Company News

Official Free Tibet Protest T-Shirt Komodo designers have designed a t shirt for the FREE TIBET CAMPAIGN.  The t-shirt will support the campaign by donating 20% of its sale price.  The unique culture of Tibet and the human rights of its people continue to be brutally crushed under the heavy boot of a chinese occupation which has lasted nearly 60 years.  As the 2008 Beijing Olympics approaches under the banner 'One Wold, One Dream', Komodo's message is to support Team Tibet, who won't be appearing in this years Olympics, as the world's spotlight shines on China this summer! T Shirt and Sons have worked with Komodo on a number of projects providing them with 100% organic print onto carbon neutral garments. www.komodo.co.uk

T Shirt and Sons switches to 100% renewable electricity company T Shirt and Sons, the leading UK environmentally conscious t-shirt printer, who produces 100% certified organic garments is continuously looking at ways of improving its production and use of resources.  The move to switch to Good Energy to provide the companies electricity for its two factories in Wiltshire was a decision T Shirt and Sons did not hesitate on.  Good Energy is the only 100% renewable electricity supplier which sources its power from wind, small scale hydro and solar power generators from all over Britain.  Andy Lunt , Director of T Shirt and Sons commented, "We are fully aware of the challenges businesses face to combat the impacts they have on the environment and the textiles industry falls foul to much criticism.  At T Shirt and Sons we take our environmental and social responsibility very seriously and have a strong belief that the suppliers we work with must have a similar attitude to us, choosing Good Energy was the right decision and they were the obvious first chose"

Grazia, a top womens weekly magazine has launched a campaign to end knife crime in the UK. 'Lives not Knives' was launched after Grazia magazine spoke to Ben Kinsella's sister Brooke after her brother's tragic death due to a knife attack.  The campaign aims to signal that enough is enough and demand an end to the knife- carrying culture.  Grazia has collaborated with 5 top designers to produce t-shirts specifically for this campaign and the first t-shirt available is by Katharine Hamnett, the aim of the t-shirts will be to raise awareness and money for the Ben Kinsells Fund. T Shirt and Sons worked with Grazia and Katharine Hamnett to prdouce a quality garment with the message 'Life is Sacred' on the front and 'Irreplaceable' on the back. www.graziamagazine.co.uk

	REM due to start European tour REM are about to embark on their forthcoming tour.  They kick start the tour in Amsterdam on the 2nd July and are doing 42 gigs till October 2008.  T Shirt and Sons were specifically asked to print their tour merchandise for the second tour running.  www.remhq.com

Music festival of the summer - Glastonbury Festival Its festival season and the biggest music festival in Europe, Glastonbury Festival is due to open its gates this wednesday.  T Shirt and Sons have a long-standing relationship with the festival having produced all their official merchandise for the last 15 years.  The t shirt designs are bright and colourful and work well with our organic ink systems. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Edun Live revamp official website EDUN LIVE, one of T Shirt and Sons preferred organic suppliers has created a new virtual home on the web, expanding its blank B2B tee range to a young, hip audience. www.edun-live.com is the first ever consumer based site in an effort to reach a younger audience for their ethical 100% Made In Africa tees.  The decision came as a means to build off the current success of their B2B business launched in 2007 to market tees for promotional and merchandising purposes. EDUN LIVE is the sister brand of EDUN, the socially conscious clothing label founded in 2005 by Ali Hewson and her husband Bono.  The new revamped site not only highlights the importance of supporting the growth of the African apparel industry, but also conveys a side of Africa that is modern and sexy.

Liverpool Biennial designs groovy ethical t-shirts Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest festival of contemporary visual art. Established in 1998, this year will see the 5th festival take place between 20th September and 30th November, there are also year-round role commissioning art for the public realm.    T Shirt and Sons were delighted to be asked to print their merchandise, the Liverpool Biennial T- Shirt.  Printed on our new MHM S-Type machine, the definition and clarity of the print was outstanding and complemented the design well. www.biennial.com

	To launch Madonna's latest album Hard Candy, T Shirt and Sons were approached to print her promotional t-shirts as part of the record labels album launch.  The 8 colour image that was used covering the back of the shirt worked really well and a follow up order was placed due to the high demand. Good luck Madonna with you tour and record sales!

