the reunion fees or dues gets a shirt.

You can always use money from fundraisers held throughout the year to pay for the shirts. As a matter of fact, t-shirts, caps, videos of past reunions, cookbooks, key chains, buttons, and other items are excellent fund raising tools. They can be sold before, during or between reunions to keep cash flowing. Put nostalgic photos from the "good ole days" on items and sell them for a small fee. The key is in finding items that are low enough in price to purchase so that you will make a profit, and an attractive design that will sell.

Sometimes local businesses and even national chains will buy ad space in programs or on t-shirts in exchange for advertising. If your reunion group is large enough, it might be worth it to talk to businesses that cater to tourists. They may place an ad with your group and offset some of the cost of printing your shirts.

These are some ideas for planning and saving money on t-shirts and other custom printed items. We have a number of quality shirts and other items available online right now. Use our site, that's packed with reunion apparel and other promotional items for every need. It's never too early to start planning and ordering.

A History of the T-shirt

Know the history of the tee? How did the t-shirt get its start in the beginning of the twentieth century? How did the t-shirt become an American favorite? We're now into the twenty-first century, and the t-shirt remains as popular as ever.

T-shirts of yesteryear were nothing like the t-shirts you know today. It was common knowledge that the first t-shirts, as you will learn, were clearly considered something to be worn underneath clothing. Certainly, the t-shirts of old were not part of a stand-alone industry, nor were they a mode of advertising.

Believe it or not, before the 20th century, there was no consensus that underwear should be included as an essential part of one's wardrobe. Most late 19th century folks wore something like an extended shirt called the "Spiral Bustle." Then in 1901 the predecessor to Hanes introduced for sale through catalog men's underwear, a two-piece set.

The birth of the t-shirt appears to be accredited to the navy (and lots of sailors). No one seems to know for certain when the first t-shirt was made. As early as 1913 the U.S. Navy adopted a revolutionary new garment, a short-sleeved, crew-necked, white cotton undershirt. This garment was to be worn underneath a jumper. And what was the purpose of this undershirt? One must avoid scandalous sights, otherwise known as sailors' chest hairs. The standard issue shirt had somewhat of the silhouette of a "T", thus the name "t-shirt" was born.

It is also notable that during WWI while European soldiers were wearing cooler, comfy, lightweight, cotton undershirts in the humid, hot summer days, that American troops took notice. These duds were nothing like the American wool uniforms soldiers wore.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary listed "T-Shirt" as an official word in the American English language by the 1920's. Around the late 1930's that companies including Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Sears & Roebuck began the marketing of the t-shirt.

As of W.W. II, the Army and 12 million Navy sailors had t-seasy rider,hirts as standard issue underwear. "Skivvies", these new, inexpensive undergarments became known as. America saw, began to get comfortable with, and reveled secretly, daily news images of their wartime sons, wearing t-shirts (dressed barely, but with pants of course). Underwear was being worn as outerwear. Rules were flaunted about undergarments. Taboos were violated with this show of male sexuality.

Still, by and large, the t-shirt was an undergarment meant not to be seen. In 1934, however, Clark Gable shocked everyone, as he stripped off his dress shirt in the movie "It Happened One Night," to reveal no t-shirt at all. Women swooned, and men as well. Still, the t-shirt kept itself under wraps, to be worn primarily underneath a work or proper dress shirt.

The idea continued to quickly catch on, and due to simple design, a few years later, with the leave of many sailors during the war, the popular civilian "union suit" was reduced to a "singlet" or "jersey." In 1938, Sears introduced a t-shirt they called a "gob" shirt (named after sailors). A "gob" shirt cost 24 cents. The t-Shirt would become an empty canvas, which was allowing men to present themselves in an erotic sense and show their gender.

The t-shirt was becoming appropriate to wear as an undergarment or as an outer one. The Marines standard issue white t-shirt was replaced with sage green for camouflage purposes. In 1944, the Army surveyed enlisted men as to preference of sleeves or sleeveless. Most preferred sleeves, due to better appearance, absorption under arms, among other reasons.

The t-shirt would never be the same. Along with worldwide upheaval, WWII brought along as well the first printed t-shirts. On display at The Smithsonian Institute is the oldest printed shirt on record. This t-shirt is from Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign and sports "Dew-It with Dewey".

After the end of WWII, the t-shirt became the garment able to clearly display and advertise it all: cultural affiliation, class, and sexual orientation. 180 million t-shirts were sold in 1951. The rise of the t-Shirt can be traced back to the movies, and of course those big-screen movie stars: Marlon Brando, John Wayne, James Dean, and a young Elvis Presley who did their part to make the t-shirt, outerwear appropriate, or sexy to say the least.

1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire" featured Marlon Brando's portrayal of Stanley Kowalski, lovelorn, brutish, and primitive, riveting viewers as his buff pectorals and abs revealed themselves as unveiled by a stretched, paper-thin t-shirt. Some felt the picture created was one of a dangerous, incoherent kind of manhood, a sexualized brutality.

1955's "Rebel Without a Cause" showed James Dean wearing a t-shirt without another shirt overtop. He made the t-shirt cool, a contemporary symbol of rebellious youth. Still, t-shirts were meant primarily for men.

In 1959, Plastisol, a stretchable ink was invented, starting a revolution in t-shirt design. After that came the iron-on transfer, and finally litho transfer. Thus was the birth of the t-shirt industry. Now marketing geniuses, like Walt Disney, "flocked" letters and simple designs onto t-shirts to be sold as souvenirs to both men and women.

Still the advertising evolution of the t-shirt would be slow. The military was first to stencil company and rank on their t-shirts. Also, Ivy League Universities made clear advertisement of fraternities on their tees. Budweiser was the first to do actual "corporate-advertising" in the late 1060's, when they sported a Bud can on their company tees.

During the '60s, the hippies abandoned traditional dress for tie-dye. Of course, the t-shirt became one of the cheapest and easiest garments to purchase and dye. Folks began tie-dying and screen-printing basic cotton tees, helping it to even bigger commercial success. In 1969, t-shirt wearing hippies took on the Establishment in Easy Rider. Also, advances in printing and dying allowed more variety and the introduction of muscle shirts, scoop necks, v-necks and tanks into modern fashion.

Throughout the late 60's and 70's, the American Tee was in full bloom. Rock and Roll bands began to realize that they could make significant amounts of money selling their t-shirts. Professional Sports caught on and soon the officially licensed t-shirt became hot merchandise. 1977's "The Deep", helped to form the sexual revolution of the 1970's by means of Jacqueline Bisset's wet tee.

What about the t-shirt in the '80's and '90's? Remember Don Johnson's designer-tee and Armani suit combo ala Miami Vice? And what about the most memorable recent tee-film from 1996 "Mission: Impossible", just a bit of Tom Cruise, clad in tee, doing some serious hanging from a wire. The 80's and 90's both saw amazing production of t-shirts with improved mechanics of printing them in increased volume for increased availability. The American t-shirt has now become known as a commodity item. More than one billion t-shirts were sold in 1995.

And now, with the advent of the internet, the t-shirt continues to become even bigger. Tee art symbolizes the cultural and social climates of our generation. Tees tell the story perfectly, and now more than ever, the t-shirt is becoming an even more individualistic mode of personal expression.

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T-Shirts - Common Terms Explained

T-shirt manufacturers use many terms to describe their products. The terms are not always consistent and it helps to have a reference guide.

