It’s no secret creating a clothing brand can be a great business, if you’re passionate about fashion and want to start your own clothing brand, there’s potentially no better time to do it, although don’t assume it will be a walk in the park. With the continued rise of social media and the potential of going viral with ‘just’ a TikTok video, it’s easier than ever to reach a wide audience with your product, and as long as you have 1 or a combination of the following you should be on to a win:
- Great branding
- Great designs
- Great ethos/mission
- High-quality products
- Reach / An existing following
- Persistence and determination
One of the best ways to get started is by creating a ‘print from home’ or ‘print to order’ clothing brand but what’s the difference between all the options?
Print from home:
- You buy in blank clothing (links below to some recommendations)
- You sell a design (on your own website / or store like Etsy)
- Cut vinyl or similar (normally via something like a Cricut machine)
- Fix the vinyl onto the garments via something like a Cricut EasyPress Mini or EasyPress 2
- Arrange the posting and packaging (e.g. via Royal Mail)
Print to order:
You don’t need to invest in any inventory, or machinery etc, which greatly reduces the amount of start-up capital you need. However, your cost per print will be much higher as you’re paying a 3rd party to do all the work for you.
How do I get started?
There are a few key things you need to do to get started with a print-from-home clothing brand:
1) Create great designs: This is true for all brands, and it’s probably the most important part of creating a successful clothing brand. Your designs need to be original, stylish and appealing to your target market. If you’re not a great designer yourself, you can hire someone to design T-shirts (just double-check who owns the copyright).
2) Find a reputable printing partner: Once you have your designs ready, you’ll need to find a reputable printing partner who can print your designs onto high-quality garments. Make sure to research different printing partners and compare their prices, turnaround times and quality before making a decision.
Alternatively, you will need to source the blank clothing yourself and print yourself at home, here is a list of some examples:
To print at home use something like a Cricut machine and an EasyPress Mini or EasyPress 2 (other machines are available including far more professional machines).
Another thing to consider is ordering in bulk: This is like ‘Print to Order’, but it’s done in bulk, a 3rd party company still does the work (you can do this in the UK or potentially from sites like Alibaba) but because it’s in bulk this reduces the cost dramatically per unit, but you have to invest in inventory which can be risky if it doesn’t sell.
3) Create a strong branding strategy: A strong branding strategy will help you stand out from the competition and attract attention to your brand. You’ll need to come up with a strong name, logo and brand identity that reflects the style of your designs and resonates with your target market. Again you can use sites live Fiverr to help you with the parts you’re not confident in.
4) Promote your brand: Once you have everything set-up, it’s time to start promoting your brand. Social media is a great way to reach a wide audience with minimal costs but it will take time. Make sure to post regular updates, engage with your followers and run promotional campaigns to get people interested in your brand. This section alone could be a whole article or even a book so you will need to do your own research here.
If you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful print-from-home clothing brand. Just remember to keep working hard and promoting your brand and you’ll eventually see the success you deserve.
That’s the easy part done, now you need to keep going. Good luck and feel free to send us a sample!