Organic Hero - Andy Lunt, Director of T Shirt and Sons was recently interviewed by the Soil Association as part of their campaign to highlight individuals who are committed to helping develop the organic industry.  This is the first licenced organic textile company to be featured in Organic Hero’s and illustrates the commitment T Shirt and Sons has had over the last 20 years in encouraging the organic textile market to grow. You can read the full interview at www.soilassociation.org/

Company Expansion - T Shirt and Sons expands with new machinery and energy efficient dryer The company’s ever increasing growth has meant there has been the need for new machinery.  A new MHM S type printing carousel was delivered in March and has added a forth machine to our production which will enable 25,000 extra pieces a week. We have also bought a state of the art dryer, which will not only help with the increase in production, continuing our commitment to further reduce our companies carbon commitment.

T Shirt and Sons were the runner - up of the Garment Decorator of the Year award at the prestigious Printwear and Promotion awards held in Birmingham on 3rd March 2008. After being nominated T Shirt and Sons were put through to the final voting stage of the competition along with two other companies, with the final judging taking place at a gala dinner at the NEC. Andy Lunt, Director commented... "We were really thrilled to have been nominated for the industry award - 'Garment Decorator of the Year' and would like to say thank you to all those who voted for us."

T Shirt and Sons are pleased to announce they have been selected as joint winner for the Images Garment Decorator of the year 2007, for automatic print.  T Shirt and Sons were also given a honourable mention in recognition for 20 years of dedication to the t-shirt printing industry.  Andy Lunt, Director T Shirt and Sons commented; “We are really pleased to be consistently winning industry recognition for our printing.  Winning awards such as these not only instils faith in what we do, it also confirms that we are one of the leading t-shirt printers in the UK”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall came to T Shirt and Sons as he wanted to produce a t-shirt for his Chicken Out campaign that was in line with the ethical statement that he his trying to get across about free range chickens. T Shirt and Sons were extremely happy to help with the campaign and provided the team at Hugh's HQ with crew t shirts as part of the first order and since the campaign has been promoted on Hugh's recent TV programme - Chicken Run, a repeat order has been placed.  Keep up the good work Hugh! www.chickenout.tv

T Shirt and Sons are working with Cancer Research and supplying them with organic printed bags as part of their latest campaign with Eley Kishimoto - Fukuro, a bag for life.  The charities aim is to raise money through the sale of ten’s of thousands of these much desirable bags, which are being distributed across 600 Cancer Research UK stores.  Each shopper retails at £2.99. http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressreleases/2008/february/404748

The Hemp Trading Company (THTC) has joined forces with the Burma Campaign UK to produce a limited edition hemp t-shirt with a striking design created by the iconic contemporary artist Mau Mau (www.mau-mau.co.uk) known to many as the ethical Banksy. All profits from the sale of the tees will go directly to the campaign (around £15 per t-shirt).  The t-shirt which is made from a fine blend of 55% hemp and 45% certified organic cotton is produced under ethically audited conditions and printed with T Shirt and Sons organic ink system. The limited edition t-shirt will be exclusively available from www.thtc.co.uk for £25 plus P & P. www.thtc.co.uk

	Halfords give away top of the range mountain bike and 1500 printed organic t-shirts. Halfords partnered with handbag.com to give away a top of the range mountain bike and 1500 organic t-shirts as part of a brand awareness campaign.  T Shirt and Sons were the obvious choice who printed the slogan - Power to the Peddle with their SA certified organic ink system. www.halfords.com

	T Shirt and Sons Ltd T Shirt and Sons are delighted to gain their Soil Association licence for another year as the only UK t-shirt printer to offer certified 100% organic printed t-shirts.  The audit that took place at the end of August was a thorough inspection that we are extremely pleased to have passed.

