In case you missed the announcement, earlier this month we started offering custom branded face masks here at Real Thread, which is about the most 2020 swag item you could imagine.

With this product launch came a lot of excitement, a lot of interest, and a lot of questions –– like “I can print on masks?” and “What are these made out of?” and “Do non-medical masks even do anything?”

These are all valid questions as the popularity of face masks (particularly custom ones) went from 0–100 in about a day or two. With that, we want to make sure you’re informed, so in this post we’ll cover different mask materials, the level of protection they provide, and best practices for printing on them.

Weird, we know. We’ve stuck to strictly upper-body apparel for a long time here at Real Thread, and if you would have asked me what products we’d be adding to our offering, custom face masks would have been pretty low on the list.

But hey, that’s what the time calls for, so we’re here to provide and serve however we can.

Will I be able to breathe well with a print on the mask?

Definitely.  At Real Thread, we’ve long-specialized in water-based printing, a style in which the ink dyes the fabric of the material, rather than sitting on top of it.

So, instead of leaving a thick, crunchy print, you won’t even be able to feel the print on the material, making it just as breathable as it would be if there was no print at all.

100%. All of the masks on our site are able to be washed and re-worn. However, two of them in particular –– the Tultex FM19 and the Allmask –– are our best options for reusable masks. Both have stitching around the edges that will make them last a long time.

The other mask on our site –– this one from Bella+Canvas –– doesn’t have any stitching on it, so even though it is washable and re-wearable, it won’t last as many wears as the material is bound to get stretched out and the edges a bit frayed.

Are fabric masks direct substitutes for medical-grade masks?

Fabric masks are not a 1-to-1 substitute for N95 medical-grade masks. However, with those masks in short supply, it’s best to save them for front line workers who are putting their health at risk daily. If you’re not a front line worker, we’d encourage opting for a washable, reusable fabric mask.

For most day-to-day uses like running to the grocery store or pharmacy, or working inside of a restaurant or a construction site, a washable mask will protect you and those around you quite well.

We have three masks on our website that are made out of three different materials.

The Tultex FM19 is made out of 100% cotton, the Bella+Canvas Daily Face Mask is made out of a polyester/cotton blend, and the Allmask is made out of a tri-blend (cotton, polyester, and rayon).

Is there a difference in the fabrics from a safety standpoint?

Research done by Cambridge University found that, while all of these, materials do help, 100% cotton fabric does the best job of filtering, and will be the most effective option of the three.

Are there any print specs or parameters to keep in mind while designing masks?

If you’re planning on printing front and center on a mask, the printable area will likely be about 3" x 3".

If you’re planning on printing elsewhere, like on the side closer to the top or bottom, the printable area is going to be smaller and somewhat dependent on the design. To get an expert eye on it, talk to our team.

If you’re looking for blank face masks or custom face masks, we have you covered here at Real Thread. Click here to buy blank masks, or click here to order custom face masks.

Or, if you’d like to ask further questions, click here to talk to our team. We’d love to help you get started.

The answers to every question you have about custom masks (and ones you didn't even think to ask) 

Custom Face Masks: Everything You Need to Know

When people used to dream of working from home, there was often one first thought that came to mind: “I could just roll out of bed and get to work –– no more having to get dressed and ready!”

Seasoned work-from-home experts would beg to differ. When you any read advice column on WFH tips, it's almost a guarantee that "having a routine" will be the first piece of advice.

However, this doesn't mean you have to dress in standard office attire when you're working remote. T-shirts (especially of the super-soft variety) can totally be part of a Very Official and Professional routine. Be particular about the outfit you wear, and you’ll be able to blend comfortability and productivity.

At Real Thread, we (more than most, probably) value comfortability while working—whether in office or at home. That said, here are our top picks for t-shirts and sweaters/hoodies to wear while working from home.

There’s never been a more appropriate time to wear t-shirts to work. Well, if you work at Real Thread, it’s never not a good time, but we get that for the majority of you, going into the office typically calls for something a little bit dressier. But, the mass shift to WFH has loads of people leaving their button-ups in the closet and reaching for their best t-shirts.

That said, here are our top t-shirt picks for working from home.

💡WFH Tip: Try to establish a rhythm of getting dressed before starting work in the morning. Even if your attire is more casual these days, the act of selecting your attire and getting ready will help you get in the zone for work.

