# What to do with this T shirt design



## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

I've seen posts on here by newbies wanting to copywrite their designs thinking everyone wants to steal them even though they haven't sold a single shirt. I haven't sold that many shirts but it's in the thousands but I suddenly find myself in a unusal position.
I have been handed a copywrited design on a silver platter. Only 4 shirts of this design have been printed. It's not a funny or fancy design, it has a medical purpose. It would work well in disaster areas such as when Katrina hit or for Alzehiemers or autism patients, etc. The lady who handed it to me just wants to make sure that for any sales that some are donated for people who can't afford them. Her daughter has brain tumors and autism.A year or so ago Harpo people(Ophra Winfrey) were interested in it but wanted full rights signed over to them before they would enter discussions. The few people she approached all have wanted full rights signed over and she has refused. she wants to make sure some are donated and she feels everyone gets greedy.
She wants me to take the design and do something with it. I would like to print them in 5 or more different languages to start with. 
If I had the money I could print 10K or 100K and promote them to cities, non-profits, foundations but I'm not in a position to do that and probably don't need to. I'm wondering if anyone on this site has ever been involved with anything similar.
I'm thinking that finding major sponsors would be an option but where is a good starting point to even approach the right people?
Thanks


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

I'm not clear what you need the sponsors for? To pay for the design? Or for the printing?

Instead of printing thousands out the gate, why not just start smaller and see how well they sell? Plastisol transfers may be a better way to go too. This way, you can print as many or as few shirts as you'll need.

Give us more details on exactly what you are looking for.


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

splathead said:


> I'm not clear what you need the sponsors for? To pay for the design? Or for the printing?
> 
> Instead of printing thousands out the gate, why not just start smaller and see how well they sell? Plastisol transfers may be a better way to go too. This way, you can print as many or as few shirts as you'll need.
> 
> Give us more details on exactly what you are looking for.


Sorry I'm not more clear but it is kind of hard to explain.
If I am trying to donate the shirts then someone has to pay shirt and printing costs, hence the sponsors. Hypotheticly: Lets say I wanted to donate just one shirt to each nursing home in Texas, that would be over 1000 shirts. I'm not trying to test the market, they don't need to sell, I'm trying to get a medical shirt into the hands of the people that could use them.If you just count the nursing homes, hospitals, families with Autistic children or Alzhiemers adults living with them you could easily donate 100K shirts or sell 50K and donate 50K. I may have answered my own question. I need to work with a non-profit or create one that can apply for grants and accept donations. That money can turn into donated medical T shirts. I don't see why that wouldn't work.


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

Maybe the question does not belong on this forum but I'm not sure where to post it.
Basically, if you were trying to give away 100,000 shirts or more of any design to help a certain sector, how would you go about it?
somehow the costs need to be covered and it would be great if there was some profit but that is not the goal.
The goal is to get the shirt into the hands of the people who could use them, This is a little different than just wanting to sell T shirts so I don't see the point in making a few samples and going door to door. Starting a non profit seems like the lohg way around but I'm not seeing a more direct route short of selling one at a time and using the profit to donate shirts one at a time to people who can't afford them. any ideas?


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## outrageoustees (Feb 25, 2010)

Well - I am not really sure on what is involved here, but here's what I'd do, in the scenario I imagine....

I would create a webpage specifically for this item. That web page would be within my regular site, but also able to stand alone for people to find it or be referred to it directly.

That page would have information about whatever the t-shirt is about. Provide some awareness on the topic. The page would ALSO explain that for every t-shirt purchased, X amount of selling price would be used to provide donated T-s; to those who could not afford(and explain how you would go about deciding who those might be, and how to get the T's to them).

So - the donated portion would come out of the selling price, and the person purchasing would have done something good. You could offer them choices as to where their donated portion would go, if logistics would allow.

This doesn't STOP you from soliciting sponsorship of the project if you'd like. Or even allowing those who see the T-Shirt to donate more to the cause, OR not even by a T, but donate something anyway.

Hopefully whatever cause is involved with this T is something you feel strongly about, because it will take on a life of it's own if it is successful. It doesn't SOUND like it, but if you are mainly interested in the income to be generated from the sales, and want to "do the easiest possible" in getting the donated out... it may prove to be difficult to manage the project.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

The only way to pay for 100,000 shirts to give away is to a) pay for them yourself or b) get someone else to pay for them.

You'll have a much better chance of B if you are a non-profit organization. Companies would be much more willing to donate to you.

