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Originally Posted by ggalvin75 |  | | | | | | | | | My question is, is it possible to buy used tee-shirts in bulk? | |  | |  | |
In terms of availability I would have two concerns - one is that the majority of t-shirts are already printed. I could be wrong, but I simply don't think many blank secondhand t-shirts would even exist. When I have found blank shirts in thrift stores, they've usually been out of date styles and colours (obviously the latter being less relevant after re-dyeing, although the putrid underlying colour can still interfere unless you just dye everything black).
Second, t-shirts are often worn to shreds, so they're a harder item to find in good enough condition to re-sell (as has been mentioned they tend to be made into rag bags).
Generally after clothing is worn and no longer needed, it is thrown out, re-sold on places like eBay, or donated. Obviously the last is the part of the re-use chain you'd come in at. Basically, when clothing is put into a thrift store bin to be donated, it doesn't go to thrift stores. It goes to a sorting centre. Things are sorted into a few different categories - some of them being premium goods for high-end thrift stores, average goods for thrift stores, low quality goods to be sold to overseas clothing markets (around here that often means Papua New Guinea, it could also mean Africa, South-East Asia, etc.), and lastly they're made into rags.
If secondhand t-shirts are to be had in bulk, it would be via one of these sorting centres. You'd need to be buying in
very large quantities for them to have any interest in dealing with you. If you are, then both commercial companies (like Savers) and charity organisations (like the Salvation Army) operate their stores in much the same way. You'd need to speak to someone in a corporate office to see if you can get yourself inserted into the supply chain.
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Originally Posted by ggalvin75 | | | | | | | | | | I was thinking of taking and reclaiming used tee-shirts, re-dying them, and then printing an image on it. Can this be done? What is the process for this? | | | | | | |
Yes, it can be done. Although it's not uncommon for fabric to shrink in a dye bath, which can make dyeing clothes that are already pre-sized problematic.
I'm not really sure what you mean by "the process"; you obtain them, you re-dye them, you print on them. Other than obtaining printing stock, there ain't nothing to it.
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Originally Posted by ggalvin75 | | | | | | | | | | I am not sure if washing new tee shirts to make them look old is worth the work, as I am doing in such a small scale at first, would it be cost effective? | | | | | | |
It depends what you're trying to achieve. There's a big difference between a premium vintage
style shirt (sells for more $$$) and an
actual vintage shirt (sells for less $$$, unless it has rarity value).
It would also erase one of your biggest marketing angles: namely the fact that recycling clothing is a lot more environmentally friendly than just throwing it out or turning it into rags.
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Originally Posted by ggalvin75 | | | | | | | | | | The other question I have is, if I am not set-up for screen printing, do printers like to print on their own tee-shirts only? What do you think? | | | | | | |
Not necessarily
their own only, but certainly many printers won't want to work on secondhand clothing, and you may not find
any who are willing to guarantee their results as they would with new blanks from a known brand.
Buying used tee-shirts in bulk 
Re: Buying used tee-shirts in bulk 