The Next Level 6210 has long been one of our most popular t-shirts. Made with a soft cotton/polyester blend, this shirt will be perfectly comfortable to wear around the house. It also features a slim fit, meaning you’ll still feel put together and polished enough to be productive.

This shirt is offered at a great price point, meaning you won’t have to break the bank to get some for your team.

The 6610 from Next Level is the women’s cut version of the shirt we mentioned above, so if you’re ordering for both men and women on your team, you’ll definitely want to consider this option to make sure the colors all line up.

One thing to note here as well: women’s t-shirts tend to run pretty small, so we advise ordering one size bigger than what you would normally wear for this one.

When it comes to t-shirts, you’d be hard-pressed to find one softer than the Canvas 3413. It’s made out of a tri-blend material (cotton, polyester, and rayon), which is widely regarded as the softest t-shirt fabric out there.

It also has a slim fit and an endless amount of color options, so you’re bound to be able to find a color match to fit your brand.

The Bella 6400 has quickly become one of our most popular women’s cut t-shirts. Named the Relaxed Jersey Short Sleeve Tee, this shirt has a loose, relaxed fit compared to other women’s t-shirts, but still maintains a structure that makes it look put together, not sloppy.

It fits a wider variety of sizes and body types, so if you’re looking for a women’s shirt that works for everyone, this will be your best option.

This extended period of working from home is the perfect time to send your team a custom zip-up, hoodie, or sweater to wear. Everyone is looking for ways to feel comfortable while working, and a new fleece option is the perfect choice. Here are our favorite WFH fleece picks.

This crewneck sweater from Bella+Canvas is one of our in-house favorites here at Real Thread. Case in point 👇

The mid-weight sweater is slim-fitting and incredibly soft. If you prefer a crewneck to a hoodie, this is our top suggestion.

There is perhaps no company swag piece more foundational than the company zip-hoodie. It’s comfortable, yes, but what makes the hoodie so universally wearable is the versatility. Being able to easily put it on when it’s getting chilly or take it off as the weather warms up makes the zip-up a must.

The SS4500Z from Independent Trading Co. is one of our favorites. It’s comfortable, slim, and is offered at a great price point, making it accessible for all different team sizes and budgets.

Are you looking for ways to help your team adjust to their new work from home life? We’d love to help! Real Thread will even ship to each employee individually, so you won’t have to worry about packaging and shipping to each person on your team.

Click here to start an order online, or click right here to talk to our incredible customer success team.

T-shirts are a great work from home apparel look. Comfortability meets productivity in custom corporate t-shirts. 

Thinking about getting your team a work from home gift? Check out these t-shirt and fleece options. 

When you check the tag on your t-shirt, it’s common to read Made in China or Made in Indonesia or maybe even Made in the USA. What’s not particularly common, though, is to read a name. But look on the inside of any shirt from Known Supply, and you’ll see names like Esther Barzola, Liz Aquino, or Vilma Bautista.

Why? Because they made the garment you’re holding.

This is the mission of Known Supply — for you to know exactly where your shirts come from.

“If we can get people to understand that there’s a real person behind the product, we can change the way they think about purchasing,” says Travis Hartanov, co-founder of Known Supply.

Known Supply was started by two lifelong friends, Travis Hartanov and Kohl Crecelius. The two got started in the fashion and apparel industry roughly 12 years ago when they started a brand called Krochet Kids, a similar concept where they employed impoverished women in Peru and Uganda to produce crocheted goods like beanies, clothing, etc.

As Krochet Kids grew and they began working with more partners, Travis and Kohl began to see how huge the gap was for socially conscious, ethically-made apparel.

“10 years into Krochet Kids, we had the itch to kind of say, ‘what’s next?’ And there’s this gap in the market for ethically made apparel, and we thought we could fill it” says Travis.

With an idea and a mission, Travis and Kohl set off to change the apparel industry for the better.

For Travis and Kohl, the mission of Known Supply was always clear: Humanizing the apparel industry.

How do they do this? By empowering both the people who make the apparel, and the people who purchase it.

In an age where so many things are automated, it’s easy to forget that, largely, apparel is still very much a manual process. There are large facilities with sophisticated machinery, but much of the real work is still done by hand

That said, there are a lot of clothing manufacturers who either pay poor wages to workers in countries overseas, or contract out factories to produce their goods and turn a blind eye towards the working conditions.

