When it comes to custom apparel, there are many ways to spend more than you need.
However, “costs less” doesn’t always equal “more value.” Sometimes, as with our first example, spending more upfront can save you money in the long run.
At other times, ordering in advance or bulk might seem like a good cost-cutting move, but comes with hidden costs like stocking fees.
The 15 tips in this list will help you get the most bang for your buck regarding your custom apparel. Whatever business you’re in – food service to healthcare to the fitness industry – custom branded apparel extends your brand recognition and can make you stand out in a crowded market.
1. High Quality Uniforms Stretch Your Dollar (AND make employees feel more valued)
While not the answer for high-turnover industries, if your business has employees who stick around consider a higher-quality uniform. Product quality is a signal to an employee of their value. If you give out name brand gear, your employee will ascribe a higher value to the company, and will in turn feel that they are a valuable member of the team. Why consider a higher-end range of clothing:
- Durability and Longevity: Durable materials and superior construction mean uniforms last longer
- Enhanced Professional Image: Wearing well-known, reputable brands enhances the professional appearance of employees. It can positively impact customer perception, creating a sense of trust and reliability in the company’s services or products.
- Comfort and Employee Satisfaction: Brands like Carhartt and Patagonia prioritize comfort and ergonomic design. People feel better and are more productive with the right tools for the job – including their uniform.
- Brand Association and Recognition: There can be a “ride-along” benefit as customers may view a business as more credible through using recognized brands.
- Sustainability and Ethical Practices: Many high-quality brands focus on sustainable and ethical manufacturing practices, allowing you to align more easily with your own corporate social responsibility goals and appeal to eco-conscious consumers.
2. Use and Reuse Your Design Assets
You don’t need to recreate the wheel every time! Many brands have a deep well of creative graphics and assets that were designed for one application. Those same graphics can be used in new media. If a design was created for signage, you can adopt that design for use on a shirt with little to no expense. Reusing the same logo graphic but in a different colorway can stretch those design dollars further. Maybe your standard is White on Navy, but for summer season you print pink on yellow. It’s a completely refreshed look, with nothing more than a color change.
Setup charges can quickly add up. Each time you create a new design or logo, there is a set up charge to create film, screens, digitizing, and/or dies for imprinting each product type that will use the new design.
When changing the color scheme, for instance, the screen can be reused with a new ink color.
And don’t forget the cost of design/redesign, which can be hundreds to thousands of dollars.
3. Give New Hires Provisional Gear
Before you know if someone is going to stick around, focus your new hires on trimmed down selections of gear. As they show loyalty, reward them with better goods when they hit the 90- or 180-day benchmark. Employees are worth investing in, but don’t do so prematurely with your highest quality kit.
For example, you’ve just hired a new waitress. Give her a few shirts and a cap to begin. After 90 days and signs that they intend to stick with you, it’s time to give them a nicer hat, a water bottle, and perhaps a jacket or hoodie as a way to welcome them.
4. Avoid Stocking Fees
Most garments and items can be produced on demand – especially those that aren’t ordered often. When items take up space, you are charged a stocking fee. For items like seasonal goods, it may be less expensive to do a one-time purchase. No goods are left on the shelf and everyone gets just exactly what they ordered.
When there’s no need for an immediate turn-around, on-demand printing of infrequently-ordered items almost always saves you money.
5. Provide Employee Choice for Your Uniform Program
Sometimes employees will want more than one or two shirts, for convenience and to stretch out time between laundry days. You can offer them the option of buying more themselves. An order portal allows them to order the items on their time. Read our Dave & Busters case study for an example of this in action.
6. Consider Aprons
Aprons are super-functional garments that provide a range of design options. Bib aprons provide large real estate for communicating brand messages and graphics. Many companies use them as their main uniform item since they are one size fits all and are easy to care for.
They can be decorated with embroidery, printing, patches, or be edge to edge printed with sublimation. They are also easy to get in a sustainable material, so if budget-friendliness is bumping up against eco-friendliness, you can achieve both with a well-designed apron.
For example, many high-end restaurants use made-to-order aprons for a completely bespoke look. Getting an analog version produced in volume can achieve the look without setting you back a hundred or more per apron.
7. Buy Gear in Smaller Batches Throughout the Year
When you make a one-time, annual purchase, you risk purchasing custom apparel for someone just about to quit. Splitting purchases over the course of the year keeps money in your bank, prevents loss from refitting employees who leave shortly afterwards, and allows you to adjust what you offer based on the seasons. And, of course, ordering in smaller batches avoids the stocking costs mentioned above.
8. Reduce Shipping Costs
A great way to reduce the cost of delivery is to order more of the stock items you use over and over again and have those on hand to give out to new hires or to replace a worn-out garment. If you use t-shirts and caps on a regular basis, having them readily available is more effective than paying freight for every small order of gear. Keeping your freight cost per garment low is a smart way to reduce overall expenses.
