What are the benefits of buying t-shirts in bulk?

T-shirts have been a fashion staple for a long time now. Some people wear practically nothing else - they're comfortable, customisable, and highly affordable. In many cases, especially if you're promoting a brand or event, it can be beneficial to buy t-shirts in bulk. From massive cost savings to a number of increased opportunities for customisation, going the wholesale route can be a perfect solution for many businesses and organisations. Let's take a look at some of those benefits in a bit more detail.

significant cost savings

There are a number of cost-related benefits to buying anything in bulk, and that includes t-shirts.

WHOLESALE REDUCTIONS
First, when you buy wholesale, you often end up with massively lower costs per unit. A basic blank t-shirt that might cost £15 for a single unit could be as little as £1.50 if you buy 100 of those same t-shirts. In general, the more you buy, the more likely you're going to save. If you're buying t-shirts for a purpose that you'll likely need more for in the future, such as employee uniforms, then it's often worth buying a bunch upfront so that you have them when you next need them.

PROCESSING AND SHIPPING
In addition to significant per-unit price reductions associated with buying t-shirts in bulk, you also get to benefit from a range of other expense savings. For example, when you buy lots of t-shirts at once, you only need to pay for a single shipping fee. It also means that the supplier only needs to handle the order once, saving on warehouse and administrative labour. Combine that with decreased packaging costs, and you can end up saving a lot compared to placing multiple smaller orders every couple of weeks.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Many businesses are also focusing on reducing their carbon footprint these days, and buying things in bulk is a great way to do that while saving money - a nice little added bonus. You save on waste by only needing a single batch of packaging, and you can also reduce emissions associated with shipping by needing a single delivery.

increased convenience and accessibility

In addition to the cost-related benefits of buying in bulk, it's also often a lot more convenient for the kinds of organisations that need to have branded clothing on-hand for a range of reasons.

A STEADY SUPPLY
If your organisation needs a lot of specific kind of t-shirt, whether to hand them out to potential clients and partners at industry events or give to new and existing employees, then buying in bulk can make life a lot easier. It means that you don't need to keep on sending in repeat orders for the same thing, reducing both the time you might waste placing these orders and time delays. For example, you'll be able to give employees their uniform the day that they start, rather than having to give them some old, dirty piece of branded clothing until the new delivery arrives. Wouldn't that be nice?

SIMPLIFIED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Buying in bulk also makes inventory management a lot simpler. It makes it far easier to track how many t-shirts your company is getting through, allowing you to monitor both how much it's costing you and predict how many you might need in the future. This can have a positive impact on the employees who are responsible for organising this area of inventory management while increasing overall transparency and financial accountability within the organisation.

CUSTOMISATION BENEFITS

For organisations that need to buy t-shirts in bulk, they typically won't just leave those t-shirts plain. They'll need to customise them somehow to make them represent the brand, which is also a lot more achievable when you buy in bulk. 

ACCESS TO MORE TECHNIQUES  - There is a wide variety of different techniques that can be used to add designs, letters, and logos to blank clothing. From embroidery to screen printing, different techniques are suited to different kinds of usage. With many of these techniques, it's only viable for the services that provide them to offer it on larger scales. That means that if you're trying to get a batch of just 3 or 4 t-shirts screen printed, you'll struggle to find a provider that can do it for you in a cost-effective manner. Buying blank t-shirts in bulk removes these kinds of barriers. Getting a larger batch of t-shirts, all customised at once, means you have access to more customisation techniques, allowing you to choose which is best for your needs.

ADDITIONAL COST REDUCTIONS  - Getting clothing customised in small batches can work out quite expensive. However, when you get those customisations carried out in bulk, you'll likely benefit from further cost reductions. You'll likely save the provider in administrative, packaging and shipping fees, allowing them to pass some of those savings onto you. Shop around and do your research - you'll likely be able to find providers who offer bulk discounts, allowing you to benefit from the economy of scale.

BRAND VISIBILITY

Finally, while t-shirts are a cost, you need to treat them as an investment in your business. Building your brand should be seen as a core requirement when it comes to developing your organisation and producing branded clothing is a great way of increasing brand visibility. Not only will buying in bulk allow you to save per item, but you'll also be able to hand out more t-shirts at events and other branding opportunities. This means that per item, the cost-benefit ratio gets higher and higher (up to a certain point, obviously), steadily increasing your return on investment.

Clearly, there are a number of benefits to buying in bulk. Economies of scale are beneficial in a wide range of situations, and t-shirts are no different. Not only will you be able to save on the t-shirts themselves through wholesale reductions and reduced shipping and packing costs, but you'll also be able to access a wider range of customisation solutions. The more branded t-shirts you have, the more you'll spread out into the world, increasing your brand visibility with each t-shirt.