Knowing that workers in the industry are often treated poorly, the Known Supply team works hard to pay great wages and teach employable, in-demand skills, with the hope of their employees eventually being able to start their own businesses.

If one of the main goals of the company is to empower customers to make more informed better purchasing decisions, then there’s one truth that Known Supply wants to make sure you know: Who made it matters.

One small but impactful way they do this is by adding a tag with the signature of the person who made your shirt to every single garment.

“People can buy a shirt and read a snippet about who made my shirt and realize that they’re very similar to me. They’re trying to support a family and, you know, put food on the table just like I am in America,” says Travis.

If you go to Known Supply’s site, you can put a face to the name by reading about the person who made your shirt, and even leaving them a thank you note for doing so.

It’s that human connection that the team at Known Supply hopes will inspire buyers to change the way they think about purchasing.

“If customers understand who’s behind their apparel and start demanding better quality tees, that’s what it takes to increase the standards for everybody in the game,” says Travis.

Just as important as who made the shirts is how good the shirts are. And we can say for certain that these shirts are awesome.

Traditionally, most of Known Supply’s collection was made with Pima cotton, but they’re actually in the process of going 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. On top of that, all of their products are Fair Trade Certified, too.

“Apparel has as big of an environmental impact as it does a social one,” says Travis. “So we really want to couple both of those components together with the apparel we produce.”

These materials aren’t only good for the environment, as they make a darn good t-shirt, too. The high-quality fabrics make their shirts soft, durable, and structured. Plus, they’re pre-washed to prevent any shrinking.

Both Known Supply’s Men’s and Women’s Crew Neck feature unique stitching on the neck, giving these classic shirts a signature look all their own.

We’re also big fans of Known Supply’s Women’s Raglan Crew. Featuring a more subtle hem, raglan sleeves, and a flow-y silhouette, it’s an incredibly stylish take on a more standard tee.

We're thrilled to make Known Supply an option available for you to print on here at Real Thread.

Have more questions, or need help getting a custom shirt project started? Feel free to reach out. Our team can’t wait to talk to you.

The story of a clothing brand that's giving you a vulnerable look at where your clothes come from.

How Known Supply is Humanizing the Fashion Industry

The story of a clothing brand that's giving you a vulnerable look at where your clothes come from. 

The use of color and its psychological effects is one of the most studied, and most controversial, topics in branding and design.

It’s also massively important. In a marketplace where people are, consciously or unconsciously, making up their minds about brands in seconds, the colors that a brand deploys can be heavily influential in the decision a person makes.

In this post, we’ll look at why color psychology is important to you as a designer (of custom t-shirts or anything else) or marketer, and some general guidelines to follow when it comes to colors and the feelings/emotions associated with them.

Colors are incredibly important when it comes to marketing, branding, and design. It can influence where we look, how we perceive, and what we do once we see something.

Brands are in an ongoing battle to win the attention of customers, and the time they have to do it is getting shorter and shorter. Studies show that customers make their judgment on a product within 90 seconds of interaction with it, and about 62%-90% of that judgment is based on color.

Knowing the importance of color in decision making, it’s all the more reason to know how to use these colors and when.

Here’s the thing about color science: it varies. Widely. As much as we’d love to tell you that there’s an exact science behind this stuff, there just isn’t. Too much of what certain colors mean to certain people is dependent on personal experience.

Don’t rely solely on color to convey your brand attributes — they don’t have the power to do that.

However, though colors don’t mean the same things to all people, there are common perceptions that each color shares towards a general audience, and in the context of your overall brand, the colors should feel perfectly at home.

As we said, no one color is going to mean the same thing and feel the same way to everyone. But, each main color family does have certain associations with it that tend to project to a general audience.

Black is a color associated with seriousness and mystery. At it’s best, it brings thoughts of sophistication and control, but it’s darker side can evoke thoughts of depression and even death.

Because of its sophisticated feel, black is used heavily in the high-fashion industry. It also works very well in scenarios where high contrast is needed, like if you need to make something legible.

Blue is an incredibly popular choice of brand color — particularly in the corporate world. Emitting stability and trustworthiness, brands might lean this way if they really want to be seen as dependable, reliable.

Because so many brands default to blue as an easy, safe choice, it can be seen as boring, distant, and cold. But when used in conjunction with friendly, engaging brand assets, it blue will bring the perfect balance of interest and stability.

