# What did Threadless do about Tags before thay Made their Own Shirts?



## blobert (Jul 30, 2009)

Hello,

Quick question. Before Threadless switched to their own shirts they used blanks I believe. 

Did they leave on the original manufacturors tags and print on the garment underneath? 

Have the tags professionally removed? 

Or just cut them down? 

Would love to know if anyone here can remember.

Also what kind of blanks did they use? I believe it was AA towards the end, any other ones beforehand?


Thanks


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

I believe that they cut them out, and they didn't do a very good job of it either. Pretty tacky in my opinion.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Also what kind of blanks did they use?


They used Fruit of the Loom brand blanks for a long while. Not as nice as American Apparel or what they are using now.



> Have the tags professionally removed?
> 
> Or just cut them down?


They were just cut off. Here's a picture of what they used to look like:


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## blobert (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks very much for the info and the picture, I really appreciate it.

Having looked into the costs of getting labels professionally removed it seems very pricey so I might just stick with the DIY job for the moment.

Is there any special tool/scissors/blade that will give the best results for cutting off a label?

Thanks again


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

I use a $3 seam ripper (although i don't rip the seam) from the local sewing store. It's U shaped with the bottom of the U being a razor sharp blade. The top of the U serves to protect the shirt from being cut. One swipe with this and you can't even tell a label was there. I replace it once a month or so after it gets dull.


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## blobert (Jul 30, 2009)

Any chance of a link to a picture of one or where to buy (I'm in Europe not US).

A search for seam ripper on eBay shows up a different product, perhaps they have a different name?


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## Progeny (Jul 28, 2007)

I use a stanley knife blade or a craft knife, if there are any stray bits you can push them up under the neck tape.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

This is what i use


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

A brief history of Threadless t-shirts and tags:

Originally they cut out all original tags and sewed in a woven tag with only their company name (this is illegal). Then they cut out the tags and printed a label with humorous care instructions and no real ones (this is also illegal). Then they cut out the manufacturer tags and printed the information directly into the neck.

I'm not sure if this is what they were using from day one, but for the longest part of their existence they used Fruit of the Loom 50/50 Best shirts for men, and American Apparel shirts for women (and had a $2 price difference between men and women's shirts, reflecting the wholesale cost difference).

When they introduced the Select series, they used American Apparel for men's and women's shirts.

I believe the toddler line and their hoodies were also American Apparel (I know they used AA - I'm just not 100% positive they didn't use something else earlier, but I don't think so).

When they first announced they were having their own shirts produced and released a prototype, the prototype had a tag stub from a cut out tag (on their supposedly custom product) and little to none of the legally required labelling information printed on the product (again).

They still use AA for various things to this day.


The briefer version: lots of FotL 50/50s and lots of American Apparel, generally with roughly hacked out tags.


Some things Threadless do they do well and are worth imitating. Other times the way they do things is illegal and/or shoddy. When it comes to the way they handle their labelling it's generally the latter.


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## blobert (Jul 30, 2009)

splathead said:


> This is what i use


Thanks, that is the item I found for seam ripper, I was thinking it would look different.

So do you just drag it across the label like a blade to cut it?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

blobert said:


> Thanks, that is the item I found for seam ripper, I was thinking it would look different.
> 
> So do you just drag it across the label like a blade to cut it?


Yes. i put the ball capped end underneath the label where I can't see the cut as well so as not to poke a hole in the shirt. The pointed end swipes across on top of the label. I push the ripper up as i am swiping and i get a cut almost to label sew line.


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## blobert (Jul 30, 2009)

splathead said:


> Yes. i put the ball capped end underneath the label where I can't see the cut as well so as not to poke a hole in the shirt. The pointed end swipes across on top of the label. I push the ripper up as i am swiping and i get a cut almost to label sew line.


Bought one and tried it out last night, it worked perfectly, you'd never have known there was a label there!

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it

Now to find the cheapest way of printing labels on to the t-shirt...


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## ballyman77 (Sep 15, 2009)

What exactly is illegal? Removing someone elses tag or the omission of information? I plan on doing tagless on some of my nicer shirts. The Gildans I may or may not remove. The information I plan on providing is "company name", "shirt size", "shirt ingredients (i.e. 100% Cotton)", and "washing instructions". Some of my shirts come from Bare Apparel and Royal Apparel and are already tagless or are tear away. Therefore I do not know where on the planet they are made. If I recall Bare Apparel says they are made in the US. But other than patriotic reasons does it matter where the shirt is made? Is there a legal reference for tag requirements? Thanks


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Unless Bare Apparel and Royal are putting on illegal labels, they will have country of origin.

It is not illegal to remove a label as long as you replace it with the required legal info. Here is the site with the rules/laws Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts


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## ballyman77 (Sep 15, 2009)

Thanks Joe. I actually answered my own questions and read a bunch at the FTC site prior to your reply, but thanks for replying. There is a lot to know. 

What Bare Apparel and/or Royal Apparel do is link to a page which lists the details of the product line, being the shirts come with no labels. For example if I bought a shirt from the line 100A I would click on the link 100A and then all the necessary info is found there on their website.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

ballyman77 said:


> Thanks Joe. I actually answered my own questions and read a bunch at the FTC site prior to your reply, but thanks for replying. There is a lot to know.
> 
> What Bare Apparel and/or Royal Apparel do is link to a page which lists the details of the product line, being the shirts come with no labels. For example if I bought a shirt from the line 100A I would click on the link 100A and then all the necessary info is found there on their website.


Interesting. How do you keep sizes straight?

It was my understanding selling unlabeled garments, even wholesale to companies like yours, was still not allowed. After your done reading the site, give us your take on that.


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## ballyman77 (Sep 15, 2009)

My only take on that, not being an expert in the law is that they are not selling to the end user. Maybe being that the wholesaler is not the consumer and it is still in the "raw material" stage, it kind of makes sense. They are selling it as an unfinished garment or piece of material in a sense. I would guess that it falls under the same guidance as a drug, once it becomes marketable then it must have proper labeling. Again though I am just guessing.

For now it is convenient because I do not have to deal with cutting out someone elses label. 

For the most part they bundle like sizes/like syles together then fold them in half. The trick is to pull out the shirts in bundles, versus pulling a shirt out of the box individually. I only order certain sizes so it really isn't really an issue for me at this time.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Usually, "tagless" blanks just means no neck label. What you will probably find is a side seam label that has all the legal info, including the size of the garment. I'd be surprised if Bare, or anyone else, was selling completely label-less blanks.


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## ballyman77 (Sep 15, 2009)

kimura-mma said:


> Usually, "tagless" blanks just means no neck label. What you will probably find is a side seam label that has all the legal info, including the size of the garment. I'd be surprised if Bare, or anyone else, was selling completely label-less blanks.


Good call, they are on the side seam!! Good to know b4 sending them out for sale, but I might have discovered in when I go to print my labels, who knows, but thanks regardless.


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## demonarts (Feb 24, 2008)

Check this out YouTube - Removing Labels from Shirts


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