Organic cotton T-shirts are the most eco friendly when compared to bamboo. 

While bamboo is better for the environment than synthetic materials like polyester, it’s far from perfect. As you can imagine turning a tough wood-like plant, such as bamboo, into a T-shirt is a lengthy process and requires a lot of water and energy. 

Additionally, a number of chemicals need to be used to soften the bamboo, which in some instances, can harm ecosystems. It’s these elements that make organic cotton the best choice from a sustainability perspective.

We only recommend bamboo T-shirts in instances where it’s being used as an alternative to a synthetic fabric like polyester. Polyester is made from plastic, making bamboo a better and more eco-friendly option.

Want to know more? You can read more about Bamboo vs Organic Cotton T-shirts to better assess which option is best for you if you are considering bamboo.

Recycled T-shirts are a fantastic innovation, allowing us to re-use plastic bottles in clothing products like T-shirts. In the context of clothing, this plastic is called ‘polyester’ (PET) or ‘recycled polyester’ (RPET) when it’s made from recycled bottles.

However, from a sustainability standpoint, custom organic T-shirts are a better option. While recycled plastic is better for the environment than new plastic, it is still inherently a plastic. 

Recycled polyester products still give off microplastics that can end up in our oceans and there are limits to how many times they can be recycled. 

With this in mind, we always advise using organic cotton for your custom T-shirts where possible. Organic cotton is a natural material, making it better for the planet at all stages of its lifecycle.

It’s important to understand that while organic cotton is typically the best option for the environment, it’s not always practical or suitable for the use case. Sportswear is an excellent example of a situation where recycled polyester T-shirts may be the best fabric choice, standing as a far better alternative than virgin polyester or synthetic materials. For this reason, we do stock recycled polyester T-shirts and clothing products, ensuring we’re providing the best options for all use cases. 

You can, of course, use organic cotton for your sportswear. However, it won’t have the same wicking properties as recycled polyester clothing products.

Which method of printing is the most sustainable?

It sounds like a simple question, but the answer is pretty complex. For example, a DTG print is water-based, so you’d assume this is more eco friendly, however, the machines used for DTG printing are often a lot more resource-intensive than screen printing machines. 

Then there are the inks, water-based inks sound appealing compared to plastisol inks, however, they create more waste and have longer drying times under energy-intensive heat tunnels. 

With this in mind, you can see how it can be complicated to declare any one solution as the ‘most sustainable’. 

While we’re not perfect and still have a long way to go, we have a variety of print methods and inks at our disposal; this ensures we’re able to use the right machines, processes and materials for the job ensuring that our choices are as environmentally friendly as possible.

Is screen printing environmentally friendly?

No print method is perfect, so we do our best to make our screen printing as environmentally friendly as possible. It starts by having market-leading machinery that allows for optimum efficiency and minimal environmental impact. This, combined with facilities powered by renewables and eco-friendly inks ensures your printing is as environmentally sound as possible.

Are water-based inks sustainable?

Water-based inks are great and something we use where suitable, however, like most things they’re not a silver bullet. They have higher wastage than other ink types (this is less of an issue with DTG printing), and drying them is quite energy-intensive. 

With this in mind, we take a more holistic approach to your organic T-shirt printing; using a variety of inks and processes to ensure the most appropriate and low impact solution is applied to each production run.

Is screen printing vegan?

No animal products are used in our standard inks and our core organic T-shirts are certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

In short, there is no ‘most eco-friendly print’ option. It’s entirely dependent on your order quantity, your artwork and the fabric composition.

In short, there is no ‘best print method’ for your T-shirt printing. The best print method depends on the order size, the artwork being printed and the fabric composition. 

We offer a range of print methods, the most popular among these are screen printing, DTG printing, vinyl, and transfer printing, as well as embroidery. Each one has its own merits, with some working better than others in certain circumstances. 

For example DTG printing would be perfect for a small run of printed organic T-shirts, whereas screen printing would likely be better for a larger run of 1,000. 

Vinyl, transfers, and embroidery lend themselves to small orders of products like coats, where DTG and screen printing are not possible. 

We don’t expect you to be a print expert, so for this reason unless, you specify otherwise, our expert print team will always select the most suitable print method for your order, that will ensure you get the best print results.

This is dependent on the artwork and quantity of organic T-shirts you were buying. However, typically we’d either Direct-to-garment (DTG) print organic T-shirt, or on large volumes we’d screen print.

You can find out more about what print method will work best for your order in our help centre. However, we don’t expect you to be a print expert; so for this reason unless you specify otherwise, our expert print team will always select the most suitable print method for your order, that will ensure you get the best print results.

Many people believe that using organic cotton T-shirts is expensive, however that isn’t the case. 