Brown is a very natural color — wood, earth, stone, etc — giving it a very strong association with nature. Green does this as well, but with stronger ties to life and color. Brown is a bit more grounded, literally and figuratively, as it’s seen in nature in trunks in roots. This association gives it sentiments of balance, comfort, and support.

Like we noted earlier, green is commonly associated with nature, health, and growth. In nature, green most commonly seen in seasons of bloom and harvest, tying it strongly together with life, peace, and vibrancy. If your brand or product is somewhat tied to nature, you’d do well to incorporate some green into the brand.

Orange — Creativity, adventure, enthusiasm

Orange, a mix red and yellow, brings excitement and energy, as well as warmth and shelter. Studies have shown that the color orange can boost a sense of activity and stimulate brain activity. Maybe it’s no coincidence that three of the five marketing-related books on my desk right now heavily feature the color orange. Get active and productive in our Tultex 202 Fine Jersey T-Shirt, it looks great in orange!

Purple is a very regal color, but also has roots in imagination and spirituality. Being the mixture of red in blue, it shares equal characteristics of both, with the power and energy of red, and the stability and trust of blue.

It’s particularly easy to spot its association with nobility with its use in sports. The Sacramento Kings (regal), Orlando City Lions (kings of the jungle), and Minnesota Vikings (conquerors) all make heavy use of the color purple.

Red is a powerful color that’s commonly used to capture attention. Cite the girl in the red coat from Schindler’s List. It’s strongly associated with sentiments of excitement and energy. In short, red is a color that easily stands out.

Red can be powerful when employed on things like buttons, or calls to action — anything that demands attention. Depending on the context though, red can also portray aggression and anger. So, use wisely.

Yellow — Happiness, positivity, optimism

Yellow, drawing a lot of its color identity from the sun, is the epitome of happiness, positivity, and warmth. Because it’s color association is so strongly rooted in something this tangible, yellow’s psychological associations are very tangible.

Used with the right balance, yellow brings joy, happiness, and confidence. Too much, though, is known to make people hypercritical, bringing self-esteem and anxiety along with it. 

When it comes to color preferences, men and women have pretty different tastes. Not that the rules are hard and fast, but when it comes to gender, color preferences are pretty clear. Here’s a graph from Kissmetrics:

There are actually a lot of similarities in color preferences here. Notable takeaways being both genders' preference for blue, the huge disparity in preference for purple, and both genders' distaste of brown and orange (sorry, Cleveland).

Studies have also shown that tints, shades, and hues make a major difference in color preference. Women tend to prefer softer colors, while men are more inclined to choose bolder ones.

When it comes to brand colors, be descriptive

When considering colors for your brand or product, don’t be afraid to be specific and descriptive, as the name of the color itself will help influence perception. Want to make someone feel a certain way? Use words to help them get there.

Even these changes are relatively conservative. In elementary school, there was a Crayola crayon between yellow and orange and it was named “mac n’ cheese”. And guess what? There was a fight over that crayon every time!

Don’t be afraid to choose your color and own it.

Well, you may not have gotten any definitive answers about picking your color palette, but hey, that's the nature of colors.

And hopefully, you should be able to take this information and apply it to your color choice. Though there’s no 100% correct answer, informed decisions will yield better results, and we hope this information helps you make those decisions.

Have anything else our team can help with? Let us know! Our team would love to help you flash your brand colors on a set of t-shirts that’ll do justice to all of the hard work that went into choosing them.


Read all about one of the most studied (and controversial) elements of design: color psychology. 

Harnessing the Power of Color Psychology for Your Brand 

We’re more than halfway through the year, and design patterns have begun to form. We’re beginning to see trends in what’s popular in the world of t-shirt design in 2019 — some old, some new — so take a look at what’s popular so far in 2019!

Something we’ve noticed a lot of this year, and last year as well, is an uptick in bright, vibrant t-shirt designs. This applies to the prints themselves, and the actual color of the shirt as well.

Primary colors tend to be a good base to start at when designing for this look. We’d also recommend looking at 100% cotton t-shirt options, as they have less heathering in them. Though, if you prefer the feel of a blend, you can still achieve a bright print using our Bold Ink.

This year, we’ve also seen a boost in heavyweight t-shirts. For reference, we define heavyweight t-shirts as a t-shirt that weighs around 6 oz, compared to your standard shirt that typically weighs around 3.7 to 4.3 oz.