The following is the official Green Man T-Shirts Guide to understanding t-shirt terms:

20s, 20/1, 20s single: Unit of measurement that defines the fineness of cotton thread. A standard spool of single-ply cotton thread is comprised of 840 yards of cotton thread. If it takes 20 spools to weigh one pound, then the thread on those spools is referred to as 20s cotton, or 20/1. If 30 spools weigh one pound, then the thread on those spools is referred to as 30s cotton thread, or 30/1. If it takes 40 spools to weigh one pound, then the thread on those spools is referred to as 40s cotton, or 40/1. The higher number means a finer thread, and thus a finer, softer fabric is created. T-shirts made of 30s and 40s are softer, finer, and have better drape than t-shirts made of 20s. The terms are used many ways, but it's the number that counts; "20s," "20/1," and "20 singles" are the same. Threads can be twisted together into thicker strands. If two 20/1 cotton threads were twisted together, it would be referred to as 20/2.

Bamboo Fabric: Rayon made from bamboo cellulose. Although rayon is a man-made synthetic material, most experts agree it is readily biodegradable. Bamboo fabric is extremely soft and has excellent drape.

Bamboo: Fast growing plant, classified as a grass, which can be readily processed into rayon to make bamboo rayon clothing.

Bleach Wash: A process that uses bleach to soften and distress the look of the fabric being washed.

Boat Neck: A very wide neckline that runs across the collarbone area to the shoulder points. Derives from early sailors' shirts, where the wide neck enabled quick removal if the sailor fell overboard.

Boy Beater: Women's fashion answer to the wife beater. A women's tank top, although it can be any color.

Brushed Cotton: A method to remove excess lint and fibers from cotton fabric. Brushed cotton usually has a very soft, smooth finish.

Burn-Out: A process that uses sulfuric acid or other strong acid to "burn-out" parts of a fabric knit, usually a polyester/cotton blend. The process gives a see-through, very sheer effect.

Cap Sleeves: Usually refers to shorter sleeves on women's garments.

Carbon Dioxide: CO2. A chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. Known as a "greenhouse" gas because of its relationship with global warming. A few t-shirt manufacturers are now measuring and recording the CO2 emissions involved in manufacturing their shirts.

Carbon Trust: Independent organization founded in 2001 in Great Britain that monitors carbon emissions. The Carbon Trust works with companies to help reduce their carbon footprint, and now certifies companies and products as having a "low carbon" or "no carbon" footprint. A few t-shirt companies now manufacture "low carbon footprint" t-shirts.

Carding: A fiber cleaning process that eliminates short fibers and removes dirt and foreign matter. Carding can be done by hand or by large machines using drum rollers. Carded-only cotton is not as desirable as combed cotton.

Cellulase Wash: Another name for enzyme wash. This gives fabric a soft feel and a vintage look, depending on how the wash is done.

Cellulose: Derived from the cell walls of certain plants. Useful in making certain types of fabrics, including acetate, triacetate, and rayon. Bamboo fabric is actually rayon made from bamboo cellulose.

Cheap Cotton T-Shirt: T-shirts made with carded cotton, using 18/1 thread, usually knitted on 20 gauge machines. These t-shirts are coarse, rough, and have poor drapability. Used often as cheap promotional give-aways.

Climate Neutral: A term used to describe a company, process, or product that has zero impact on the Earth's climate. A few t-shirt manufacturers advertise their company as climate neutral.

CO2: Carbon dioxide. A chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. Known as a "greenhouse" gas because of its relationship with global warming.

Colorfastness: The ability of a garment to withstand multiple washings without losing its color.

Combed Cotton: A method to remove short fibers and to arrange longer fibers parallel to create a smooth, fine cotton yarn. Combed cotton has high strength, excellent uniformity, and better hand. Combed cotton costs more and is used in finer t-shirts.

Compacting: A process that compacts the space between cotton fiber pockets. Helps to reduce shrinking.

Contrasting Stitching: Stitching with a different color than the garment. Gives a nice design detail in t-shirts.

Control Union: An international organization that offers certification services for a variety of programs--including many organic certification programs. Certifies USDA Organic, as well as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

Cotton Jersey: Knitted, very slightly stretchy fabric with a smooth flat face and a more textured but uniform back. Average weight per yard is about 5.5 to 6 ounces. Basic t-shirts are made of cotton jersey. Fine cotton jersey is usually smoother and has a lighter weight per yard.

Cotton: A natural fiber that is the most popular in the world for fabrics. Cotton fibers are usually ½ to 2 inches long. Longer fibers produce finer cotton fabric. Varieties such as Pima and Egyptian, which feature fibers exceeding 1.5 inches, are more highly valued than ordinary varieties.

Crew Neck: A round close-fitting neckline. Most common neck on t-shirts.

Crop Top: A shirt with a short body to it; made to expose the midriff area.

Double-Needle Stitched: Used mostly on sleeve/bottom hems and refers to a parallel row of stitching. This type of stitching gives durability and a cleaner, more finished look.

Drape, Drapability: Refers to how a fabric hangs. A fabric like bamboo rayon has excellent drape, while a coarse fabric like burlap has very little. T-shirts that have good drape qualities feel nicer to wear.

Drop Tail: A garment that features a longer back than front.

Eco-Friendly: Extremely loose term that refers to a product's "greenness." Almost useless in realistically assessing a product. Favorite term used by green washers.

Egyptian Cotton: Cotton produced in Egypt and valued for its long length of fiber. Apparel made with true Egyptian cotton is prized for its softness and fineness.

Environmental Justice Foundation: A registered charity established in 2000 to help people who suffer most from environmental abuses such as pesticide poisoning, water depletion, and soil destruction. Especially active in curbing abuses in cotton farming.

Enzyme Washed: A wash process using special enzymes to produce a soft finish and smooth look to a fabric. Ages dyes to create a special look to dyed fabrics. Enzyme washing is physically less harsh on the fabric compared to stone washing.

European Cut: A style of t-shirt that is narrower than what one normally finds. For example, a full cut men's t-shirt, size large, usually runs 22 inches across the chest (measured one inch below the sleeve). A men's large European cut will run about half an inch to 1 inch narrower, sometimes more.

Fabric Dyed: Fabric dyed before being cut and sewn into a finished piece of clothing.

Fair Labor Association: A nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sweatshop conditions in factories worldwide. Works to develop Code of Labor Practices, especially important in the apparel business where working conditions have historically been so poor.

Fair Wear Foundation: An international group dedicated to enhancing garment workers' lives all over the world. Works with companies that produce clothing and other sewn products and that take responsibility for their supply chain.

Fine Cotton Jersey: Knitted, very slightly stretchy fabric with a smooth flat face and a more textured but uniform back. Fine cotton jersey is usually smoother and has a lighter weight per yard than regular cotton jersey. T-shirts made with fine cotton jersey have a better drape and feel than regular t-shirts. Usually made with 30s and higher cotton thread, and weighs about 4.3 ounces per square yard.

Fitted Cut: Definitions vary, but generally a fitted cut refers to a cut that flatters the body. Used often in women's t-shirts, the middle section of the shirt will be tighter than the top or bottom. Overall, the shirts run narrower than a basic full cut.

