Retagging garments is one of the easiest ways to create a new apparel brand overnight with little to no other decorating of a product. Retagging starts with removing the tag that comes on a garment. The ideal re-taggable garments are ones that feature a “tear-away tag”, in which the tag can easily be torn from the garment. This is so the garment can either be rebranded, or so the customer does not have to deal with an irritating tag. A tear away tag garment typically is broken into two tags. One of the tags will include information regarding: the size, fabric(s)/materials within the garment, where it was manufactured, washing instructions, and other information that is legal information that is required to be included. The second tag is the original manufacturer’s brand that is typically not torn away by a decoration business unless it is being retagged, but then later on removed by the customer.
Who: Apparel Brands that offer Tear Away Tags
When it comes to apparel retagging there are few brands that offer tear-away tags because most are not interested in their products being rebranded. The most common types of products that feature a tear-away tag are medium to higher quality fashion garments, that are not a household name brand. The four apparel brands that offer a great amount of value while also featuring a tear-away tag are District, Bella + Canvas, Port & Company, and Sport Tek. District offers a medium to higher quality product line that focuses on selling the most common fashion cuts/types of products. Bella+Canvas is similar to District in that it is fashion focused, but takes it a step further by offering a much wider range of cuts/types of apparel and only offers premium quality/priced products. Port & Company offers a wide range of cheaper/value garments that satisfy most customer demands. Lastly, Sport Tek is a performance apparel brand that sells several types/cuts of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other apparel, but not many jerseys like some other performance brands.
How Most Shirts Are Re-Tagged (Tagless)
When it comes to re-tagging a garment there are three common ways to do so. The most common way to re-tag a garment is to heat press a screen printed heat transfer. Retaging garments using a heat transfer is very easy, affordable, and can be done with a wide range of heat presses. Since a garment tag print is so small it can be printed by a typical size heat press (16x20), a small heat platen heat press (4x4), or even a hat heat press (5x3). The second most common way to re-tag a garment is to direct screen print the label/brand onto the garment. This can be done by using a typical manual or automatic carousel screen press. Or using a smaller screen press that is designed for printing onto smaller products, like koozies, can really make the process go quickly. The third way a garment can be retagged is through what is called pad-printing. Pad Printing involves plates not screens being made featuring the artwork that is to be printed. The plate then is used like a stamp in which the press goes back and forth between pressing the design/stamp onto an ink pad and then onto the garment. Pad Printing is common for printing promotional products and small/hard to direct screen-print locations like a tag or sleeve.
Costs vs Perceived Value of Custom Branded Products
The best thing about re-tagging / re-branding a garment is how easy and cheap it is while creating a large amount of perceived value. The customer falls in love with a brand after they have several good experiences, so supplying your customers with the right products at the right price goes a long way. It is a misconception that the more artwork/design on a garment the better/more valuable it is. In fact, if you go to a fashion store they will sell non printed garments at a much higher price partially because of the high quality, but primarily because of the perceived value.