Katharine Hamnett slogan top featured in Hello magazine T Shirt and Sons are really pleased to see that Katharine Hamnett t shirts are selling well, everyone wants one of her slogan designs which are made in ethically certified factories in India and made out of 100% organic cotton.  Each slogan design is printed by ourselves using our Soil Assoication licenced ink system. www.katharinehamnett.com

	T Shirt and Sons have printed the Eden Projects latest t-shirts for their staff uniforms.  1000's of t-shirts were printed using our organic ink system onto 100% organic cotton t-shirts. http://www.edenproject.com

	T Shirt and Sons have been working with Glastonbury Festival and Ethical Threaads producing all the festivals official merchandise for more than 15 years.  This year there are three designs to choose from in a variety of t-shirt styles and sweatshirts.  The garments used are ethically sourced and have been printed with Soil Association licenced organic inks.

New customer, Surfer's Path the first green surf magazine, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and printed with safe soy inks partnered with T Shirt and Sons to produce a printed organic t shirt to be used as a give away to its subscribers and wanted the t shirt to reflect the magazines ethos.  T Shirt and Sons printed 1500 fairly traded organic t shirts using their licenced organic system. www.surferspath.com

Modbury has become the first town in Europe to become plastic bag free!  43 traders all from the town and surrounding area decided that was enough and the use of plastic bags was to end.  T Shirt and Sons helped with the campaign by printing 2000 environmentally friendly cotton shoppers with its organic ink system.  The town have made a promise to use fully biodegradable, organic, fairtrade, unbleached, recycled carrier bags in a bid to end the use of plastic bags.  www.plasticbagfree.com

As part of a spring promotion popular games magazine Playstation attached a free t shirt to every copy of the magazines’ May issue as part of the launch of the Playstation 3, a new gaming console.  T Shirt and Sons has worked with the publishing house of the magazine for many years producing t shirts for a number of their magazines, however we fulfilled this particular large order of 84,000 t shirts in just seven days!

	T Shirt and Sons are proud to announce their acceptance as a member to the Ethical Junction.  The Ethical Junction Network provides information on positively screened companies and organisations and links you through to ethical and sustainable products and services provided by our members. Use ethical search to find eco-friendly products and services : www.ethical-junction.org

Printwear & Promotion Kustom Kit Awards T Shirt and Sons are pleased to announce that they have won an award for Best Screen printed garment using water based or sublimation inks.  Following on from last years success we are thrilled that our printing is recognised as still award winning! T Shirt and Sons & SAF become the first wholesalers of Soil Association - certified printed organic clothing in the UK

The certified organic printed clothing range was unveiled at the Soil Association's annual conference in Cardiff.  T Shirt and Sons worked together with SAF and produced a printed collection of garments that were showcased along side other organic clothing in an 'Organic Clothing & Textiles' fashion show which was held at the opening reception.  We were really pleased for SAF, who gained their organic licence at the beginning of this year and thought what better place to show off our quality of organic print and the quality of SAF organic cotton shirts than at the annual conference.  (Photograph - David Oliver, Soil Association (2007)

The Green Room The aim of the Green Blog is to add another section to our website where we can talk about who is making ground in the textile industry and to share information about developments and improvements in the organic and Fairtrade sectors. This is not to say we won’t be talking about other interesting topics that have caught our attention, inspired or provoked us.  Visitors to our blog will also be able to have their say and leave comments about particular topics and make recommendations. If you would like to receive regular updates from our blog about what’s green and what’s not, please subscribe to our RSS feed. click to enter....