Full Cut: A generous, roomy cut. In t-shirts, tubular styles are generally considered full-cut, but there are exceptions. Full Cut differs from the slimmer European Cuts, Slim Cuts, and Fitted Cuts.

Garment Dyed: Clothing dyed after it has been cut and sewn into a finished article of clothing.

Garment Washed: A process where finished articles of clothing are washed, usually with added softeners to improve the feel and look of the fabric.

GMO Free: GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. First used in the 1990s when consumers became worried about genetically modified food. Many companies now apply the GMO free label on everything from food to natural fabrics, like cotton.

GOTS: Stands for Global Organic Textile Standard. A project of the International Working Group. They have developed standards to ensure organic status of textiles, from the harvesting, manufacturing, and labeling, in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer. An organic t-shirt that meets the standards can be GOTS certified.

Green: Generic term used by marketing gurus to promote products. Another favorite term of "green-washers," who are hopping on the environmental bandwagon without any real commitment.

Green-Washing: Take off on the term "white-washing," but in an environmental context. Companies that green-wash are paying lip-service to environmental concerns to attract more business, but haven't taken any real steps to be environmentally responsible.

Hand: The way a fabric feels to the touch. A fabric that feels soft and smooth is considered to have a good hand.

Hemp Fabric: Hemp, or Cannabis sativa, has been used for fabric for thousands of years, mostly as an industrial fabric. Newer processing methods have made it suitable for finer clothing, and now it is used in many clothing articles, including t-shirts. Hemp is valued for its strength and durability.

Henley T-Shirt: Similar to a collarless polo shirt, a Henley is a pullover t-shirt featuring 2 or 3 buttons (sometimes up to 5 buttons are used, but that's uncommon). A Henley can be either short or long sleeved.

Ice Wash: A method of stone washing where the stones are first soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. This method produces a frosted appearance to fabric.

Interlock Knit: A type of knit that is very soft and has a good drape. Interlock knit stitches are tighter, more stretchy than Jersey knit, but less stretchy than rib knit. Used in very fine garments.

Jersey Knit: Commonly found in t-shirts and is the most durable of knits. It is light weight, and has fine vertical ribs. The Jersey knit was named after the British Island in the English Channel. Fine cotton Jersey refers to Jersey Knit made with fine cotton threads such as 30s and 40s.

Knit: Defines how the interlocking loops of yarn that make up fabric were made. There are many types of knits. Jersey Knit is commonly found in t-shirts and is the most durable of knits. It is light weight, and has fine vertical ribs. On the other hand, rib knits have heavy ribs running down the fabric, while interlock knits are used in very fine fabrics. T-shirt collars are usually rib knit.

Muscle Shirt: Sleeveless style t-shirt, but not exactly a tank top. Basic t-shirt, just without the sleeves. The shoulder strap portion is much wider than an ordinary tank top.

Neck Tape: A thin strip of fabric sewn over the seam running across the shoulders and neck area. It covers the seam and looks better than an exposed stitch. Often referred to as "shoulder to shoulder taped."

OekoTek 100: Certification from the International Oeko-Tex® Association, which assures consumers that the apparel they buy is chemical free and poses no risk to their health. Under the Oeko-Tex standard, clothing must be free of formaldehyde, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other toxic chemicals.

Organic Apparel: A term very loosely applied in the garment industry. It can mean anything from 100% organic to as little as 6% organic. Often combined with terms like Eco-Friendly, Green, and so on. Consumers must check the labels and verify the materials used to see if something is truly organic or not.

Organic Cotton: Cotton grown without the use of pesticides. Certified organic cotton has been inspected to insure it truly is organic.

Organic Soil Association: Founded in 1946 by a group of farmers, scientists and nutritionists concerned about the relationship between farming practices and plant, animal, human, and environmental health. The Organic Soil Association pioneered the first organic standards in 1967, and certifies farms and businesses that meet those standards.

Overdyed: A process where previously dyed garments or fabrics are dyed with an additional color to create a unique look.

Performance T: Name for t-shirts manufactured for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. Performance Ts are characterized by their breathability, moisture wicking, fast drying, and odor control capabilities. Many performance Ts are polyester/cotton blends, or can also be 100% polyester. Bamboo t-shirts, due to their absorbency and wicking properties, have become known as performance t-shirts, although they do not dry as fast as performance t-shirts made of 100% polyester.

PFD: Stands for Prepared For Dyeing. Sold this way to t-shirt customizers who want to create their own look with dyes.

Pigment Dyed: A type of dye that creates a washed out, distressed look.

Pima Cotton: A cotton developed in the U.S. in the early 1900s to compete with Egyptian cotton. It features longer fibers and is used often in fine men's and women's shirts. The name Pima comes from the Pima Indians, who helped with the first crops of the new cotton as it was first grown in the U.S.

Pique: A method of knitting that creates a waffle-type, fine textured surface. Used often in polo shirts.

Polyester: Man-made fiber manufactured from synthetic polymers. Used widely in apparel, especially combined with cotton in 50/50 blends.

Pre-Shrunk: Refers to the process of pre-shrinking fabric before it is cut and sewn. Occasionally it refers to an actual finished garment that has been preshrunk. Clothing that has been preshrunk shrinks less once the buyer washes it. Preshrunk cotton t-shirts will still shrink a bit, however, especially if dried using a clothes dryer.

Raglan T-Shirt: Style of t-shirt featuring sleeves that run directly to the collar. Usually the sleeves are a contrasting color from the body. Raglan sleeves are wider under the arms, and are preferred by wearers who want maximum freedom of movement. Baseball t-shirts usually feature a raglan sleeve style.

Rayon: Man-made fiber that uses plant cellulose as its main ingredient. Rayon is very soft, has excellent drape, and is very absorbent. Originally developed as a silk substitute.

Rib Knit: Characterized by heavy vertical ribs running down the fabric. Rib knits are usually classified as 1x1, 2x1 or 2x2. This lets you know the width of the rib compared to the space between. For example, a 1x1 rib knit or a 2x2 rib knit means the space between each rib is the same width as the ribs. But a 2x1 rib knit means the ribs are twice as wide as the spaces in between. Rib knit is very stretchy and is often used for t-shirt collars, cuffs, and tank tops.

Ring Spun: Refers to yarn made by twisting and thinning a rope of cotton fibers. The continuous spinning results in a softer feel and stronger yarn. Ring-spun t-shirts are noticeably softer to the touch.

Ringer T: A t-shirt with colored sleeve bands and matching crew neck. Most ringers are white, with the armband sleeves and crew necks in various colors.

Sand Wash: Refers to using sand while washing a garment or fabric to soften and distress it.

Satin Washed: Another term for silicone washed, which produces a very smooth and soft finish to fabric, and also gives the fabric good draping properties.

Scoop Neck: Wide, gently curved neckline that varies in depth. Favored in women's shirts.

Sheer Jersey: Very light weight jersey knit, weighing about 3.9 ounces per yard. A little stretchier than fine jersey.

Shoulder to Shoulder Tape: A thin strip of fabric sewn over the seam running across the shoulders and neck area. It covers the seam and looks better than an exposed stitch.

Shrinkage: Usually refers to cotton apparel and the amount it can be expected to shrink. Most cotton t-shirts are pre-shrunk, but 4-5% shrinkage can still be expected.

Side Seamed: Refers to shirts with a seam running down at each side under the arm sleeves to the bottom hem. Side seamed t-shirts are more expensive to manufacture.

