Company Shirts for Employees: A Complete Planning Guide
By The Velocity Wear Team
Company shirts get forty-four hundred US searches a month, with some of the highest click costs in apparel. That tells you companies spend real money on them. The best company shirts are ones employees choose to wear. The worst are handed out once and never seen again. Here's how to plan for the first kind.
Everyday wear or event wear?
Decide what the shirts are for. Everyday uniform shirts need durability, consistency and enough quantity to rotate. Event shirts, like a company picnic, charity run or conference, need to be fun and memorable. Mixing the two goals in one design usually satisfies neither.
Pick styles by role
- Client-facing staff: embroidered polos or quarter zips.
- Office teams: quality tees, crewnecks or hoodies with subtle branding.
- Field and warehouse teams: durable tees, performance polos and work layers.
- Leadership and sales: smarter layers like quarter zips for client meetings.
Design for wearability
A small logo, a good color and a soft, well-made shirt will outperform a giant logo on a thin tee every time. Consider a secondary brand mark or a clever internal phrase rather than just the corporate logo. People wear things that feel like clothing, not advertising.
Sizing, respectfully
Collect sizes privately through a form with a size chart in inches. Offer women's cuts and extended sizes. Never guess sizes, and never ask in a public channel.
Remote and distributed teams
For remote employees, you'll need to ship shirts individually. Order in bulk to get the lower unit price, then pack and ship yourself or through a fulfillment partner. Build a small stock of common sizes for new hires. See our employee welcome kit hoodies guide for kitting ideas.
Budgeting
Multiply employees by shirts per person, add a buffer for new hires, and price on the calculator. Tees start from $13 and polos from $18 each at 20 pieces, with lower prices at 50, 100 and 250. Ordering once for the year is usually cheaper than several small orders.
A simple apparel policy
Write down who gets what, how often shirts are replaced, and whether they're required on certain days. It avoids confusion and makes budgeting predictable.
Consistency over time
Keep a spec sheet: style, color, logo size, placement and thread or ink colors. Reorders then match, and employees hired in different years look like the same team.
Get employee input
Before finalizing, share two or three options with a small group of employees and ask which they'd wear on a weekend. Five minutes of feedback avoids an expensive order nobody likes, and people are more likely to wear something they had a say in.
Company shirts for recruiting
Career fairs, campus recruiting and job booths benefit from recruiters in sharp company apparel. It makes the team approachable and the brand memorable. Some companies give candidates a tee or tote at events, which keeps the company top of mind when applicants compare offers.
Handling departures
Decide whether employees keep company shirts when they leave. Most companies let people keep casual tees and hoodies but ask for uniforms with names or security-sensitive branding to be returned.
Order timing
Allow 10 to 15 working days of production plus shipping, and more before holidays.
Timeline
Production takes 10 to 15 working days after artwork approval, plus shipping. For company events and holiday gifts, give yourself six weeks. See corporate uniforms, polo shirts and custom t-shirts.
