Custom T-Shirts come in so many varieties today that the choices are often overwhelming. But are t-shirts as good as they used to be. The answer is no.

We have done an inordinate amount of testing and research that includes chemistry, physics and general manufacturing techniques of t-shirts. We know t-shirts better than most people - it's how we make our living.

As a t-shirt printer one of the most frustrating things we deal with is a lack of quality control at the mill level. Prior to NAFTA most t-shirt printing companies offered customers goods that were made in the USA. Over the last 15 years that option has dwindled to nearly nothing. There are only a handful of American t-shirt companies remaining. Platinum Sportswear, American Apparel, Jensen Activewear and Bayside are the four largest domestic t-shirt companies. All make great products and all are over-priced. All of these companies combined don’t even account for 1% of industry volume. Everything is made in foreign countries by people making really bad wages.

When people make bad wages they don’t care and make bad products! We have found that the standard mill reject rate of 1%-2% of any given shipment has gone up to 2% -4%. That means that for every 100 shirts we print we see two to four shirts are junk before they are printed. We actually cull those shirts from the orders prior to printing. These defects include sizing, color and general sewing flaws. The biggest offenders are Haiti (God Bless Them) El Salvador and Honduras. The Dominican Republic seems to be better than most.

Why you ask don’t we make t-shirts in the USA anymore? The answer is cost. Union labor priced us out of this multi-billion dollar market. There is no other reason. That’s a fact. American garment workers are the best in the world. They were also the highest paid – this is a fact. But too much wasn’t enough. The next time you buy a t-shirt and it doesn’t feel the same be consoled by the fact that this was your contribution to US foreign aid.

What a shame.

01/27/2010