Im curious if anyone has any suggestions about any wholesalers are manufacturers who are know for their ethics. They don't have to be limited to manufacturing in the U.S. Im just looking for a company that treats their employees well and preferably has competitive price points to brands like Gildan and Hanes. Thanks!
Ethical wholesale blanks
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Oh, so you want a company to pay their employees a living wage and still have prices as cheap as Gildan/Hanes? 
Which one do you want? You can't have both.
For social responsibility, look at https://wholesale.alternativeapparel.com/imprintables/
Which one do you want? You can't have both.
For social responsibility, look at https://wholesale.alternativeapparel.com/imprintables/
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What about Fruit of the Loom?
In Europe they make a big deal of paying their workers in the Moroccan plant better than minimum wage for Morocco ( which isn't compulsory in that country), and providing a safe modern working environment with good welfare concerns.
Surely conditions are the same in FOTL's North American plants?
In Europe they make a big deal of paying their workers in the Moroccan plant better than minimum wage for Morocco ( which isn't compulsory in that country), and providing a safe modern working environment with good welfare concerns.
Surely conditions are the same in FOTL's North American plants?
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I'm not sure they have U.S. plants but their Corporate Responsibility policy is impressive: Fruit of The Loom
Wouldn't expect anything less from Warren Buffet.
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I too, am interested, in purchasing blanks from manufacturers that treat their employees responsibly.
I just received my first order from Alternative Apparel so I thought I'd share some thoughts.
The wholesale price is higher than most everyday blanks, but again, I'm willing to pay more to buy from quality wholesalers and blanks, if they are paying reasonable wages and decent work conditions.
The styles are trendy and the material was so soft! I do think that the sizes run very slim.
The shirts I bought were raglan sleeves and the irregularities drove us nuts. The seams at the collar bone on a lot of them were noticeable uneven. Trying another angle, measuring up from the armpits also was difficult trying to place a design and make it look straight.
So I have a question for those that have had experience with garments that are irregular, how do you handle placement. We did the best we could, the customer was pleased with them. However, I do worry a little that it will be noticed.
I also found this on Gildan golf shirts, placing the logo on some of these made it obvious the garment sizes didn't all measure the same.
I didn't mention to the customer, hard call for me to make. Hate to wait and see if they notice. And yes, If the say something, I can explain and show the customer the difference, hoping they understand and accept.
Any thoughts on how to handle these situations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Sandra
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We return irregulars before printing for a replacement.
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Have you ever received any push back? I ask because I did question irregularities on two different orders.
One was because of the color, on a group of about 10 shirts, there ended up being 3 different shades. Which sold separately, wouldn't have been, that big of a deal.
But these were sold to a group and they had intended on doing a group photo. The company did replace without any hesitation, but delayed my delivery.
The other was golf shirts, out of 5 there was one that was an inch off from buttons to shoulder seam. On smaller size it was really noticeable.
I get that there is going to be some variation, and on the golf shirt I was told there was an inch tolerance. Again, an inch on a small shirt can be very obvious.
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Because of the ethical policy I use Fruit of the Loom as my 'go to ' entry level brand. It gives me something to show the customer.
There has been a lot of bad press in the UK recently of large retail chains using sweetshop labour ( and kids) in countries like Bangladesh and Haiti. It doesn't directly relate to any of the imprint brands we use, but having 'Made in Haiti' etc on the label tars brands like Gildan with the same brush, in the customers eyes.
So because of the steps Fruit of the Loom has made towards being more socially responsible has this driven up their price points? I don't know much about the price points of any of the major brands but is Fruit of the Loom competitive with brands such as Gildan and Hanes? If they are competitive I would imagine the price points of FOTL are only marginally higher than Gildan or Hanes, which is a shame that brands would do business with unethical wholesalers/manufactures to save a few dollars.
On a side note, what is the quality of Fruit of the Loom in comparison to Gildan or Hanes. Relatively the same or is there a major difference?
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Everyone has a social responsibility propoganda section of their website touting how great they are, including Gildan and including Hanes.
You would have to be an investigative reporter to find out the real truth. Like, how come we never heard of any of these organizations awarding an A+ for social responsibility to the garment makers? Many times it's because they are 'watchdogs' set up by the very garment makers they are swearing to monitor. It's all a bunch of B.S. and you'll never know the real truth.
https://hanesforgood.com/social-responsibility/
:: Gildan :: Home
As far as I can see, Hanes/Gildan's social responsibility statements are no different than Fruit of the Loom.
Conclusion: All garment makers will have a glowing social responsibility blurb. And all will have reports of abuse:
Why We Don't Sell Gildan T-Shirts (or Hanes) | Ethix Merch
We can't discuss specific pricing on the forum. But Fruit of the Loom pricing is comparable to Hanes, Anvil, Gildan.
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