Silicone Washed: Refers to using inert silicone in a washing process. Produces a very smooth and soft finish to fabric, and also gives the fabric good draping properties.

Singlet: another term for a men's tank top.

Slim Cut: A style of t-shirt that is narrower than what one normally finds. For example, a full cut men's t-shirt, size large, usually runs 22 inches across the chest (measured one inch below the sleeve). A slim cut will run about half an inch to 1 inch narrower, sometimes more.

Stonewashed: A washing process that uses lava rocks or sometimes silicon and rubber balls. This method makes fabric softer and gives it an aged or distressed look. Sometimes bleach is used in this process.

Tank Top: T-Shirt characterized by thin shoulder straps and no sleeves. The name came from the early term for swimming pools: swimming tanks.

Taped Seam: Not actual "tape," but a thin strip of fabric sewn over the seam running across the shoulders and neck area of t-shirts. It covers the seam and looks better than an exposed stitch.

Tubular Style:A style that has no side seams; the body of the t-shirt is round and straight. Tubular t-shirts are less expensive to manufacture, and make up the bulk of the cheaper t-shirts.

Unisex T-Shirt: No standard definition exists for a unisex t-shirt, but generally speaking a unisex t-shirt is made of lighter weight, fine cotton jersey, side seamed, and not cut as full as a regular men's t-shirt. The sleeves are not extra short, like cap sleeves, but are not full elbow lengths either. The body length is usually medium/long. However, there are wide variations in unisex t-shirts, depending on the manufacturer.

Uzbekistan: Former U.S.S.R. satellite that became independent in 1991 and is notorious for its cotton production methods, which include forced child labor and environmentally destructive practices. Ethical apparel companies boycott Uzbekistan cotton; however, many companies don't care and have refused to join in the boycott because Uzbekistan cotton is cheap.

V -Neck: Inverted triangle style of neckline. Can be deep or shallow, depending on the style. Usually favored by women, but a shallow style v-neck is popular among men.

Viscose: Typically another name for rayon, as in viscose rayon.

Weight: Usually expressed ounces per square yard. A 5.5 ounce weight cotton fabric means that one square yard will weigh 5.5 ounces. Fine jersey cotton fabrics usually have lighter weights, while coarser cotton fabrics have heavier weights.

Wife Beater: Derogatory term for a men's tank top t-shirt. Usually refers to a basic white tank top.

Yarn Dyed: Yarn that is dyed before it is woven into a fabric.

David Urban is an avid hiker, backpacker, and environmentalist who has traveled extensively across the American Southwest. He is also the owner of Green Man T-Shirts, supplier of organic t-shirts featuring designs by artist Rob Juszak, which donates 25% of all profits to environmental groups.

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Top T-Shirt Design Tips - 5 Secrets For Perfect T Shirt Text (Plus One Bonus!)

If your funny t-shirts are turning out funny-looking, the problem may be your text. No matter how awesome your cool t shirt designs are when you imagine them, if your text is poorly designed, your shirts will always look unprofessional. But don't fear! With these 5 tricks of professional graphic designers, you can quickly turn those amateur custom t shirts into perfect and polished works of t shirt art.

T-Shirt Design Secret #1: Choosing the Right Font
When choosing a font for your t shirt text, make sure to pick one that supports your message. For example, if you're designing a funny t shirt, choose a font that has a funny feel to it. If you're designing a sexy t shirt, choose a font that has a sexy feel to it. And if you're designing a t shirt for a serious, professional law firm, you probably don't want to use that font with letters shaped like kittens.

While this may sound like common sense, many new t shirt designers and would-be t shirt entrepreneurs skip this step and just pick any standard font they might have lying around. Unfortunately, it's obvious in their results; what could have been a fun t shirt design ends up being boring and amateur-looking. If you're careful to choose a font that represents the content of your words, however, you can avoid this fate and your shirts will always be one step ahead of your competition.

T-Shirt Design Secret #2: Tracking and Kerning
Most of the time, when font text is typed into a computer program, the spaces between the letters and words are a little uneven, and often a little too wide. This extra and uneven space not only makes your text look a bit awkward and unprofessional, it also makes it slightly more difficult to read because the words don't visually hold together as units. Even if the viewer doesn't notice it, the eye and the brain have to work a bit harder and that extra bit of difficulty gives the viewer a subconscious feeling of unease.

Fortunately for the novice t shirt designer, this problem can be addressed by a combination of tracking and kerning, which are simply two methods of adjusting the spacing between letters.

Tracking has to do with adjusting the average spacing of letters across entire words, sentences, or selected ranges of letters. By adjusting the tracking, the t shirt artist can either decrease the average spacing between all the letters in the selected range (making the spacing "tighter"), or else increase the average spacing ("opening up" the text), depending on what's needed. Since the raw, unadjusted spacing varies from font to font, you'll have to decide which one is needed for your particular t shirt design. But a good trick used by professional t shirt designers is to start out by tightening the font too much (so the letters are too close together) and then slowly increasing the tracking until the words look right.

Kerning is very similar to tracking, but with one important difference: instead of adjusting the average spacing across an entire range of letters, kerning only adjusts the spacing between two letters at a time. This allows a greater degree of control than tracking, and allows a t shirt artist to fine tune the spacing between single letter pairs that still don't look quite right, even after the text has been tracked.

In general, the best practice is to use tracking to get the entire range of letters in a t shirt slogan to look pretty good, and then use kerning to fine tune the spacing between letter pairs until your t shirt text looks perfect.

T-Shirt Design Secret #3: Word Spacing
Once the letters of a t shirt slogan have been properly tracked and kerned, the next important step is to adjust the spacing between the words. Adjusting word spacing is very similar to tracking and kerning -- in fact, it's done exactly the same way as kerning and is really just kerning the spaces between words rather than letters -- but the rule of thumb for proper spacing between words is a little different, and so word spacing is a whole step unto itself.

In general, the best practice when adjusting spacing between words is to visualize the width of a lowercase "L" in the font that's being used, and then make the space between each word that wide. This means that the width of the spaces between words will be different from font to font (because the size of the lowercase "L" is different from font to font), but it also means that the spacing will be custom designed for the font in question. Creating the proper amount of space between words will support the effects of your tracking and kerning, thus helping your words to hold together better as separate visual units and improving readability.

T-Shirt Design Secret #4: Leading, aka "Line Spacing"
Another place that new t shirt designers often go wrong is in the leading, or "spacing between lines of text." Leading -- which is pronounced like the metal "lead" rather than like a "leader" taking people somewhere -- goes back to the days of the printing press, when a person would actually use small, thin pieces of lead to create vertical space between the lines of type. These days, of course, computers handle the leading for us. Unfortunately, when it comes to t shirt text, they often handle it poorly.

When a t shirt slogan is typed into a computer program, it often starts out with a little too much space between the lines. This helps make the text look very "fonty" rather than natural, as well as making the t shirt design (and the designer) seem very amateur. With just a small change to the leading, however, that same t shirt text can be made to look very tight and professional.

With leading, the goal is to create enough space between the lines of text so they fit nicely together and don't interfere with one another, without creating so much space that they look artificial or become difficult to read. The eye should be able to easily jump visually from one line to the next without losing its place, and without any effort at all. While there is no real rule of thumb for the proper amount of space between lines, a t shirt designer who begins adjusting the leading will quickly learn to "feel" when it's right. In general, the best way to start is to decrease the amount of leading -- tightening the space between the lines -- and then keep tweaking it up or down until it feels visually balanced. When it looks natural and reads smoothly, your t shirt slogan is one step closer to the big time.

