Cotton, what a great fabric! We slip it on in the morning, dry off with it after a shower, snuggle in it throughout our slumber and dry our tears with it. It truly is the fabric of life! Sadly, the fabric of life, much like life itself, is going to start to cost more.
Flooding has caused a poor harvest in China and Pakistan. The Hurricane in Haiti took several facilities that manufacture items such as T-shirts, Hoodies, sweat pants, polos, and many other garments we have grown to love. End retailers such as those who create custom printed t-shirts are starting to feel the pinch as cotton prices soar.
Cotton prices have just hit $1.19 per pound — the highest level since the New York Cotton Exchange started keeping records in 1870. While we are working to not raise our custom t-shirt prices this is probably not the standard industry wide. So, if you are scratching your head about what to get others for Christmas take a look in their linen closet. You could be saving them some money by replacing sheets, towels, etc before the prices increase.
While many are planning to pass this cost onto the end consumer, YOU! TheShirtPrinter.com is finding other ways to “trim the fat” so we can keep the cost of our custom printed t-shirts low. In the past year we have seen an 8 percent increase on t-shirts and up to 16 percent on items such as hoodies, long sleeve t-shirts and sweat pants. It is inevitable to avoid ever raising the price of screen printed t-shirts but for the time being we are striving to keep our t-shirt prices low. Why? Cause we give a shirt about you!

The Internet works in fascinating ways. In this particular situation it has connected the only two people in the world who dislike t-shirts. Read what LT Melbourne and Businesses Advice Columnist, Aunty B, have to say about the world’s favourite garment, the t-shirt.

Dear Aunty B,
Thanks for yesterday’s update on men’s fashion. My problem is not about how I dress but how my staff dresses! I have a couple of young blokes who wear printed t-shirts in the office and sometimes even tank tops. One wore a beer tank top the other day! When I asked him where he got it in a rather pointed way he happily told me Phuket. The t-shirters work in IT, work long hours and rarely leave the office (I don’t know where they sleep). But we have a lot of people who come and visit the office and we try to steer them past the grots in a hurry. I told them to smarten up but all they did was go out and buy new t-shirts.
Then I hit on it. If I banned t-shirts in the office, they would be forced to smarten up! Can I do that?
LT,
Melbourne

Dear LT,
Ban them from the office? Listen mate. I am appointing you CEO of the Human Race so you could ban custom printed t-shirts from the entire Planet Earth. What an awful garment the t-shirt is: an unattractive piece of fabric that stretches across the middle – and the back – in the most unflattering way, shouting to all and sundry, look at me, I don’t give two hoots how I look and what you think! I make one concession: t-shirts can look great on anyone under 18… at a pinch 19. But I doubt you are employing them in the office. So do us all a favour. Ban them, ban them, ban them!
Good luck!
Your Aunty B

Dear LT and Aunty B,
WHAT?? Seriously, who despises the custom t-shirt to the extreme of banning it? I think a better solution for these “grots”, who work long and obviously unappreciated hours, would be to provide them with a custom printed uniform. If your employees are producing why “force” them to “smarten up”? Placing a ban on their custom printed t-shirts is only going to cause turmoil in the work place and lead to a less productivity. If leadership would “smarten up” they would realize that sometimes it’s better to join them then try to beat them. It seems the real issue is the perception of your visitors. With that in mind, the option of custom printed t-shirts with your company logo would be great. If t-shirts are just too “awful” of a garment there are also custom printed polo’s that offer style and comfort. The decision could be made to let those slags in the IT department wear what they want but provide them a cover up in the form of a custom printed Hoodie or printed jackets to wear when visitors are present. Lastly, you can just move them down to the basement with the janitors and grounds keepers. Comfort is important and it’s rare that one cannot find it in a t-shirt. My guess is if the two of you have tried one it probably had too much starch on it. Loosen Up! And, visit TheShirtPrinter.com for all your custom printed t-shirt needs.

Uncle T-shirt

As fun and frivolous as custom printed t-shirts can be they can sometimes have an adverse effect on the ignorant and those who lack a sense of humor. Just ask the Whitewater Wisconsin student who was punched in the face for wearing a custom printed t shirt that simply said “Legalize Gay”. Better yet talk to the guy in Limavidy Ireland who showed up to court on marijuana possession charges with a custom printed tee shirt that said “I don’t abuse weed, I just smoke it”. Both of these folks ended up in some bad situations because of their tee shirt printing choices but should stand proud for utilizing the great avenue of cheap t shirt printing to express their point of view. Custom t shirt printing is a great way to send a message to the world. Be proud of who you are and let everyone know your message with cheap t shirt printing from TheShirtPrinter.com