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42 images FEBRUARY 2017
PF PROMOWEAR
by Bella+Canvas,” comments Sam Turner, sales director at Fire
Label Merchandising. Over at Direct Textile Designs, Mark has no-
ticed a big increase in 100% polyester performance fabrics in the
running/events market thanks to its moisture wicking abilities.
Customers are also asking for more retail-quality styles, reports
Alex. “If they’re buying their Next T-shirts and they’re costing them
15-20 quid, then when they start buying T-shirts at £3 printed up,
they realise that these are just for wearing down the beach then
being thrown away.” He concedes that it doesn’t happen a lot –
when offered a choice of a £1.90 or a £2.10 shirt for an order for
500 or 1,000 shirts with two colours, the client is likely to opt for
the cheaper one still, as “price matters” – but some clients are
asking for heavier weight tees or a nicer finish as they want the
T-shirts to better reflect what’s found in the shops.
Gordon Glenister, director general of the BPMA, adds: “We are
starting to see more stylish garments enter the sector, even fol-
lowing some of the fashion trends in the consumer market. Recip-
ients want to look and feel good when wearing a branded T-shirt,
and corporates want to ensure their brand is well represented.
BPMA research proves that they want better quality garments: the
challenge is making sure they will pay more for them.”
White T-shirts continue to be the first choice on very large runs
thanks to cost. “It’s cheaper for us to buy and cheaper to print so
we can offer much more competitive pricing to our customers
that are trying to make their budgets go as far as possible,” explains
Sam. However, colour choice is not (dare we say it) as black and
white as it might at first appear. “Where colours are concerned we
have noticed an increase in our customers buying a wider variety
of colours instead of just the bog standard black T-shirt, which
used to be the norm,” continues Sam. “Part of the reason for this
Henbury: Coolplus Polyester Polo Shirt
Henbury says the ideal promotionalwear polo shirt is its bestselling Coolplus Polyester
Polo Shirt (H475), made in a micro-piqué with permanent wicking, moisture management
technology. The brand says that due to the style’s continued success and demand, its size
range has been increased to 2XS-5XL and the colour range has also expanded with four
new options; bright jade, mid blue, red and Oxford navy.
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PenCarrie: Sol’s
Regent T-Shirt
One of the best-selling styles
from Sol’s in 2016 was the
Regent T-Shirt (11380), part
of the Sol’s Essentials Collec-
tion. This T-shirt remained
consistently popular amongst
decorators and end users,
reports PenCarrie, due to its
“excellent print surface and
good value”, making it an
ideal high volume promotion-
al T-shirt. It is available in a
choice of 41 colours.
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Front Row: Long Sleeved Plain Rugby Shirt
Front Row nominated its Long Sleeved Plain Rugby Shirt (FR100/101) for its
promowear item of 2016. This lightweight rugby shirt is available in 12 col-
ours for men, in sizes S-3XL, and in eight colours for women, S-2XL. Black/
white and navy/white are available in sizes up to 4XL, with key colours for
women starting at XS.
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Stedman: Classic-T
Crew Neck
“When it comes to high volume
articles, no other style in Stedman’s
Basics collection matches the
Classic-T,” says the brand. “This is
the prototypical T-shirt for the pro-
motional industry: Made of durable,
ringspun single jersey cotton, it
offers good quality at a competitive
price and a perfect base for all kinds
of textile decoration.” It is available
in a selection of 19 colours and
sizes S-3XL, meaning the Classic-T
(ST2000) fits almost anyone and
matches a broad range of purposes,
says the brand.
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