T-Shirt Design Secret #5: Phrasing, aka "Line Breaking"
Phrasing has to do with where a t shirt designer chooses to break the lines of text, and is yet another aspect of good t shirt design that's often overlooked. Many new designers will just type in their text at the size they want, and pay no attention to which words the lines end on, and how those line breaks affect the t shirt's readability. More often than not, this results in a t shirt that reads terribly and feels amateurish.

For example, a poorly line-broken t shirt slogan might look something like this:

I'm not a
doctor but I play
one in real
life

As you can see, it's a little difficult to read this slogan because the semi-random breaking of logical phrases and groups of ideas causes both the eye and the brain to work harder to make sense of it all, and the result is the t shirt slogan ends up feeling choppy. With a little more thought and effort put into breaking the lines at natural points in the text, however, we end up with this:

I'm not a doctor
but I play one
in real life

Suddenly, the t shirt slogan flows naturally and is much easier to read. By keeping the logical phrases visually together, you can create a much more natural visual rhythm to your t shirt text, and the reader is easily able to process the t shirt's message without having to fight against poor phrasing to understand it.

T Shirt Design Secret #6: A Bonus Tip (Because I Like You)
Once you've applied these 5 secrets of the t shirt design professionals, you'll find that your t shirt text already looks much better and more professional than it did when you started. Unfortunately, you'll probably also find that you've been staring at your text for so long, it's become difficult to really properly judge its improvement. Such is the life of a t shirt artist! But don't panic! The professional graphic designers have a couple more tricks up their sleeves that'll help you overcome this professional hazard.

To check the spacing of your t shirt text and make sure that it's truly perfect, you can:

Look at your design upside down. If you see any spaces that look uneven or inconsistent, fix them.
Look at your design reflected in a mirror. If you see any spaces that look uneven or inconsistent, fix them.
Print out your design on a piece of paper, hold it up to a light source, and then look at your text from the back of the page. If you see any spaces that look uneven or inconsistent -- you guessed it -- fix them.

By doing any or all of these three strange things, you force your eyes and your brain to pay attention to the empty spaces between the letters rather than trying to read the words themselves. The words become abstract shapes to your brain, and you, the t shirt artist, are free to properly judge the empty spaces between the words.

And That's It!
As you can see, professional t shirt text design is really just a matter of creating text that not only supports your message, but also presents it in a way that is visually balanced and nicely spaced. By properly applying these t shirt design tips, your t shirt text will be much nicer to look at, easier to read, and miles ahead of all those amateur t shirt designs hitting the market. And, most importantly, your funny t shirt designs will finally be funny in a good way.

Now, if you're ready to start taking your t shirt design skills to the next level, you can find a free, simple, easy-to-follow video tutorial on tracking and kerning at Channel Shirt's t shirt design blog Did I mention it's free? Check it out!

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The Definitive History of the T-Shirt

Today the modern T-shirt has spawned a vast textile and fashion industry, worth over two-billion dollars to the world's retail trade. The unlikely birth of the t-shirt was a rather unspectacular event, however this humble piece of attire was set to change the styles and fashions of cultures for generations to come. Eventually the T-Shirt would be used as a political tool for protest and in certain times and places in history, a symbol of revolution and change.

At the very beginning the t-shirt was little more than a piece of underwear, an extremely utilitarian one at that. In the late 19th century the union suit, (also colloquially known as long johns), was in its hey day, worn across America and northern parts of Europe. Popular throughout class and generation, this modest knitted one-piece covered the whole body, from the neck to the wrists and ankles. The designs pièce de résistance featured a drop flap in the back for ease of use in the old outhouse. As cotton became more and more widely available, underwear manufacturers seized the moment to create an alternative to this mainstay and rather cumbersome design. Knitted material is difficult to cut and sew seams and thus with cotton a radical shift towards mass-made fashion could begin.

In Europe times were changing, as the Americans continued to sweat and itch, a simple "T-shaped" template was cut twice from a piece of cotton cloth and the two pieces faced and stitched together in a lowly European workhouse. It was half a pair of long johns, but it soon took on a life of its own. As the Industrial Revolution reached its inevitable conclusion, Henry T. Ford created the world's first production line, the ideas of functionalism, efficiency, and utilitarian style entered the mainstream consciousness of societies across the world, and Europe in particular. Many began to question the Puritanism of the past, Victorian buttoned-down ideas of modesty were starting to give way to scantier and scantier swimsuits, ankle-bearing skirts, and short-sleeved shirts. As World War One loomed upon the horizon, the t-shirt was about to be conscripted to the army.

Historical researchers define the first recorded incident of the introduction of the T-shirt to the United States occurred during World War One when US soldiers remarked upon the light cotton undershirts European soldiers were issued as standard uniform. American soldiers were fuming, their government were still issuing woolen uniforms, this wasn't fashion, it was practically a tactical military disadvantage. How could a sniper keep still and aim his rifle with beads of sweat pouring in his eyes, and an itch that just wouldn't go away? The US army may not have reacted as quickly as their troops would have liked, but the highly practical and light t-shirt would soon make its way back to the mainstream American consumer.

Due to their highly recognizable shape, and want for a better name, the word "T-shirt" was coined, and as the word found its place in the cultural lexicon, people across the world began to adopt the new and more comfortable alternative to the union shirt. A handful of American experts claim that the name was coined in 1932 when Howard Jones commissioned "Jockey" to design a new sweat absorbing shirt for the USC Trojans football team. However the US army contests the origins of the word come from army training shirts, being the military it was not long before practicality ensured the abbreviation. There is one alternative theory, little known and rather graphic in its interpretation. Essentially the idea that shortened-length arms were described as akin to the shape of an amputees torso, a common sight in the bloodier battles of the past, though this speculation cannot be verified, the idea has a gory ring of truth about it. During World War II the T-shirt was finally issued as standard underwear for all ranks in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Although the T-shirt was intended as underwear, soldiers performing strenuous battle games or construction work, and especially those based in warmer climes would often wear an uncovered T-shirt. On July the 13th, 1942, the cover story for Life magazine features a photo of a soldier wearing a T-shirt with the text "Air Corps Gunnery School".

In the first few years after World War Two, the European fashion for wearing T-shirts as an outer garment, inspired mainly by new US army uniforms, spread to the civilian population of America. In 1948 the New York Times reported a new and unique marketing tool for that year's campaign for New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was the first recorded "slogan T-Shirt", the message read "Dew It for Dewey", closely repeated by the more famous "I Like Ike" T-shirts in Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign.

In the early 1950s enterprising companies based in Miami, Florida, began to decorate tee shirts with Floridian resort names and even cartoon characters. The first recorded graphic t-shirt catalogue was created by Tropix Togs, by its creator and founder, Miami entrepreneur Sam Kantor. They were the original licensee for Walt Disney characters that included Mickey Mouse and Davy Crockett. Later other companies expanded into the tee shirt printing business that included Sherry Manufacturing Company also based in Miami.

