# Cusmizing plain t-shirts... illegal?



## musadube (Dec 1, 2006)

I don't manufacture the t-shirts myself but I buy them from local retail outlets and print whatever design I have come up with. I'm a bit worried about the label of the tees I use. I often feel like I'm promoting someone else's brand and my customers will know where I bought the plain tees becuase I stock them and resell at $ 0.6 more. It bothers me sometimes that I neatly remove the label & rather it be a non-label tee with the only identity being my design. Now, is it legal for me to remove the label? At times Does it really mater if customers know where I bought the tees? How will this affect my business relationship with customers?


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Hi Dube,

Your shirts need to have labels when they reach the end customer, by law.

It's perfectly legal to relabel them with your company name, as long as you include the info from the other label (fabric content, country of origin, etc).

Search the forums for "relabeling" for more info. 

P.s. You should consider sourcing wholesale blanks instead of using retail blanks.. you will save a lot of money.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

It sounds like you're removing the label and not replacing it. In most parts of the world (certainly including the US) this is illegal. When asking whether or not something is "legal" however it helps for us to know where in the world you are.

You can remove the original label and replace it with your own, so long as you include all of the legally required information a label must contain.

In some markets your business will be negatively affected by leaving the original brand label in - other markets won't care at all (or may even be happy to know the shirt is a brand they know and like).


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

Jasonda said:


> Hi Dube,
> 
> Your shirts need to have labels when they reach the end customer, by law.


Jasonda is right.  

Also, remember that the label on the garment its like your signature that certifies that the goods are first quality. This is why when you see deleted/cut-out/seconds etc. goods selling at lower price, the labels have been cut (or partialy cut) to inform consummers that the goods they are buying are not first quality.


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## musadube (Dec 1, 2006)

Good people, your contributions are appreciated. I'm learning the rules. I normally don't replace the label after removing them & now I know its not right. I live in Southern Africa (not South Africa) in a country called Swaziland. Can anyone advice on what legal infomration is necessary for a label. Wholesale blanks yes, can anyone suggest wholesales that offer good prices and good qaulity even from Europe. I will go search the re-labelling thread.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Most of the information found on the forums in regards to relabelling is US law; Swaziland may or may not have the same kinds of laws in place (I would imagine that Swazi law is at least somewhat based on British law, but don't know how that would affect textiles specifically).

In general if you keep things like care instructions, country of origin, fibre content, etc. and just remove the original brand, you shouldn't run into any legal problems. Not all countries require all of that information (some countries won't require anything), but if you don't mind including it then you might as well be safe.

Printing this information into the inside neck of the shirt may be cheaper than replacing the label with another label (and is perfectly legal).


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> At times Does it really mater if customers know where I bought the tees? How will this affect my business relationship with customers?


I don't think it really matters to your customers where you bought your tees. Since you are adding value by printing your original designs on them, that is what the customer's are buying, not the shirt brand or tag. I don't think they will care too much if you left the original label (some might feel comfortable that they are buying a quality brand name shirt with a unique design), but you probably know your customer's tastes better than us


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## mothertongues (Aug 8, 2005)

musadube said:


> Good people, your contributions are appreciated. I'm learning the rules. I normally don't replace the label after removing them & now I know its not right. I live in Southern Africa (not South Africa) in a country called Swaziland. Can anyone advice on what legal infomration is necessary for a label. Wholesale blanks yes, can anyone suggest wholesales that offer good prices and good qaulity even from Europe. I will go search the re-labelling thread.


Lesotho has a lot of clothing manufacturers. I'm sure you should be able to find wholesale blanks from Lesotho cheaper than buying it from Europe. I have corresponded with the people from Edun (Bono's clothing range, I think the web address is www.edun.ie), they have a clothing factory in Lesotho and sell wholesale blanks from there. You have to buy 500 T-shirts at a time... But there should be similar ones. Ask around & good luck!


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