Showgirl Homecoming Tour - limited edition Kylie t shirts. Following the success of the first limited edition t shirts that were sold as part of Kylie's merchandise for her Showgirl Homecoming tour at Wembley, Supa 66 the exclusive brand behind the edition launches its second design to be sold at the MEN Arena, Manchester, the second leg of Kylie's UK tour.  T Shirt and Sons worked closely with Supa 66 to make sure that the t shirts reflected the brands tradmark vintage look and all had an edition number assigned and printed in the nape of the shirts.

We are pleased to announce that T Shirt and Sons have been registered as a supplier of Fairtrade Foundation t shirts.  The company has always been active in making sure that every aspect of production adheres to the highest of standards and this especially applies to the materials we use, where they come from and the workers involved.  We are thrilled to have the stamp of approval from the Fairtrade Foundation and look forward to working with the charity in 2007. www.fairtrade.org.uk

	Leading men's fashion label, Griffin, are once again working with artist Peter Kennard, releasing  a series of 3 limited edition organic printed t-shirts which all carry the artist's powerful imagery.  T Shirt and Sons are really pleased to be working with Griffin using 100% organic cotton t shirts and our organic ink system. www.giffin-studio.com www.peterkennard.com

	Speak no Evil, Text no Evil, Hear no Evil Virgin Mobile used T Shirt and Sons to produce 2,000 t shirts and 500 sweats for staff to wear as part of a promotional camapign to promote the networks latest offer of 3p calls, 3p texts and free voicemail.

	T Shirt and Sons recenlty worked with Ethical Threads to produce the staff uniforms and t shirt merchandise for the prestigious British Film Institute's 50th London film festival.  The shirts used were 100% organic cotton and Fairtrade. www.lff.org.uk

Katharine E Hamnett opens her online shop! T Shirt and Sons are pleased to announce the opening of fashion designer Katharine Hamnett's online shop.  The popular designer has launched a collection of 100% organic slogan t shirts for men and women that have been made in the most environmentally friendly way possible.  The light weight slim fit shirts were printed by T Shirt and Sons using a waterbased, Soil Assoiction licenced ink. www.katharinehamnett.com

Timberland the global boot and shoe brand appointed T Shirt and Sons to print 1000's of organic t shirts to  be used as part of their latest in store promotion.  The campaign is to highlight the environmental foot print of a Timberland boot or shoe, interestingly both the environmental impact and community impact of making a boot were detailed on the back of the t shirts using environmentally friendly inks.  T Shirt and Sons are really pleased to be working with such an established environmentally conscious footwear giant. www.timberland.com

The Abergavenny Food Festival entrusted Domino Records, top UK independent record label (Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand) to design the artwork for the popular merchandise that is sold at the annual festival.  T Shirt and Sons were also involved as we printed all the official merchandise and staff uniforms and the t shirts used were 100% organic cotton.  The festival is in its 8th year and attracts many people from around the region and other parts of the UK and is being held on the 16th & 17th September, Abergavenny. www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

	Kylie bags herself the latest accessory - a Supa 66 canvas pirate bag! T. Shirt and Sons are working closely with fashion label Supa 66 producing bespoke vintage distressed garments and bags that are being sold as far away as Japan.

Ethical Threads goes Organic! We are proud to announce a new range of 100% organic shirts that are now available in 10 colours and in both unisex and skinny-fit cuts. The cotton starts its life in the fields of Madhya Pradesh at the Vasudha cotton project, and is officially certified by the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation and by SKAL, the International organic certification body. Ethical Threads visited the project's headquarters in Karhi, initiated and run by the Pratibha factory in the Madhya Pradesh region of India, and was so impressed by their commitment to the environment and the welfare of local farmers that we decided they were the ideal supplier for our new organic range. In the few years we have been working with cotton we have become more and more aware of the terrible effects conventional farming has on the environment and the health of the farmers who grow it. We have made a conscious decision to phase out our non-organic ranges and bring in Fair Trade organic garments, starting with a wide range of basic t’s.  www.ethicalthreads.co.uk