Sherry began business in 1948, the owner and founder, Quinton Sandler, was quick to catch onto the new T-shirt trend, and quickly expanded the screen print scarf company into the largest screen print licensed apparel producer in the United States. Soon more and more celebrities were seen on national TV sporting this new risqué apparel including John Wayne, and Marlon Brando. In 1955 James Dean gave the T-Shirt street credibility in the classic movie "Rebel Without A Cause". The T-Shirt was fast evolving into a contemporary symbol of rebellious youth. The initial furore and public outcry soon died down and within time even the American Bible Belt could see its practicality of design.

In the 60's people began to tie dye and screenprint the basic cotton T-Shirt making it an even bigger commercial success. Advances in printing and dying allowed more variety and the Tank Top, Muscle Shirt, Scoop Neck, V-Neck, and many other variations of the T-Shirt came in to fashion. During this period of cultural experimentation and upheaval, many independent T-shirt printers made copies of "Guerrillero Heroico, or Heroic Guerilla", the famous portrait of Ernesto "Che" Guevara taken by Alberto "Korda" Diaz. Since which it is said to be the most reproduced image in the history of photography, mainly thanks to the rise of the T-shirt.

The 1960's also saw the creation of the "Ringer T-shirt" which became a staple fashion for youth and rock-n-rollers. The decade also saw the emergence of tie-dyeing and screen-printing on the basic T-shirt. In 1959, "Plastisol", a more durable and stretchable ink, was invented, allowing much more variety in t-shirt designs. As textile technologies improved, new T-shirt styles were soon introduced, including the the tank top, the A-shirt (infamously known as the "wife beater"), the muscle shirt, scoop necks, and of course V-necks.

More and more iconic T-shirts were designed and created throughout the Psychedelic era, including more and more home-made experiments. A tidal wave of tie-died t-shirts began to appear at the burgeoning music festival scenes in Western Europe and America. By the late 60's it was practically a required dress code amongst the West Coast hippie culture. Band T-shirts became another extremely popular form of T shirt, cheaply printed and sold at live gigs and concerts of the day, the tradition continues to the present, band T shirts are as popular as ever, however the price of them has risen dramatically.

In 1975 Vivienne Westwood makes her mark at 430 King's Road, London at the "Sex" boutique with her new Punk-style t-shirts, including her infamous "God Save The Queen" design. Punk introduced an explosion of independent fashion designers and in particular t-shirt designers. To this day many modern designs pay tribute to the "grunge-look" of this rebellious and anarchic period of Western culture.

The influx of corporate funding of the 1980's changed the whole face of the T-shirt market. Slogan T-shirts were gaining popularity again, "Choose Life" was produced to promote the debut album of George Micheal's band "Wham", whilst "Frankie Says" helped push a string of highly controversial singles to the top of the UK charts for Liverpool based band "Frankie Goes to Hollywood". Bands, football teams, political parties, advertising agencies, business convention organizers, in fact anyone after a piece of cheap promotion began to commission and sell vast numbers of T-shirts. One noble exception of the time was the now iconic "Feed the World" T-shirt, created to raise funds and awareness of the original and groundbreaking Band Aid charity event.

During the 80's and 90's T-Shirt production and printing technologies vastly improved, including early forms of D.T.G (Direct to Garment Transfer) printing, increased the volume and availability. Whilst in financial circles, the world's stock markets took notice as the American T-Shirt was classed as a commodity item in the apparel industry.

Branded corporate labels soon made their massive mark on the industry. A whole new generation of T-shirt designs swamped the market, promoting conformity and allegiance to a brand name, such as Nike, rather than an expression of individuality. This rather uninspiring tradition still continues to this day, the now iconic "Vintage 82" T-shirt from "Next" for example. Within a few years of its first printing, this design was allowed to flood the market, until cheap copies and black market knock-offs have saturated the world. There are many similar designs which have a similar limited cultural shelf-life.

More recently an inspiring movement towards re-politicizing the T-shirt has enabled pressure groups and charities to push their message to a wider audience. Over one million people marched into London wearing a vast array of anti war, anti Bush and anti Blair T shirts at the anti Iraq rally. Another example, reminiscent of the earlier Band Aid event, saw The Make Poverty History campaign of 2005 receive global media coverage. Soon after Vivienne Westwood re-emerges in the T-shirt world with her new slogan T-shirt "I am not a terrorist, please don't arrest me". Catherine Hamnett, another famous British fashion designer is well known for her protest T-shirts, including her work to highlight Third World debt and the Aids epidemic in Africa. Then again, Catherine has recently been quoted as saying political slogan shirts allow the consumer to "feel they have participated in democratic action", when in fact all they have done is a little clothes shopping. This maybe true, however they still bring enormous media attention to any just cause.

Over the years the styles, images, and contribution to free society that T-shirts have provided are taken as granted, the T-shirt is now an essential accompaniment for any fashionable wardrobe, no matter what part of the world. Still yet more technical advances in the industry have allowed for more choices in style and cut. Oversize T-shirts that extend down to the knees, are popular with hip hop and skater fashions. Seasons change, however from time to time the female market embraces more tight-fitting "cropped" T-shirt styles, cut short enough to reveal the midriff. The rise of the "hoodie" or hooded long sleeved T-shirt cannot be ignored, it is also fast becoming an essential addition to any street wise fashionista's collection.

Recently there has been a massive consumer backlash against the branded conformity of the corporate and licensed t-shirt market. The consumer is at last regaining some sense of individuality, people today are not satisfied with the notion of "brand loyalty". People want to reflect their own personality, political beliefs, sense of style or humor. Some are designing their own with the help of a wide selection of D.I.Y online t-shirt printing services, including "Cafe Press" and "Threadless" to mention just two. But many people neither have the time nor the inclination to design their own artwork, and so marks the rise of the independent T-shirt designer. Reminiscent of the 1960's but with a worldwide appeal, artists, graphic designers, renegades of the fashion world are beginning to get noticed. The greatest asset a modern T-shirt can have is its originality, a quality that will always be in demand, both now and hopefully far into the future.

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3 Ways to Make Money by Adding T-Shirts to Your Web Site or Blog

There are literally a million CafePress people out there wondering how to make money with their t-shirts. There are some incredible t-shirts sites that are not making their hosting fees. Truly beautiful sites too.

'Fact is, you don't need the latest and greatest t-shirt site to make money on t-shirts. In fact, if you focus too much on selling t-shirts, you will drive yourself batty. Take my word for it. Uh Huh!

No, you really need a web site, or blog, that is about anything but t-shirts to make money on t-shirts. That's right, anything but t-shirts.

There are too many t-shirt sites out there now. If you have a web site or blog that is about something else, you can make money offering topic specific t-shirts. That's the ticket.

The key to making money from t-shirts is in niche markets. Niche marketing works like a charm with t-shirts.

Almost all of your site visitors wear t-shirts. They are a target market for t-shirts. The thing is, even if they look for t-shirts elsewhere online, the market is so big, so saturated, that it is hard to find anything. It takes a real effort. Yet, if your web site or blog is already of interest to them, you can show them shirts that they'll buy.

It's relatively easy but, you'll have to make the effort. One rainy Saturday afternoon of work on a t-shirt page for your site and you can probably create an income stream from t-shirts in that one afternoon. The cool thing is that you don't have to produce the shirts yourself or handle the orders and customer service to make money. You can build a page for your site that sells t-shirts that your customers can buy and once that page is done, it will take little or no maintenance. Just put some links on your site and let your site visitors discover it. Cool t-shirts sell themselves.