Heavyweight tees tend to be worn baggier, as they’re most closely associated with streetwear, but you may also opt for a heavyweight shirt if you prefer a more structured fit, or simply a heavier shirt as we head into Fall and Winter.

We’re not sure if it’s Stranger Things related or what, but there seems to be a huge demand for nostalgia. Look at the top-grossing films this Summer and you’ll see titles like:

It seems pretty clear that everything from fashion to entertainment is heading back to the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

We’ve seen this reflected in t-shirt designs as well. Everything from friendly cartoon animals to bright 80s neon is back.

This next trend is one of the apparel industry’s best-kept secrets that looks like it’s finally been let out, and that is mineral wash apparel.

Evoking grunge feelings of the 80s and 90s, mineral wash t-shirts are an awesome option for faded, worn-in looks.

Bella+Canvas has a couple of great mineral wash options in the Bella 6400 (women's) and Canvas 3650 (unisex), the latter of which isn't photographed on our site yet, but has the exact same look as it's women's counterpart.

Now this trend isn’t exactly unique to this year by any means, but it’s worth noting simply for it’s staying power in the t-shirt design world: t-shirts with a small, left chest print on the front and a larger, center-aligned print on the back are favorites time and time again.

We could speculate all day about why people prefer t-shirt designs like this, but to be honest, we don’t know the exact reason why. But we’ll continue wearing them, that’s for sure.

This trend is also a holdover from our list last year, but it deserves to be on the list again because it hasn’t gone anywhere.

T-shirts have a unique ability to convey a message, and type-centric designs tend to convey them best. Whether a company mantra, bit of humor, or words to live by, a clever saying laid out in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing will always resonate with people.

One design trend we’ve seen a lot of that’s both refreshing and engaging is t-shirts with multiple print styles on them, creating an engaging contrast of textures.

Using some combination of our normal water-based ink, foil printing, or metallic ink can create added contrast and intrigue in your design that you may not be able to achieve in the same way simply with color.

So far in 2019, we’ve certainly noticed people being much choosier about the garments they decide to print their shirts on. Typically, we tend to see a lot of shirts printed on simple, basic unisex crewneck t-shirts, and while that’s still a lot of the shirts we print, we’ve noticed customers asking for more specific, unique styles.

Whether it be t-shirts Made in the USA, eco-friendly shirts, or ringer tees, more and more designs are being printed on unique apparel pieces.

So much so, that it caused us to rethink our entire product page. Our last one was stagnant, and we weren’t able to update it with new styles often. But now, we’ll be adding new garment styles regularly.

Pantone may have named Living Coral as the 2019 color of the year, but we have seen otherwise. If there’s been a color of the year so far as far as t-shirts go, Mauve has certainly been it.

A pale purple whose name comes from the mallow flower, mauve has proven incredibly popular so far this year.

Bella+Canvas has perhaps our favorite Mauve fabric. The variation of Mauve is available in each of the following styles:

*The latter two options don't have the color photographed on our site, but they do, indeed, exist and are available for your custom t-shirt projects.

Whether you're designing a t-shirt, print, or, well, anything really, we hope these 9 t-shirt design trends give you some inspiration. Have you noticed any design trends that we didn’t list? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you about what’s going to be hot in the coming months.

One of our favorite annual traditions: recapping the year's t-shirt design trends! 

9 T-Shirt Design Trends that Create Identity

Here is the definitive guide to how discharge printing on tri-blend shirts works.

First off, the question, "Can you discharge on tri-blends" is the wrong question to ask. You can absolutely discharge on tr-blends. The question one should really be asking is, "What result will I get discharging a tri-blend?"

The answer here is a bit like the number of colors the Canvas 3001 is available in, not black & white with a lot of variations.

Also, if you're not sure exactly what a tri-blend is, we have an article for that called What Exactly Is A Tri-Blend?

How does the discharge ink react to a tri-blend? 

Realistically? It depends on the shirt and specifically it depends on the fabric and it's composition. Obviously, there are three parts to the fabric of a tri-blend (it's not called a tri-blend for no reason). Those three part are: cotton, rayon, and polyester.

1) Cotton: Cotton is a great material from a discharge perspective. When discharging a tri-blend, the discharge ink is going to remove the pigment from the cotton and redye the cotton the desired color (your ink color).

2) Rayon: Rayon is a fabric made from purified cellulose fibers, which are typically created from wood pulp. Rayon is also rather discharge friendly and will act similarly to the cotton, allowing the color to be pulled from it and redyed.