9. Limit Logo Applications and Colors in Your Printed Pieces
Most companies have a single-color logo which is usually the best option for anything that is printed. A one-color front print and a one-color back print are enough for most uses because multi-color imprints and garments with multiple print locations per garment are more expensive.
Occasionally, it can make sense to print a sleeve for a special commemoration or event, but for standard evergreen gear it does not provide enough value to justify the costs. Converting logos to a single color is a simple process, and one we can assist with.
Got artwork questions? Get in touch with our art department.
10. Keep Your Standard Kit Fairly Simple
The KISS principle is a good one to follow for your standard uniform kit. Each additional element – another color or additional decoration – or item adds to your costs. For instance, one main shirt, one standard cap, and one basic apron with a single-color logo is often all you need to get started. Over time, you can expand your kit and/or create one-off seasonal promotions with extra color and design elements.
11. Dupes of Higher-End Brands
Get the same look with lower cost brands that look like high-end apparel. In fact, many look-alikes are up to 40% less in cost! There are a lot of options on the market of quality mid-level apparel that has modeled itself after high-cost, trendy items (such as Fossa, Mercer & Mettle, District, Port Authority, Devon & Jones, and Landway).
These are all quality garments that have the same or similar fabrics, cuts, trims, and colors at a fraction of the cost of name brands.
12. Partner With a Distributor Who Has a Network of Suppliers
Distributors like Righteous forward their volume discounts and cost savings on to their customers. We pass on our savings – and other benefits – to you:
- Access to a Wide Range of Products: You have access to the latest styles, materials, and innovations in branded apparel, allowing you to find the perfect fit for your needs.
- Volume Discounts and Cost Savings: Because we can purchase at volume, that puts premium uniforms with the price range of more businesses. Regardless, you benefit from our ability to buy in bulk.
- Simplified Procurement Process: Rather than finding a source for your apparel, a designer, warehouse, etc.; working with a single distributor gives you one point of contact for all of your apparel needs. All you have to do is order.
- Consistent Quality and Availability: Reduce the risk of stockouts or inconsistencies in uniform appearance so that your brand image remains cohesive.
- Expertise and Support: You aren’t a clothing expert. We are. A partner can provide expert advice on selecting the right products, customization options, and the latest trends.
13. Lower-Cost Decoration
Consider more cost-effective and durable decorations. Skip the stitch-heavy direct embroidery and opt for a transfer, PVC patch, or sublimated patch. What are these three lower-cost-yet-equally-effective options:
- Transfer – These are direct to film screen prints or fabric applications that we heat apply under pressure to each garment one at a time.
- PVC patch – Typically sewn on, these trendy and durable patches really make detailed logos shine with their crisp edges and color matching.
- Sublimated patch – This is the new kid on the block that allows us to reproduce multi-color and edge to edge designs on clean, detailed fabric patches. We can either sew these on or heat apply.
Choose from 50+ custom apparel decoration techniques to bring your brand to life.
14. Pick What’s Right for Your Environment.
Items will last longer if they are built for where you’ll be. In the kitchen? Get stain guarded and moisture-wicking materials. Working outside? Get UV protection, and tough materials meant to stand up to the job. A garment that is being asked to do more than what it is made for won’t last long. Here are some of our customer favorites:
Moisture Wicking Shirts
Port Authority® Long Sleeve UV Daybreak Shirt W960
Lightweight, moisture-wicking, highly breathable shirt.
Hi-Vis T-Shirts
CornerStone® ANSI 107 Class 2 Long Sleeve Safety T-Shirt. CS401LS
High-visibility t-shirt that works as hard as you do.
Rip-Resistant Uniform Shirts
CornerStone® Long Sleeve Select Ripstop Shirt CSW174
A best-seller, this ripstop work shirt features a woven fabric that’s more resistant to rips and tears than other common uniform fabrics.
15. Proper Care
How you take care of your clothes matters. Teach your employees how to care for their garments. For example, washing polos inside out helps the decoration hold up to more washes. For performance gear, hanging clothes to dry or at least not using a dryer sheet helps these garments retain their performance properties for longer.
Free Checklist – How to Wash Uniforms and Apparel
As a general rule, if you can communicate these 3 simple tips to your employees, your branded apparel will remain functional longer; line dry, wash inside out, don’t use a dryer sheet!
Kitting Out Your Team Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank
With these tips, you can keep your team looking sharp without emptying your wallet. It’s all about being smart – pick quality where it counts, get creative with your designs, and don’t go overboard on the fancy stuff right off the bat.
Remember, we’ve been in this game a long time. We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. So if you’re scratching your head over uniforms or other branded apparel, give us a shout. We will help you nail a great professional look without putting a professional-sized bill hole in your budget. Your team deserves to look and feel good.
If you’re curious about ways your company might be able to save with some simple value engineering, contact us. We’ll connect you with one of our experts for a free assessment of your current apparel program to see if we can help drive greater value.