Outrageous has great ideas BUT most state's Attorney Generals will not let you advertise that a portion (or all) of sales will go to a charity unless you have a written contract with that charity and a payment schedule of funds going to them. So be careful. The penalty is fraud charges.

Honestly, 100,000 units seem like a very lofty goal. Regardless of how good you think the design is. I would start small and build up to it. If the design is as good as you say, then it will move. Just take your time and do it smart. Like Outrageous said, sell the shirts to the public and allot a portion of sales to give-a-ways. That seems like the most logical way to do this.


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the very good comments. Didn't mean to give the idea that I wanted to start with 100K shirts. I was trying to make the point that even if I only donated one shirt to every nursing home in Texas, that alone would be over 1000 shirts. If some cities included these in their disaster kits then that would be in the 10's of thousands. I see "how many should I print to start" as a separate question than "how do I get made and donate 100K shirts." My goal is to exceed 100K and also make some for other countries. I realize that sounds lofty and it would be if it was just a cool or funny shirt.
I do think that going the non-profit route is probably the only way to go to accept or request donations so I may just print 25 to100 shirts as samples we go thru that process.


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## BLEM18 (Feb 9, 2010)

I would give printing them yourself a try to start. You said the lady who gave you the design wants some of the money to go to charity or to help others. Well even if you charged a moddest price for the shirt, gave yourself a small percentage and the rest to charity......you would be fulfilling her request with a small benefit to you for your time and work. I'm not saying get greedy ( which does'n't sound like you anyway) but help yourself while helping others. If this shirt takes on a whole life of its own then you could look at getting help from others as far as printing, donating, etc. Sounds like a great challenge... good luck.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

Another thing to consider is getting a written contract with this lady! She owns the design and you want to make sure you both understand what is involved in the production of the shirts and what is expected. You say she doesn’t want to give anyone full rights to the design…more reason to make sure you have some type of contract. 
Then once that is done I would do this, set you price at what two shirts would cost for the one shirt. Every shirt that sells to someone it creates the funds needed to have one donated to another person. If someone wants to purchase two shirts it creates the funds for two to be donated and so on. The idea of a website is a good idea to get the design out there. Another thing you might consider is approaching any of your existing Customers. Example, lets say one of your Customers comes in and they order 150 shirts for their business, you could ask them if they would be interested in donating _____ amount towards the printing of _____ shirts to be donated to _________. You could also check to see if there are any Autism groups in your area that might be interested in doing a fund rasier for the shirts to be made. Or here in Michigan most of the high schools have the students do community service, check with the schools and see if the students would be interested in doing a fund raiser. If the shirts are designed towards search and rescue or fire departments they may be a source as well. 
But again if she was not willing to sell the rights to Harpo make sure you have yourself covered so there isn’t any misunderstanding. Just my $.02
CW


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

I should have been a little more specific when I stated "I have been handed a copywrited design on a silver platter". She has signed all rights over to me and asked me to do what I can with it. She is in real need of money but her priority is to get the T's to the people who could use them. She is the 24/7 caregiver of her own daughter and does not even own a computer or car. I was trying to help her out when she told me of her design months ago. I think I'm the only one who did not ask her to sign it over. Her main concern about money is that if something happens to her that her daughter be taken care of. She believes that at age 30 her daughter is one of the oldest survivors of Neurotuberous Sclerosis (brain tumors) and Autism in the U.S.
I could also really use some cash now but this project is not about money it's about much more and like I mentioned it's a unique situation and it just happens to involve a T shirt. There is much more detail but this is it in a nutshell.
I'm just brainstorming right now and the advice and input I recieved here has been great. I hope to have it figured out in the next 30 to 60 days.
Thanks all


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## outrageoustees (Feb 25, 2010)

Here's a thought: Do some research into the *best* oranizations which are about those issues(the lady may be able to tell you right off the top of her head). Perhaps they can be instrumental in helping you get the T-s out there. Formulate a plan as to how you would approach them, and what sort of situation you might have in mind, and see where that gets you. It might be a nightmare, or it might be a godsend....


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

outrageoustees said:


> Here's a thought: Do some research into the *best* oranizations which are about those issues(the lady may be able to tell you right off the top of her head). Perhaps they can be instrumental in helping you get the T-s out there. Formulate a plan as to how you would approach them, and what sort of situation you might have in mind, and see where that gets you. It might be a nightmare, or it might be a godsend....


