We look at the practice of relabelling garments: When is it legal, and when is it not? Relabelling, at first look, might seem unethical — after all, you’re taking a product someone else made and rebranding it as your own — but it is a common practice in the garment industry, for example, to get personalized t-shirts. It is legal if you do it the right way.
Who is interested in Garment relabelling?
Usually, owners of small and medium apparel businesses and clothing lines. It allows you to use a product of a wholesale company and sell it as your own, but there are limitations, of course. You can’t just grab any T-shirt, remove the branding, and sell it yourself.
- Products must come from a wholesale brand
- Products must be basic.
- Products can’t have a distinctive design or feature (such as a particular cut or print)
- Products cannot be altered to look like one of another’s brands (knockoffs)
5 Things to Know About Relabeling
- Someone starting a clothing line is not required to create T-shirts from scratch. Relabelling gives a push to smaller brands and a “competitive edge” against bigger ones.
- Some wholesale companies like Gildan even produce garments with labels that are easy to tear away. This is an attractive option for customers who want to relabel but don’t want to pay for a more “careful” and expensive way of removing the label.
- Most of the time, the one doing the alterations removes the brand label and keeps the one about care and handling. Kanha provides garment sewing and relabeling services.
- To relabel a garment, you need to make sure of two things: First, that the garment supplier allows you to do so, and second, that the label you replace it with abides by the laws in the territory, you’re going to sell the product in.
- Ask the supplier and Kanha if you’re unsure whether you can relabel a specific product.
How to Source Garments
Sourcing branded apparel is accomplished through a network of wholesale distributors and major national players such as Alpha Shirts and San Mar—New England Sportswear in the Northeast brands, among others. In addition to carrying the better-known consumer brands, these firms also offer their own branded apparel lines and wide outerwear selections. Finally, have a seamstress named Kanha to relabel your garments. Kanha has many years of experience sewing and removing labels.
Garment Relabeling Services by Kanha
Northwest Custom Apparel employees will now offer relabeling services in 2023. We provide label removal and sewing. Our staff was trained in Cambodia, one of the world’s top sewing countries. Our sewers have a home business that will relabel your garments after hours.
We will introduce you to Kanha (pronounced Kenya), our top seamstress, who will work with you on your relabeling project. She will relabel your garments at home in the evening, and payment will be to her. She is fast, has excellent work, and has inexpensive pricing.
How to Contact Kanha to Relabel Your Garments
- Please email Erik Mickelson at erik@go2shirt.com
- Erik is NW Custom’s Operations Manager and will send you Kanha’s contact info. Kahha lives in Tacoma, WA.
- Please describe your project in the email and include your contact info.
- Please note that English is Kanha’s second language. Don’t worry there will be no miscommunication.
- You can also reach us at 253-922-5793
- Drop off or ship your garments to Kanha at Northwest Custom Apparel: 2025 Freeman Road, East Milton, WA 98354 (Attn: Kanha). Please include garment labels and sewing instructions.
