Sizing a Clothing Order for Charities
Volunteer bodies do not follow a tidy curve. Here is how to split a charity clothing order across sizes without leaving dead stock in a cupboard.
Restocking Branded Kit for Charities
A charity design that works should be reordered, not redesigned. Here is how repeat runs work, and what keeps the second batch matching the first.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Charities
A sample costs £150 and is credited against the bulk order. For a charity spending donated money, that is cheap insurance on a run of 50.
Branding Options for Charities
Print is only the start. Woven labels, tear-out tags and the bag a shirt arrives in all change how a charity garment is received.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Charities
Spending donated money on branded kit deserves the same diligence as any other contract. Here are the questions that separate two quotes.
Charities: Summer Events Order Deadlines
Summer fundraising dates do not move. Here is the arithmetic that tells a charity when the clothing order has to be signed off.
What Bands Pay for Branded Clothing
Tees from £11 and hoodies from £30 at the 50-piece minimum. Here is how merch pricing actually moves, and what it means for sell-through.
Minimum Orders Explained for Bands
Fifty pieces per design, sizes mixed freely. Here is how that shapes a merch run, and what to do when fifty feels like too many.
Lead Times Bands Should Plan For
Tour dates are fixed and print schedules are not instant. Here is the timeline a band should work to before the first show.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Bands
Merch sizing is a sales decision, not an admin one. Here is how to split 50 pieces so the table is not left with only extra smalls.
Restocking Branded Kit for Bands
Selling out sounds good until the table is empty for the last six dates. Here is how band restocks actually work.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Bands
A render cannot tell you how a print feels after a wash. Here is what a band should check on a sample before committing to 50 pieces.
Branding Options for Bands
The neck label on most merch advertises a blank manufacturer. Here is what a band can replace it with, and what it costs in practice.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Bands
Most merch disappointments trace back to a question nobody asked at quote stage. Here are the ones that matter.
Bands: Christmas Order Deadlines
December merch is decided in October. Here is the arithmetic, and what to do if the artwork is not ready in time.
Bands: Tour Season Order Deadlines
Merch that arrives after the opening date has already lost money. Here is the schedule a tour should be ordering to.
What Salons Pay for Branded Clothing
Polos from £15 and tees from £11 at the minimum. Here is what a salon actually spends once bleach and colour are factored in.
Minimum Orders Explained for Salons
Fifty pieces sounds like a lot for a six-chair salon. Counted properly, across roles, spares and sites, it usually is not.
Lead Times Salons Should Plan For
Production on a salon uniform order is 10-15 working days from artwork approval, and delivery sits on top. Here is how to count back to a fixed date.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Salons
Sizing a salon order is a rota exercise, not a formula. Here is how to split the 50-piece minimum so every chair is covered without dead stock.
Restocking Branded Kit for Salons
A second run of salon kit can arrive a shade off the first if nobody plans for it. Here is how to restock so run two matches run one.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Salons
A salon sample costs £150 and comes back off the bulk invoice. Here is the list of things worth checking on it before you approve a run of 50.
Branding Options for Salons
Salon kit can carry woven neck labels, tear-out labels and swing tags. Here is which branding to use where, and how the pieces arrive packed.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Salons
Two salon uniform quotes rarely cover the same things. Here are the questions that make them comparable, and the answers that should worry you.
Salons: the New Year Rush Order Deadlines
New Year brings the heaviest salon intake of the year. Ordering in November is what puts branded kit on the floor before the first January booking.
What Clothing Brands Pay for Branded Clothing
A first drop starts from £11 a tee and £30 a hoodie at the 50-piece minimum. Here is what moves that number and what sits on top of it.
Minimum Orders Explained for Clothing Brands
Fifty pieces per design, sizes mixed freely. Here is how that rule applies to colourways, multiple products and a brand planning its first drop.
Lead Times Clothing Brands Should Plan For
A drop date is built backwards from delivery, through a 10-15 working day build, to artwork approval. Here is where brands lose the weeks.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Clothing Brands
An even size split is the fastest way to end a drop with dead stock. Here is how brands build a curve inside the 50-piece minimum.
Restocking Branded Kit for Clothing Brands
Reordering a design that sold is the cheapest growth a brand has. Here is when to place it and how to keep the colour consistent between runs.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Clothing Brands
A sample costs £150 and comes off the bulk invoice. For a brand it is the last chance to check fit, hand feel and label work before 50 pieces exist.
Branding Options for Clothing Brands
The label in the neck is what separates a brand from a printed blank. Here is the private label work available and when it has to be decided.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Clothing Brands
Two manufacturing quotes can look the same and mean different things. Here is what a brand should ask before committing a first drop budget.
Clothing Brands: Black Friday Order Deadlines
Promo week only works if the boxes are already on the shelf. Here is how far ahead a clothing brand needs to order for Black Friday.
Clothing Brands: Trade Show Season Order Deadlines
Show kit that arrives the day before the stand goes up is kit you cannot fix. Here is how far ahead a brand should order for trade show season.
What Hotels Pay for Branded Clothing
Hotel uniform starts from £15 for a polo and £30 for corporate uniform at the 50-piece minimum, with towels from £12 each. Here is what shapes the number.
Minimum Orders Explained for Hotels
Fifty pieces per design means each department and each towel size counts on its own. Here is how hotels and small properties plan around it.
Lead Times Hotels Should Plan For
A property ordering uniform or towels should count back from the season, not from the day the cupboard empties. Here is the timeline that works.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Hotels
A hotel size split has to survive shift patterns, laundry cycles and staff turnover. Here is how to build one that does not leave dead stock behind.
Restocking Branded Kit for Hotels
Repeat orders are where a hotel uniform programme either holds together or drifts. Here is what to record and when to place the second run.
Samples Before Bulk: A Guide for Hotels
A hotel sample is worth the fee for one reason: it is the only way to see how the garment survives your laundry before you commit to 50 of them.
Branding Options for Hotels
Labels and packaging are where hotel kit stops looking bought and starts looking specified. Here is what each option does and when it earns its place.
Picking a Clothing Supplier: Hotels
Choosing a uniform supplier is mostly about asking the unglamorous questions early. Here are the ones that separate a solid quote from a thin one.
What Cafes Pay for Branded Clothing
Branded kit for a coffee shop is priced per piece at the 50-piece minimum, and the figure moves with quantity rather than with how busy your logo is.
Minimum Orders Explained for Cafes
Most cafes have fewer staff than the minimum has pieces. That is not a problem once you understand what the 50 is counting.
Lead Times Cafes Should Plan For
The production window is predictable. What catches cafes out is the fortnight before it starts, when nobody has approved the artwork yet.
Sizing a Clothing Order for Cafes
A cafe size split has to work for the people you have now and the people you will hire next spring. Here is how to build one that does both.
Restocking Branded Kit for Cafes
The second order is easier than the first, provided somebody wrote down what the first one was. Here is the short list worth keeping.