T-Shirts for Charities: lead time
By The Velocity Wear Team
Charity t-shirts are produced in 10-15 working days from artwork approval, with delivery transit after that. For a fundraising campaign the binding constraint is usually not production - it is the approval chain in front of it. Between a design agreed by the campaign team and artwork signed off by whoever controls the brand, most charities lose more days than the factory uses.
How long before the fundraising date should you order?
Six to eight weeks before the event, and earlier if shirts need to reach volunteers who are spread across the country. A workable plan looks like this.
- 1Eight weeks out: agree the design and confirm who has authority to approve it.
- 2Seven weeks out: collect volunteer sizes with a published closing date.
- 3Six weeks out: sign off the production artwork, which is where the 10-15 working day window begins.
- 4Three weeks out: shirts arrive centrally, get counted and are split by region or team.
- 5Two weeks out: shirts reach the people wearing them, with time to swap a size.
What happens inside the production window?
Cutting in the sizes ordered, making screens or transfer files for each colour and design, printing or embroidering each position, curing, checking and packing. The window runs from artwork approval because screens are made from approved artwork. Everything before that point is yours to control, which is why charities that nominate a single approver tend to hit dates that charities working by committee miss. The wholesale t-shirts page is where to begin once the design is settled.
Where do charity orders usually stall?
At three predictable places. Brand approval, where a communications lead wants the logo used differently. Partner logos, which arrive late and as low-resolution images rather than vector files. And the size collection, where volunteers who signed up months ago no longer answer emails. Each of those is solvable in advance: agree the logo usage before the design work starts, ask partners for vector artwork at the same time you ask for their permission, and set a default size for non-responders - charity size splits explains how to choose it.
What if the campaign date moves?
Campaign dates move more often than event dates do, which is an argument for keeping the date off the shirt. A design without a year on it survives a postponement and can be used again, whereas a dated shirt becomes surplus the moment the schedule slips. If the date has already been printed and the campaign is delayed, the shirts still work as volunteer kit, but you cannot sell them to supporters as current. That is a design decision worth making early, and charity reordering covers how repeat campaigns handle it.
Can anything be done when the date is already close?
Simplify the job and shorten the approval chain. One print position, two colours, one garment colour, no personalisation. Give one named person authority to sign the proof without a meeting. Do not approve artwork you have not checked properly in order to start the clock - a reprint costs the whole window again and a fundraising date will not wait. Charity t-shirt cost shows what those simplifications save at the same time, and the charities and fundraising page covers what campaigns usually order together.