	T. Shirt and Sons would like to congratulate Lily Allen on her No 1 single chart postion with Smile.  We are pleaed to have been involved with helping promote the single across Europe, by printing a range of men's and women's t shirts that are being used for the artists promotional campaign. www.lilyallenmusic.com

The Perfect T - Shirt Better Thinking, the ethical branding consultancy that helps corporations stand out whilst addressing the concerns of 21st Century consumers, has recently produced a report in conjunction with the Perfect T Shirt project that was launched in early 2005.  The project was launched to demonstarte the viability of producing a t-shirt that has a minimal social and environmental footprint.  A recent report accounting on the progress of the project included T. Shirt and Sons in its findings and congratulates us by - leading the pack by a long, long way.  Read the report here: Your Better Thinking Dye

T Shirt and Sons are pleased to announce they have been accredited and granted a licence by  The Soil Association as the first UK textile printer to offer organic print.  Until now there has been no supplier of organic print that has been approved by the regulating body to have authentic organic status.  T Shirt and Sons has taken the lead and pioneered an organic ink system that is able to achieve high quality results when printed onto garments.  This new technology is the final piece in the jigsaw for the textile industry, as it is now possible to offer a garment that is seed to final product organic.  The entire supply chain in producing a printed organic garment can finally be authenticated. Andy Lunt, Managing Director, T Shirt and Sons Ltd commented - Applying for this licence is something we have been pursuing for sometime due to market demand and recognising our responsibility to the environment.  This licence will finally enable us to offer the consumer a truly organic garment. Mary Holt, Marketing Manager at the Soil Association explained, “More and more people are purchasing organic cotton clothing because they are aware how the enormous pesticide use on non-organic cotton is affecting the environment.  What people might be less aware of, is that conventional inks and dyes used to dye and print t-shirts also impact on the environment and our health, as they may contain phthalates and heavy metals that can contaminate water supplies.  Soil Association standards ban the use of chemicals or processes that can cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive damage.” Holt continued, “It’s really good news that T-shirt & Sons have taken steps to become certified so that consumers purchasing organically printed T-shirts can be reassured that they are purchasing garments with a minimal environmental impact.”

As one of the leaders in t shirt merchandise, T Shirt and Sons would like to wish Keane the best of luck on the release of their second album 'Under the Iron Sea' out on 12 June. Having printed the bands t shirts throughout 2004 and 2005 for their live shows, we are delighted to be continuing to work closely with music merchandiser Sandbag to fulfill the large runs they have been demanding for their upcoming shows in conjunction with the new release. www.rag-and-bone.com

T. Shirt and Sons would like to congratulate Chris Beardshaw (aka BBC's The Flying Gardener) for his  gold medal for best Show Garden at the Chelsea RHS Flower Show 2006.  We are delighted to have supported Chris Beardshaw Ltd by supplying several hundred ethically sourced tshirts printed with an environmental ink for the show which takes place from 23rd-27th May, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London. www.chrisbeardshaw.com

World Fair Trade Day is an international celebration of Fair Trade internationally, with events organised worldwide. On and around the second Saturday of May every year, IFAT member organisations based in 70 countries, along with Fair Trade shops and networks, host events including Fair Trade breakfasts, talks, music concerts, fashion shows and much more, to promote Fair Trade and campaign for justice in trade. Fair Trade products from marginalised communities in the majority world, including coffee and tea, clothes, jewellery and beautiful handicrafts will be showcased on this day. Many events continue throughout the month of May. World Fair Trade Day started as a European movement of over 2,000 World Shops (Fair Trade shops), working together through NEWS! Movements to celebrate the same day and campaign for Fair Trade in Japan and the US joined them. "World Fair Trade Day" was initiated by Safia Minney, founder of People Tree, and adopted by IFAT and its members at the 2001 Full Meeting, to promote stronger global awareness of Fair Trade, and this day has been raising its profile ever since.