3) Polyester: Polyester is the third component to a tri-blend and when it comes to discharging tri-blends, this is our "problem child" (no offense to all the third oldest children out there). Polyester is a synthetic fiber that does not react to discharge ink, it's basically vaccinated against discharge ink. Discharge has little effect on poly, meaning whatever color the polyester is, it's going to remain that color and our discharge ink is not going to be able to redye it the color we desire. This is where the vintage look often comes from when printing on tri-blend fabrics. If there is a dark polyester in the fabric, that dark polyester is going to influence the print result and "shine through" the ink, giving the vintage or heathered look.

- Best Shirt Fabrics for Discharge Ink: Fabrics that have white polyester and white rayon. These allow for a very clean print.

- Worst Shirt Fabrics for Discharge Ink: Red, Kelly Green or Royal Blue fabrics. These fabrics pigments do not react well to discharge inks.

Tri-Blend FabricFabric: A shirt made with cotton, polyester and rayon.

Discharge Ink: A water based ink that removes, mutes or replaces a garment’s color.

Some shots of prints on tri-blend shirts.

What Are the Best Shirts for Discharge Prints?

Should I Use Discharge Ink on Tri-Blends?

Yes. You can make incredible discharge prints on tri-blend shirts with water-based inks as long as you know what to expect based on your ink and shirt combination. That's what our team is great at helping with. Give us a call and let’s get your shirts on press. 

Are you wondering if you can print discharge ink onto tri-bend t-shirts? Keep reading to find out. 

Now more than ever, the environment is at the forefront of global issues, which has lead to a question we've been getting more and more of here at Real Thread: "Where can I get a good, eco-friendly t-shirt?" Don't worry, we've got you covered.

In an effort to help you find the perfect t-shirts for your brand, as well as the environment, here's a list of our six favorite companies for eco-friendly and sustainably produced t-shirts.

Alternative Apparel does an awesome job of creating eco-friendly, fashion forward apparel. Committed to sustainability, Alternative produces 80% of their products with sustainable materials and processes. On top of that, their processes include using 60% less water on average, non-toxic dyes, and a line of organic fabrics.

One of our favorite pieces from Alternative Apparel is the 1070 unisex go-to t-shirt. This light-weight 100% cotton t-shirt from Alternative Apparel is the perfect t-shirt for everyday use.

Alternative Apparel also offers a completely organic version of this t-shirt in the 6005. This shirt has a fashion-forward cut made from all organic and recycled materials, which will leave you feeling good for a couple of reasons: it’s super soft, and you’re saving the world. Win, win.

American Apparel has long been a front runner in providing eco-conscious, sustainable apparel. However, after a turbulent couple of years that included an ousted CEO, bankruptcy, new ownership, and some of production shifting to overseas, it left some people unsure if American Apparel would still have the same quality and conscious of old.

The good news though, is that American Apparel does continue to offer a line of environmentally friendly t-shirts and apparel made entirely of organic cotton.

The Unisex Organic Fine Jersey T-shirt has American Apparel’s iconic fit and feel, but is made solely from organic cotton. The Fine Jersey material is a mid-weight, tight-knit organic cotton that maintains a structured fit and a super soft feel. 

This crewneck is a cult classic that has won fans over for years – anyone who tries this tee on is bound to love it from first wear.

Available in a variety of colorways, you’re bound to find a version of this shirt that will work for you.

Royal Apparel have carved out a very strong niche in the corner of eco-friendly apparel. They offer the most extensive line of organic apparel on this list, while also producing all of their garments here in the US.

When we say they have an extensive line of organic apparel, we mean it. Their standard unisex tee comes in four different organic offerings: 100% organic cotton, an eco friendly tri-blend, a bamboo-cotton blend, and our favorite, the hemp-cotton blend. Each shirt has a similar fit, but different benefits.

The organic cotton and tri-blend shirts will feel the most familiar. Both being super soft, with the tri-blend having a bit more of a vintage look to it.

The bamboo fabric has a soft, light feel as well. The difference here is that the bamboo is a bit more insulated, keeping you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

The hemp-cotton blend has a really unique feel that will soften as the shirt ages – which it definitely will do, because hemp is an exceptionally strong fabric that is bound to last a long time. For more on the history of hemp t-shirts, head here!