Niche Market + Cool T-Shirts = Income

Here are three ways to make money by putting t-shirt stuff on your site.

1. Create Your Own T-Shirts to Sell

You don't need to be an artist. Words on t-shirts sell. Join CafePress.com and make yourself some t-shirts. People trust CafePress.com and they will be willing to buy your shirts knowing that they will get a quality shirt.

Even though, when you sign up, it will sound like your CafePress store is going attract attention from their marketplace, don't bet on it. Generally, the people that make money on CafePress usually do it because they have the market already. Because, they have a niche market and they are offering that market cool t-shirts specific to their interests. You need to do that. Make t-shirts your site's visitors will like. Again, that's the key.

They don't have to be fancy. Many people enjoy associating themselves with their interests. Mustang owners with Mustang t-shirts, key chains, you name it. People like to own things that define who they are. Help them do that. A simple, words only, "Compost Happens" t-shirt sold like mad to... who? Gardeners, of course. No one else would be interested. But, many thousands of these t-shirts sold to gardeners. Uh huh.

You can do it. Just think about it some, and then create your t-shirts.

2. Create T-Shirts People Can Customize Themselves

Customizing a t-shirt, and the whole personalization thing, is huge. Did you know that you can create t-shirt templates that people can then customize themselves? This is great for your site. People can simply add their name or they can completely customize your t-shirt designs. Great for consumers and also great for teams, clubs, businesses and what have you.

Customizable t-shirts can even create interactivity on your site. Create some interesting t-shirt design templates and ask your site visitors to start with your templates and customize them further. Offer to post the most original ideas on the site and you can get some nice community involvement going.

CustomAvenue.com [http://www.customavenue.com] will let you create t-shirt templates for free. You create the t-shirt design templates and add them to your site. People can then customize them to their liking. They buy them and you get paid.

CustomAvenue.com also has some great tools to help you sell customizable t-shirts. Their tools allow you to add a full design studio to your site... if you want to go whole hog in to it. For page makers, they also have some little widgets that you can add your designs to and post on your site or blog.

The widgets are cool. When someone clicks on your design, it loads in to a design studio and they can edit it right there while they are still on your web site. The T-Shirt Customizer Widget is small and doesn't take up much room but has some real powerful features. It's worth the time to build a widget and add it to your website. Most of your site visitors will never have seen anything like it.

Many thousands of sites sell your basic t-shirt but very few have customizable designs. This is the new trend in online t-shirt sales. Take this article as your introduction to the next big thing in making money with t-shirts. Customizable t-shirts. Mark my word.

3. Link to T-Shirt Sites that Have Great T-Shirts

This is the easiest thing to do. It is not as cutting edge and it does not have the personal touch selling your own t-shirt designs will have. But, it's easy and it can make you money.

If you take some time and find established t-shirt sites that carry shirts that appeal to your target market, you can build a link section that can generate an income. Again, the key is to find those t-shirts that appeal to your audience.

You can search the web and you will find thousands of sites that sell t-shirts. But, not all of them will have a partner program like CafePress and CustomAvenue.com have. It is hit or miss. Unless, that is, you check out the affiliate program provider that is a favorite among t-shirt sites. Save yourself the search efforts and go to ShareASale.com and join their program as a publisher. You will find a great selection of established t-shirt sites.

Once you join, you can select t-shirt sites that fit your needs and then simply cut and paste the supplied html code in to your site for text and banner links that will track your visitors and record sales. It's relatively simple and doesn't take very long to create a nice selection of relevant links.

That's it.

Build one page for your web site or blog with t-shirt offers and create an new income source for yourself.

Use these three methods.

1. Add t-shirts you create on CafePress to your page. 2. Go to CustomAvenue.com and create a few design templates that your site visitors can customize (widgetize them). 3. Add banners and links to cool t-shirt shops from ShareASale.com.

When you're done with the page, you will probably have built an income that will grow with time and require little maintenance. Link your page within your site well and then sit back and wait for the sales to begin.

The key to success is to target a niche market and give them unique shirt options. A good page on a good site with some targeted traffic will almost always make money. Some sites will make a lot of money. Uh Huh.

Maybe waiting for a rainy Saturday afternoon is not such a good idea. Start today so you have some cash next time a rainy Saturday afternoon comes your way. Then, you can go out and celebrate your success.

T-Shirt The Yard Stick to Measure the Fashion Trends

T-shirt: The yardstick to measure the fashion trends

T-shirt: the building block of fashion

As season changes from summer to monsoon and monsoon to winter, fashion trends also change accordingly. But after every three or four months the majority of us do not have the time or the need to buy new clothes. Then the question comes: What kind of casual dresses or garments will change you according to your range of styles, colors and mood? - Obviously the T-shirts.

T-shirts have always been believed as the mere essentials - those basic requirements that form the base of fashion - the building block of fashion. If you want to know how much fashion trend in T-shirts have changed in the last couple of years, take your measure tape.

Fashion, which had started in the 50's, became inspired with its sociological and industrial advances. It was a noble time to be young, and fashion became a rip along the position of age. In the 60's people started to wear the tie dye and screen-printed cotton T-shirts. Improvement in printing and dyeing stood out for more variety and came in to fashion and it bloomed in the 60's.
Tight trend of the seventies
In the 1970s the disco scene was enormous, concert dancing was popular with dance parties and tight pants with T-shirts were a trend. The whole '70s trend was form-fitting - 'very tight', where the extra-large, loose-fitting, urban-influenced tees moved out and tight T-shirts with tight polyester, usually with bell-bottomed men's pants escorted by standy shoes were used to attract the young girls seeming for romance, were very popular.

Chemin de fer pants, Elephant Ear Pants, embroidery on pant legs, flag pants, Gabardine Pants, HASH Jeans with Bonds T-shirt (raglan cut T-shirt with ribbing around neck and sleeves), Rock Concert T-shirts (with a logo picture of a rock star or a rock band or trademark of rock band) and tie-dye T-shirts (homemade T-shirts with stripes and curved in different colors of dye) were generally popular in 70s and women generally were short mini skirt, maxi dress, midi skirt or hot pants with T-shirts.

The eighties: Iron-on T-shirts with stonewashed jeans pant trend

In 80s Iron-on, the coolest kind of T-shirts was popular. Tight Stonewashed Jeans, Parachute Pants, Corduroy Pants, Tight Leather Pants, Super Tight Minis with Fido Dido, Ocean Pacific T-shirts, Long T-shirts, and Hard Rock Café etc T-shirts were popular among them.

The nineties - Baggy and bright denim trend

Levi brand T-shirt that had "Button Your Fly" written in very large letters were very popular in 90s. Flare Jeans, Baggy & Bright denim, the schoolgirl look of baby doll dresses with puffed sleeves and thigh-high stockings, slip dresses worn over T-shirts became popular and was a trend of 90s.

Fashion of 2000

T-shirts with "Boys Are Great", "I Make Boys Cry", etc slogan T-shirts with zip off at or around knee pants were popular in 2000. Duller colors were more popular at the beginning of that decade and V-neck sweater and have accents woven in around the neck, waist was very popular.

T-shirts have passed through every social, cultural and economic level of human life and got a great acceptance in day-to-day life from big cities to small towns all over the globe.