The price of printing onto organic T-shirts and garments is becoming increasingly competitive, with the difference between organic cotton products and standard cotton being quite small, particularly on items like T-shirts, where in some instances it can be as little as a few pence.

Prices for a large order of organic screen printed T-shirts can be as low as £3.61 + VAT per product.

At A.M. Custom Clothing, we’ve been selling ethically produced, organic and Fairtrade clothing for the best part of a decade and have built a huge selection of sustainable and ethical options. 

You can buy our organic clothing, and ethical T-shirts directly from our online store. You’ll also find a range of recycled items, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and bags. 

If you’re after a bulk order of 25 or more, you can request a quote.

Organic cotton is typically a higher grade when compared to conventional standard cotton. Therefore, it typically has a softer hand feel. This higher quality also ensures exceptional print results when you buy personalised sustainable clothing with your own logo or design.

A T-shirt doesn’t need to be heavy in weight or super thick to be durable, organic cotton T-shirts are testament to this. They’ll last just as long, if not longer than conventional cotton T-shirts, even ones that are heavier.

It’s important to understand that the thickness of a T-shirt isn’t a complete or accurate indicator of quality. The cotton used is the best indicator. 

With our organic T-shirts, you can rest assured that 100% quality organic cotton is used in the manufacture.

There are two important factors in sourcing the best print company for your organic T-shirts.

The first factor is print quality. If a supplier is using cheap inks or low quality machinery, the odds are your prints are not going to come out well and they won’t be durable. 

Do your research and ensure the supplier you choose is using top quality machinery and inks. That way you can be sure you're buying T-shirts that look great and will last.

You can read more about our print machinery and inks on our eco friendly t-shirt printing & embroidery page. 

The second factor is the garments themselves. The quality of T-shirts can vary quite drastically from supplier to supplier, so we’d always recommend purchasing a sample or a smaller order first to ensure you’re happy with them. 

Our organic collection has been handpicked so you can be sure all of the garments are to the highest quality standards.

All of our organic products are certified by reputable third party organisations, ensuring you have a 100% guarantee that the T-shirts on your order are made from organic cotton. These products are also ethically accredited, ensuring the highest sustainability and ethical standards are upheld.

Our core range of organic T-shirts and clothing products are vegan certified by PETA, ensuring no animals or animal products are used in the production of the garments.

We strive to reduce our environmental impact and use of plastic. With this in mind we typically ship orders in cardboard boxes, without any individual bagging, ensuring no plastic is used.

What is the difference between organic cotton and regular cotton?

It’s hard to believe, but your favourite T-shirt was once a plant in the ground. The cotton plant produces a fluffy fibre that can then be spun into a thread and then woven into a material that we use to make T-shirts and other clothing products. So what’s the difference between organic and conventional cotton?

An easy way to think about organic cotton is to compare it to vegetables. You can buy organic vegetables or standard ones. Standard cotton, much like standard vegetables, is exposed to chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides. These often harmful chemicals are used to increase yields (short term), speed up growth and keep pests away. 

Organic cotton production, on the other hand, doesn’t use these harmful chemicals. Instead, other clever, but natural methods are used. For example, sugar water can be sprayed onto the crops, attracting ants, who will then defend the crops against attacking beetles or pests. It’s not rocket science, but it works. 

An added benefit to this is that you don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals being against your skin, because everything used in growing and processing organic cotton is natural.

Can you print on organic cotton?

Yes, you can absolutely print on organic cotton T-shirts and other clothing products. In fact, due to the higher quality of fabric that comes with going organic, you actually get a higher quality print. 

What is 100% organic cotton?

If you see that a product is 100% organic cotton, you know that 100% of the cotton used in the product is organic.

Some products contain a blend of fabrics, with only a small proportion of the product actually being made from organic cotton. So when you see a label that says ‘contains organic cotton’, it’s always worth investigating the exact percentage of organic cotton and what other materials are being used.

Is organic clothing better?

Generally organic cotton is better than conventional cotton, it’s a higher quality, more durable, and better for people and the environment. It also holds inks and threads better, making it ideal for customisation.

What makes a shirt vegan?

For a shirt to be vegan it cannot contain animal products like wool or silk. Our core organic product range is vegan certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Not all cotton T-shirts are created equal. According to Textile Exchange, less than 1% of all cotton produced worldwide is organic, despite organic cotton having 46% reduced global warming potential, 70% less acidification potential, 26% reduced eutrophication potential (soil erosion), 91% reduced blue water consumption, and 62% reduced primary energy demand compared to conventional cotton.

In that lies your answer to what makes a T-shirt eco-friendly, it’s the organic cotton.

Eco-friendly printing and production facilities are the icing on the cake, by ensuring you have the most sustainable  T-shirt possible.