Bella+Canvas makes this list not so much for their fabric materials, but for their above-and-beyond approach to manufacturing sustainable and eco-friendly t-shirts. They’ve invested a ton of time and resources into making every facet of their production sites eco-conscious and sustainable.

With fabric houses that use 7x less water than most manufacturers, facilities that run on solar power, and a strong effort to recycle every unused material, you can definitely feel good about ordering about Bella+Canvas.

Looking for a standard, crewneck tee? Try the Canvas 3001, or Bella 6400 for a women’s cut. Or looking for something more unique? Browse through their Fast-Fashion line, a group of more on-trend styles that are still ethically and sustainably produced.

"Good for the planet and its people" is Allmade's motto, and this mission is woven into every piece of apparel they produce. When they started in 2017, they were simply looking to make a great fitting, great feeling t-shirt to print on, without much other consideration in mind.

But, a trip to Haiti to visit a garment manufacturer brought some serious self-reflection and vision for Allmade's founders, and made them decide to pursue making apparel that is kind for the environment, and for the people producing the apparel (while not compromising on the original goal of producing a high-quality t-shirt).

By starting with recycled raw materials, and producing their t-shirts in ethical factories where employees are paid fair labor, Allmade produces a t-shirt you can feel good about wearing from an environmental standpoint, an ethical standpoint, and of course, a comfort standpoint.

One of our favorite Allmade t-shirts is the A2004T Unisex Triblend. This t-shirt is made of 50% recycled polyester, 25% organic ringspun cotton, and 25% TENCEL™ Modal which is made from renewable beech trees. It's soft, fitted, and comes in 8 beautiful colorways.

Known Supply is on a mission, and that mission is to educate buyers about where their clothes come from and why it matters. That's why, on a tag in the inside of each garment they produce, you'll find the signature of the actual person who made your garment.

“If we can get people to understand that there’s a real person behind the product, we can change the way they think about purchasing,” says Known Supply's co-founder Travis Hartanov in an interview with Real Thread last year.

By helping buyers understand that people are behind the apparel process, Known Supply hopes to make all t-shirt and apparel manufacturers more socially and environmentally responsible.

The Known Supply U100 Unisex T-Shirt and W100 Women's T-Shirt are two of our favorite t-shirts out there. Fair trade certified and made of 100% organic cotton, you'll have a hard time putting on another t-shirt after wearing either of these.

It can feel like there aren’t a lot of options for people who want eco-friendly, sustainably-made t-shirts, but it’s really not true! We hope this guide helps you on your journey to find a t-shirt that fits your needs—as well as the environment's.

If you’d like to learn more about any of these products or use one for your next t-shirt design, please contact us! One of our t-shirt experts would love to help walk you through the process.


Learn about some of our favorite sustainable, eco-friendly t-shirt brands and styles. 

The 6 Best Eco-Friendly and Sustainable T-Shirt Brands

2018 is a wrap, and we’re ready to go full speed ahead into 2019. Before we do though, we wanted to pause, appreciate, and admire some of 2018's best t-shirt and sweater designs we had the pleasure of printing this past year.

Full disclosure: we didn’t sift through every t-shirt, because, well, we printed a lot of them. Like a lot a lot. That being said, here are a handful of our favorite apparel designs from the past year.

Design By: RADwood
Printed on: Next Level 6210 in Dark Heather Grey

If you hadn’t noticed, Miami Vice-inspired design made quite the comeback in 2018. The Miami Heat unveiled what is maybe the most universally loved basketball jersey design in recent memory, and this t-shirt follows suit.

Design by: Hellcats, Inc.
Printed on: American Apparel 2001 in Black

Shoutout for our hometown pals Clark Orr and Brittany Reagan for this design, created for their brand Hellcats. Equal parts tough and fun, we love the look and feel of this design. 

For a peek behind the scenes into Clark Orr’s creative process, check out our interview with him earlier this year.

Design by: Palantir
Printed on: Next Level 6610 in Dark Heather Grey

When it comes to company t-shirts, there is perhaps nobody who takes them quite as seriously as Palantir. A tech giant with offices all over the globe, Palantir makes sure that every branch is outfitted with sweet t-shirts dedicated to that specific location. 

Design by: Ethos Vegan Kitchen
Printed on: American Apparel 2001 in White

On this blog, we often write about how people tend to prefer simple designs with a low color count. However, rules are meant to be broken, and this one does it in an awesome way. Summer is all about fun, and this t-shirt captures that feeling perfectly.

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