Tariffs and the Printwear Industry
The current economic and political climate around tariffs is enough to make your head spin and is changing moment-by-moment. That being said, this is written on April 16th, 2025 by a human (not AI so sorry for any typos!) and may be outdated as soon as its posted. We’re all on this rollercoaster ride together, so we might as well look around and enjoy the views.
1. Prices will go up.
Unfortunately, we are already seeing prices increase across the board on all blank apparel.
Globally, apparel manufacturing is somewhat elastic, allowing production to move from one country to another to help offset spikes in seasonality, shipping costs, raw goods cost (i.e. cotton), as well as the most important aspect of manufacturing, the humans that make up the workforce.
The industry has seen a shift to near-shoring, a manufacturing strategy tobring a lot of manufacturing back to countries close to the US (Mexico, Central America and Caribbean countries), which helps shorten timelines and now currently have more favorable tariffs than Asia. That being said, almost all imports are seeing a rise in tariff costs. These prices are pushing all the way through to end consumers.
2. Premium is the new Basic.
We have seen a rise in popularity of premium blanks over basic blanks since 2020 and covid-era shortages when inflation hit and prices of all products rose.
Consumers were opting to spend more on a premium product vs going with a basic. As brands like Lululemon, Alo Yoga, and Skims grew in popularity, commanding $128+ for a hoodie, it has given the consumer as a whole an appreciation for premium goods.
My personal opinion is that price increases across brands like AS Colour (who currently has touted having 30 months of inventory in the United States market) and domestic brands like Los Angeles Apparel or Royal Apparel will remain somewhat low. These brands may fare well against the rising cost of more basic goods coming from Asia that will see a much more dramatic increase making the premium option closer in price to the basics.
This may only be temporary but will give the fashion forward brands a runway into growth.
3. New brands and styles will emerge
I think as the market begins to digest the price increases and repositioning of manufacturing, we will see mainstream brands release new styles (something similar to the already released Gildan 3000 Light Cotton T-Shirt) that will cater to the budget end of the market.
New brands offering a lower cost option will pop up and consumers will be more likely to try these products than they would in the past. Smaller brands may chip away at some of the market share of mainstay brands (Gildan, I’m looking at you) simply because they’re more nimble to import smaller batches if and when some of these tariffs get negotiated down.
4. Overall Demand will decrease.
This one is simple economics. The price increases will cause some projects to not move forward. I don’t see this causing major problems but it is an effect we are prepared to face.
If a non-profit was buying shirts for all 200 of their volunteers at a budget of $2000 and now that same order is $2650, the entire line item may get cut.
We understand that t-shirts are not always the most critical item on a budget and for some projects and events, it no longer makes sense at a price. The best way to work around this is to let us know up front what your budget is and we will do all we can to recommend products and print processes that will help hit your price target.
5. Print-on-Demand Market will gain speed
If you’ve been asleep for the past 5 years, you may have missed the meteoric rise of the print-on-demand market (POD). This has been fueled by the increase and advances in direct to film (DTF) printing, influencer marketplace, and the advantage it gives suppliers to not predict and hold inventory.
Essentially, products are not produced until they are purchased by the end consumer. They are, then, produced in small quantities (as few as one piece) by digital print methods and shipped directly to the end consumer. This cuts out an entire need for warehousing and 3PL and gives influencers and brands the ability to sell to trends almost immediately.
POD also gives companies the option to instantly pass on cost increases to the consumer as well (or decreases should tariffs be negotiated down). At Skyline, we are re-introducing our online store platform this summer of 2025 with new features and options to help streamline the online ordering process for schools, non-profits, and businesses. This takes all the risk of “how much do I order? Which design will be most popular? I don’t have the budget to front all this inventory” away from the organization.
We will do our best to keep you informed of supplier increases and changes in the market as they come about!
Thanks!
Jacob Scott
Owner
