Denim Jackets for Charities, Ordered Properly
By The Velocity Wear Team
Denim jackets are $38 a piece from fifty, which for a charity is a real decision rather than a rounding error. The case for denim is length of service: a jacket that is still worn in five years puts a logo in front of people for five years, where a cheap tee is a rag by the second summer. The case against is the upfront cost against a tighter garment doing the same job.
What does a denim jacket cost a charity per volunteer?
Start from the tier, not the headline. Fifty pieces sit at the $38 entry rate, and the per-piece figure falls as quantity rises, by up to 35% against that rate at the largest band. Then divide by the years the garment will realistically be worn, because that is the number that matters to a trustee asking why the kit budget went up. A jacket at a higher unit cost worn for four years is cheaper per year than a tee replaced annually, and it is a better answer at a board meeting than a smaller invoice. Our denim jackets page sets out the builds, and the charities and fundraising page covers how the kit usually gets used.
How do you size volunteers you have never met?
Order a broader curve than you would for staff and accept a little waste at the edges. Volunteer lists change constantly, people sign up and never appear, and nobody is filling in a size form for an unpaid Saturday. Weight the run heavily towards large and extra large, because denim is worn over other layers and because a volunteer in a jacket that is slightly too big is still wearing it, while one in a jacket that is too small is not. Keep a small stock of the common sizes back for the people who join after delivery. Ordering a broad curve and holding a handful of spares back is the whole technique, and it costs nothing on the piece rate because sizes mix freely inside the run.
Is denim the right garment for a fundraising line?
It is if the jacket is being sold rather than given. Denim carries a retail price that supporters will pay, and the gap between the tier cost and a sensible selling price is a genuine contribution rather than a token one. As a giveaway it is expensive, and a cheaper garment does the same visibility job at a collection point. Many charities split it: a low-cost tee for mass volunteering days and a denim jacket for regular volunteers and supporters who buy one. That split, and the rest of the fundraising kit question, is covered in custom apparel for charities and nonprofits.
How should a charity plan the timing?
Around the campaign, with slack for internal approval. Production is 10 to 15 working days from artwork approval, and in a charity the approval step frequently involves a communications lead, a trustee and a funder, none of whom are in the same room. Put a date on it. If a specific appeal or event is driving the order, count backwards from that and add a fortnight, using the same arithmetic set out in apparel production lead times explained.
Ask what the jacket is for before asking what it costs. Kit that identifies volunteers at a public collection needs to be visible from a distance and instantly recognisable. Kit that thanks a long-standing supporter needs to be something they would choose to wear anyway. Those are different garments and frequently different orders. Answering that question first stops a committee compromising its way into a jacket that does neither job well, which is the most common way a charity kit budget gets wasted.