Funny you would mention that, I just did that this morning and while many of them are just concerned with research there are tons of support groups. I plan to rough out a presentation letter next week directed at these resources. I'm taking my time putting a plan together so I can evaluate the best choices. Hate to rush out there and crash and burn. I'm in really unfamiliar territory but a good plan might make up for that.
Thanks


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## zoom_monster (Sep 20, 2006)

If you look at the business model for shirts that are made for large charity walks, you will see that the design is on the front and on the back of the shirt are logos and lists of names that are printed often on one color. Sponsors that donate a lot are at the top with larger logos, minor patrons are at the bottom with just typesetting. Top corporate sponsors will often donate thosands of dollars and get top billing. They may have a budget for this type of community goodwill. I've seen shirts with platinum, gold silver etc. sponsors that collect down to a minimum donation that gets their name on the back of the shirt. If you include the company that prints the shirts, you can get a "discount" on the ultimate end price.

If you have a large enough base of donors, you will zero-out the cost of the shirts and the distribution. It's all about getting the community involved and also knowing what the costs are. If you have a goal of 1000 shirts, you can get a cost. Then go to a platinum sponsor and say " can you underwrite this cost", then you go to 5 others and get half this amount so on a so forth. As people see who is involved, you may see a snowballing of people who just want to participate.

you need to come up with a scale-able goal and either "explain" the vision to a big sponsor or a charity organization that is already involved so that you can gain credibility and move this to the next level. Someone that is a part of a charity will be able to tell you what the numbers need to be like for them to back "the project" and bring you on board. First of all you have to know your stuff or get people invoved that know what this is goin to take.


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

zoom_monster said:


> If you look at the business model for shirts that are made for large charity walks, you will see that the design is on the front and on the back of the shirt are logos and lists of names that are printed often on one color. Sponsors that donate a lot are at the top with larger logos, minor patrons are at the bottom with just typesetting. Top corporate sponsors will often donate thosands of dollars and get top billing. They may have a budget for this type of community goodwill. I've seen shirts with platinum, gold silver etc. sponsors that collect down to a minimum donation that gets their name on the back of the shirt. If you include the company that prints the shirts, you can get a "discount" on the ultimate end price.
> 
> If you have a large enough base of donors, you will zero-out the cost of the shirts and the distribution. It's all about getting the community involved and also knowing what the costs are. If you have a goal of 1000 shirts, you can get a cost. Then go to a platinum sponsor and say " can you underwrite this cost", then you go to 5 others and get half this amount so on a so forth. As people see who is involved, you may see a snowballing of people who just want to participate.
> 
> you need to come up with a scale-able goal and either "explain" the vision to a big sponsor or a charity organization that is already involved so that you can gain credibility and move this to the next level. Someone that is a part of a charity will be able to tell you what the numbers need to be like for them to back "the project" and bring you on board. First of all you have to know your stuff or get people invoved that know what this is goin to take.


 Thanks, I appreciate all comments.
I really don't think this is an event type of shirt. This is a T shirt with a medical purpose or function so it isn't for the general public to wear for awareness like breast cancer awareness etc. Many sponsors to events are looking for billboard space and contribute to the more "popular" causes. When is the last time you heard about a "Neurotuberous Sclerosis" walk/run? They probably don't exist and my goal is not awareness but providing a product. I already had my ideas but this is such a great forum for exchange of ideas that I just had to post. This shirt and goal are more of a "think outside the box" kind of project. My plans runs very close to what "outrageoustees" has posted so it provides reinforcement that I am not out in left field. I just plan to do the best I can with it and if it helps someone or saves a life we can all be proud that we all contributed. If we have any success at all I will update you guys.
Thanks


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## zoom_monster (Sep 20, 2006)

Sorry to mis-undestand. You said Copyright so i assumed "graphic". So we are talking about a specific contruction of the shirt... not the design ON the shirt? So is this for the patient who has the affliction?


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

I meant to reply much earlier to those who responded to my post but got busy and side tracked. Attached is a photo of the EMERGEN-T shirt. I plan to package it in a sealed poly bag with a permanent marker so it is ready to use. 
Purpose of it is to be used by people who have Alzhiemers or Autism persons in their charge and need to evacuate due to weather, disaster etc.
The image will be RED but the photo color is off because I just sublimated a sample and my printer color profile was off. Also plan to print bilingual shirts.
I have the domain name purchased but have not set it up yet.
Maybe this T shirt has no merit but I think it does and is needed especially considering the tornadoes, floods and hurricanes we've had lately.


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## outrageoustees (Feb 25, 2010)

I think it does have a place, and do see what you mean about it needs to be available free for those who wouldn't see spending on such an item as a viable option. 

Good luck with the project - it is a good thing, and I am sure the lady who brought the idea to you is appreciative of your efforts.


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