Tshirt and Sons has recently won an award in the Best Screen Printed Garment using Water Based Inks category at the 2006 PrintWear and Promotions awards, held annually at the NEC Birmingham.  The industry awards attracts many of the top textile companies in the UK who put forward examples of their work, for the panel of experts to judge. Andy Lunt, Managing Director, Tshirt and Sons Ltd, commented                   “We are delighted to have won an  award in the Best Screen Printed Garment using Water Based Inks category at the 2006 PrintWear and Promotions awards.  We are regular contenders and this year proved to be as popular as ever, giving us encouragement that our printing is still amongst the best available on the market."

Greenpeace works with Tshirt and Sons to produce a bespoke fair trade organic tshirt to be used alongside the ‘Defending our Oceans’ campaign.  Tshirt and Sons produced 1000 custom made, pantone dyed garments to be retailed across Europe.  All profits made are to be ploughed into helping Greenpeace on their single largest expedition ever taken. This incredible year-long journey will tell the story of the crisis facing our oceans from the Azores to Antarctica, take you to places few humans have been, confront the villains and promote solutions.  While many of us love the ocean, it’s hard to imagine what is happening just beyond our beaches, and hard to picture the scale of destruction and the impact that it’s having. By travelling to most of the oceans in the world, this voyage aims to change this  - we will make the unseen, seen.

Ethical Company Organisation Accreditaion – In the spring of 2005 T Shirt and Sons became the first UK printing company to be awarded accreditation from the ECO ‘Ethical Company Organisation’. The aim of ECO is to establish the overall benchmark standard for 21st Century Corporate Social Responsibility. ECO influences influences public opinion and corporate policy making through the powerful combination of Research and Publication. ECO researches and reports on the impact of hundreds of companies on the broad spectrum of human rights, animal welfare and the environment.

	Fairtrade Leaflet - Improving the livelihoods of cotton farmers in the developing world. At the start of the supply chain, small-scale cotton farmers find themselves at the sharp end of injustice within the global trading system. Want to do something about it? Read this Pdf.

Recent Awards - T Shirt and Sons entered the 2005 Printwear and Promotion Awards which were held at the NEC in March. We won 2nd and 3rd placings in the category: Best Screen Printed Garment using Water based inks. It was first time we had entered these awards since 2002, so we were delighted with the result, which was a real boost to T Shirt and Sons staff. Dan Raywood, Editor of Printwear and Promotion Magazine, and one of the judges said:  “The 2005 Printwear & Promotion awards were once again a highlight of the annual exhibition and we were delighted to have received a total of 78 entries into the six categories. T Shirt and Sons were among the winners once again this year and we would like to thank them for their efforts in entering and also congratulate them on their success with the two awards.”

	Howies - An excellent resource on Organic cotton production

Cotton on to Fairtrade - The first ever cotton certified by the Fairtrade Foundation was launched at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London on Thursday, 17th November.  This is the first time in the UK that the FAIRTRADE Mark, the independent consumer label licensed by the Fairtrade Foundation, will appear on goods made from cotton.  The aim is to extend the benefits of Fairtrade to a new product category and improve the lives of cotton farmers.  Here are some companies that are launching products made from Fairtrade certified cotton Marks and Spencer PLC Bishopston Trading Company Ltd Epona Ltd Eurolink Healthcare Ltd Vericott Ltd HUG UK Ltd La Redoute S A People Tree Ltd Ralper Sandbag Ltd Traidcraft Plc

REM world tour – A spectacular show in Hyde Park, marking the climax of REMs sell out world tour, brought to an end one of T Shirt and Sons busiest periods ever. We printed shirts for nearly 8 months, supplying garments for the UK, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Czech Rep, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Holland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, South Africa and Japan. Michael Stipe personally thanked the merchandisers, Sandbag, for their help on stage! (along with the roadies, caterers and just about everyone else!)