Age option: Feel young forever with T-shirt

T-shirts are not only a chief item, but have become stylish and nice career apparel. Fashion has always been impelled by younger people, of course, and not anything says young like the T-shirt. As usual, the young are looking for something out of the ordinary. Wearing T-shirts in old age provides a lifestyle option rather than an age option and gives feeling of younger.

Women T-shirt: A separate identified market

During the last two-three decades, women's participation levels in the corporate houses, business, fashion, jobs, sports, exercises or yoga etc have reached an all-time high all around the world. The old unisex T-shirts became a thing of the history; today women require T-shirts that fit them that wash and feel comfortable at work place or while transporting and adopting a more feminine approach to styling, have made a big difference in the variety of designs and products. Women are also considering T-shirts as a multi-purpose garment and by both ways the women's T-shirt market is growing. Today, women have so many options in the market as many T-shirt producers have seen the bright prospectus and are producing better women's T-shirts in quick changing scenario of demand, which covers better fabrics, latest designs, good color combinations, great styles etc. And the women's T-shirt is going to acquire a separate identity from men's T-shirt.

Co-relation of T-shirt and ink demand

Fashion or selection of colors also vary, when season or trends changes. Color is considered as a serious business when it comes up to T-shirts, as a key differentiation in wearable apparels.

T-shirt printing is in fact silk-screening or, more properly, screen printing. The 70s brought huge improvement in T-shirt printing began with making screen-printing machines in the basements and garages and these printed T-shirt business referred as Imprinted Sportswear Industry in general. In the 1980s the advancement in ink business enhanced and T-shirts

became part of every aspect of our culture, promoting businesses, government, and non-profit organizations. Retailers discovered the significance and eminence of T-shirts and have bought tons of products in various themes, brand-name and styles.

The most important advancement during the 80s was the boom created by the automatic T-shirt printing machine, enabling screen printers to print a many T-shirt printing in a single day. Automation changed the whole thing and with the coming of the 90s, the computer was fetched into the mix of designs and patterns in T-shirts. In the end of 2000 the over all textile screen-printing industry had passed through a very difficult stage, but as development of printing technology successfully achieved the need of ink and screen printing technology, sustained still and gained better position. And now with the improvement and development of latest printing technology, you can have a number of options like two-dimension and three-dimension; digital printed, animated or printed T-shirts. Today the ink or printing is exclusively depends on T-shirt industry/productions while considering textile printing industry.

T - Shirt used as a widespread marketing or publicity tool

Would you like to make a statement? Then you will need a T-shirt: A T-shirt is a cheap idea of clothing or a portable advert with its clothing to declare political, musical or social connection for everybody to observe, like The Tennis Women's T-shirt with the statement on the court. "I am going to make you run!", or as Indian tennis player Sania Mirza had statements "Well-behaved women rarely make history", "Attitude Unlimited". It provides a cheaper marketing or publicity weapon. Events, campaigns or programmes like women's rights, civil rights and more found their way to the face and rear of T-shirts. People began to state who they are/were and what they put for without ever saying a word simply with logo or slogan. Today, in addition to performing as a medium for stating personal beliefs, team affiliations, hobbies and more, T-shirts are favored, because in a word they are comfortable - no insignificant issue in today's place of work, an atmosphere where T-shirts are going up in greater figures by the day.

More choice than ever before

The T-shirt by no means going out of fashion, it is the base or foundation of the over all textile and garment market and drives the total business. It is a very significant part of the enigma for what people require and choose and much market research study showed that one can't ignore the commodity as well as new trendy market. There are many options or choices that you didn't have just a few years before.

Today, there are many kinds of cotton T-shirts available in market. Open-end cottons give a softer feel for an outstanding price. Ring-spun cotton has an exceedingly soft hand and organic T-shirts to protect from chemicals. Though, more practical, performance-driven fabrics such as dry-fiber are growing in recognition which is awful due to lots of segregation in which a style that the consumer is well-known and at ease with. T-shirts made from a 60/40 cotton/poly blend in unisex sizes XS-4XL, ANSI-certified polyester and non-certified 50/50 are very popular. High-performance polyester micro fibers T-shirts are mostly preferred by working people due to their characteristic of reducing the moisture rapidly from body. On plain fabric putting of lace and crochet are also being used, to create feminine looks. Recently DuPont's Sorona fiber (polymers that lend better stretch, recovery and stain resistance to fabrics) is also used in T-shirt as a material.

The T-shirts are finished with jazzier for party wear with gold in the prints and trimmings are also a strong trend in recent times. To create prints more fascinating, sequins, beads, buttons and embroidery and to craft a sparkle look on the tees cotton laces lose out to metallic laces and glitter, texture weaves along with layered contrasting fabrics of tulle, chiffons, bubble fabrics, crinkle printed semi sheer crepes, are also used. Ethnic, jungle, graphic or graffiti-inspired, prints with bright or muted, multiple colors are extremely used now a days. Styles of tees include rose, forest and blue, layering, retro men, graffiti and graphics, khaki and blues and striped patterns are a strong trend in T-shirts for men.

More and more options are available with much texture choice, such as ribs, hemp, pique, ottoman, etc. and more fits for men, women and junior are available. T-shirts are offered in range from the awfully light of 3.8 ounces to the normal 5.5 ounces and be capable of as high as 7.1 ounces. Heavier weights have the benefit of existence of durability and remaining their outline under frequent wearing and washing. Lighter-weight tees are more relaxed, particularly in warmer climates, and provide a perfect fit. Higher-end T-shirts will provide the additional strength of double-needle stitching and shoulder to shoulder string. In 2004 stretch T-shirts brought high demand in women's jersey products both made of 95 percent combed ring-spun cotton and 5 percent Lycra and heavyweight T-shirts in 50/50 blend, 100 percent cotton, ultra heavyweight in 100 percent cotton and premium ultra heavyweight T-shirt in 100 percent combed ring-spun cotton.

Worldwide fashion designers noted that average consumers were only concerned about jeans and T-shirts in 2004-05 for daytime and still the trend is continuing. Sportswear, sports styling will continue to possess consumers who wish comfort in everyday wear and will continue to demand for ever. In recent times wearing the corporate T-shirts in offices became a trend, and the demand is increasing, even it is more demanding for the purpose of corporate gifting with particular logo or corporate statements.

Conclusion

Today, a common shift towards sporty and comfortable wear in fashion lifestyles seen, and T-shirts are becoming popular and "active wear" with many brands, designers and become a basic part of anyone's casual wardrobe and favorite in athletic teams, schools, gyms, athletic events, golf events, outdoor active groups, firefighters, the college bookstore market, emergency service workers, police offices, camps and outdoor workers and even in corporate houses. In a nut shell, people with active jobs or hobbies are motivating to use more for a tee that stay them cool, dry and more relaxed.

The coming out of general fashion trends is a social process but as appearance of new competitor in the textiles industry T-shirts are turning out to be more fashionable and are replaced with tailor garment shirts and other wears and the T-shirts are considered as a multi-purpose garment by majority consumer.

Whether color combination, fabric used, publicity tool, new or old trends of men's or women's fashion, new printing technology, etc changes fashion trends or whether fashion trends arrive and pass on, clothing should always be fun with T-shirt due to a strong reason of more availability of options. Hence, T-shirts will no way get out of fashion, over all be consider as a building block of fashion.

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