Private Labeling: How to Take True Ownership of Your Custom Apparel
Tell us: how much do you love your brand?
If you’re like us, you adore your own brand. It is your lifeblood.
You’re obsessed with it in a way that most people don’t understand.
Your family and friends might even think you’re crazy if they don’t have the same entrepreneurial spirit that you do.
Well, if you love your brand so much, don’t you think it’s worth it to spend a few dollars more per shirt to private label your custom apparel?
Let’s back up. When we say “private labeling,” we mean printing a custom neck label inside each garment you order.
We’re about to share how you can truly customize your custom apparel with a neck label of your own—but first, let’s talk more about how private labeling will take your garments to the next level.
Is private labeling worth the hype?
If you read anything we just wrote, you already know our opinion on this.
But if you skimmed the last few paragraphs (or maybe you just need more convincing), we’ll dive deeper into each reason why you should private label your custom apparel:
Private labeling gives you true ownership of your brand.
You poured your blood, sweat, and tears into your apparel designs. Don’t you want to take credit for them?
If you don’t private label your garments, you’ll likely end up in one of two scenarios:
A. The manufacturer of the garment will print their own name on the inside, thus taking credit for your hard work.
AND/OR
B. Your customers will not be able to find any identifying information about your brand inside the garments, and they will forget where they ordered the shirts from.
So, private label your garments and show your brand off to the world. Make sure no one ever forgets your name.
A custom neck label will make your brand look more legit.
You might think that no one cares about the artwork inside your garment, but that is completely false.
Sure, not everyone will see your cool custom neck label, but you know who will?
The person wearing the shirt (a.k.a. your customer!)
Nearly all reputable brands have their own names or logos printed inside of their apparel.
If you want your brand to be respected just as much as the other players in your industry, trust us—you want to private label your garments.
Private labeling gives you new creative potential.
Each label contains the standard information (which we’ll go over in a minute), but you can add a fun twist to your label if you’d like.
Think of your custom neck label as an opportunity to strengthen your brand even more. What will you do with the extra real estate?
Ready to create your custom neck label?
Let’s begin with the basics!
A standard neck label consists of:
- Your brand name or logo
- The size of the garment (S, M, L, XL… and so on)
- The fabric composition
- The country of origin (Note: this is where the garment was manufactured, not where it was printed)
- Care instructions (usually shown with symbols)
Seems pretty straightforward, right? You’d think so, but there are so many innovative ways to present the details we listed above.
You can really let your imagination run wild as long as you include all the necessary info.
However, we do recommend formatting all text to be at least 7 pt. in size so it will be readable when it’s printed.
Don’t worry—when you work with us, our Scrappy sales reps will give you their recommendations about what will and will not work for your neck label design.
Feeling creative? Don’t worry, you are not obligated to create a boring design that looks like every other neck label on the face of the Earth.
In fact, we encourage you to color outside the lines—figuratively and literally. Seriously, tell us your crazy idea and we’ll let you know if we can print it. (Chances are that we can!)
If you want your neck label to be a little *extra,* here are a few ideas for items to add to it:
Your tagline.
Obviously, if your tagline is a mile long, it won’t fit in the small neck label space—but if you have a few punchy words that you’d like to feature inside each garment, more power to you!
The printing location.
We’ve seen brands add the printing locations to their neck labels in addition to the standard manufacturing locations.
For example: Made in Nicaragua | Printed in the USA
Brand symbols or elements.
Adding symbols or other simple graphics can add flair to your custom neck label.
Your website or social media handles.
Because why not?
If this sounds like too much work for you, we have good news.
We have two easy ways for you to check this neck label business off your list:
1. Use our free custom neck label templates to prepare your designs in a snap.
You can customize these as much or as little as you want.
They’re available in our member portal. All you have to do is register for a free account, log in, and head to the download page. You’re welcome.
Access the Free Neck Label Templates
2. Try our done-for-you neck label design service.
Don’t worry, this will not cost you an arm and a leg. You can keep your limbs this time.
For just $75, we’ll design you a custom neck label that looks dope and meets all the appropriate guidelines.
While we design your label, you can chill at home, watch TV, go to the beach, or at least free up a few hours to tackle your mile-long to-do list.
You’re welcome (again).
Ready to own your brand like never before?
We’re ready to help you. Let’s connect and iron out the details (no pun intended) for your custom apparel project.