Custom Work Shirts: 4 Must-Have Features

by John Amato

A custom work shirt plays a vital role in the growth of your business. It can help you:

  • Boost brand affinity
  • Build trust
  • Foster professionalism
  • Create a safe working environment for your employees

While not all work shirts are designed the same, there are features that each one should have in common. Today we’ll dive deep into the essential features that your work shirt must include.

We’ll also discuss:

  • How the quality of your work shirt’s material affects its durability
  • Why your work shirts need to be brightly colored
  • The best logo placement practices for work shirts
  • The benefits of having a breathable work shirt

1- High-Quality Material

orange work shirt

The quality of your fabric plays an important role in the longevity of your work shirts. Considering that some employees work in extreme environments, like under the hot sun, a fabric with a quality fiber weave will ensure that your work shirts last longer and retain their original appearance. 

However, different materials have different characteristics. For example, you can’t expect the same level of breathability with polyester as you do with cotton. 

Cotton fibers are naturally more porous than polyester fibers, allowing air to easily flow through the fabric. Despite these differences, undeniable signs of quality do exist, regardless of the type of fabric being used. 

One is the quality of the fiber weave. When you examine a fabric closely, you’ll see the individual fibers that compose it. In a quality fabric, the fibers will be closely and tightly woven. 

To check the quality of your fiber weave, you can simply hold the garment against a light source and even stretch it slightly. If a lot of light seems to pass through the material, it means that there are gaps in the weave. 

This serves as an indication that the material isn’t sturdy and won’t withstand stretching and other wear for long. 

If it’s difficult to see light through a garment, however, this means that the fibers are closely knitted, resulting in a stronger material.

The second aspect to pay attention to is the material’s thread count. The greater the thread count per square inch, the softer, tighter, and more densely woven your material will be.

The last thing to check is the finish. High-quality material will show even weaves, color tones, and very few unusual creases. 

While there’s no one-size-fits-all material for a work shirt, the best strategy is to choose a fabric that fits your business.

For example, people in the landscaping business need a work shirt material that can hold up against the elements, is excellent at skin temperature regulation, and can withstand wear and tear.

Fabrics like polyester and cotton-polyester blends fit this situation perfectly because they're robust, breathable, and resistant to moisture. 

The table below compares these two fabrics and their suitability as a material for work shirts.

Polyester Cotton-Polyester Blend
Highly durable
    Highly durable
Medium breathability
    High breathability
Medium absorbency
    High absorbency
Resistant to wrinkles
    Forms less wrinkles
Can cause itching on sensitive skin
    Gentle on the skin

2 - Bright and Reflective Design

yellow-green work shirt with retro-reflective stripes

Work shirts must be designed with employee safety in mind. Employees in these industries are in close contact with moving machinery and traffic, meaning there’s a high chance of them being involved in an accident. Choosing a bright and reflective design for your work shirts increases visibility and decreases accidents.

Bright colors are easy to spot no matter the weather. When working in challenging conditions, like snow and rain, it’s easy for lighter colors to blend in.

Bright colors, however, increase the visibility of a worker, mitigating potential hazards.

According to OSHA requirements, high visibility colors include:

  • Yellow
  • Neon green
  • Orange 

Besides being brightly colored, work shirts need to have retro reflective stripes. These stripes reflect light towards its source, illuminating a worker in poor light or at night.

At fancysweetstx, we help you maintain a safe environment by helping you design high-visibility work shirts. We can also create functional hi-vi jackets that enable your workers to stay visible on job sites. Tell us more about your project and let our experts deliver work shirts that your team will love.

3 - Good Logo Placement

green work shirt with left chest printed logo

Positioning a logo on visible areas, like the center chest or back of your work shirts, will help you communicate your brand message easily. When people can easily spot your logo from a far they’ll identify the wearer with your company.

Positioning a large, simple logo in the middle chest area ensures that it’s visible to everyone and helps prevent obscuring any retro reflective material. 

For smaller logos, the left of the chest is a common placement point.

A good design will not be complete without a call to action (CTA). Once your audience is aware of your brand, you would want them to take action—maybe call you, or visit your website. 

The middle back area is an ideal position for your CTA as it’s less aggressive than advertising right on the front of a shirt.

4 - Breathability And Moisture Wicking Capabilities

long-sleeve work shirt

Summers get extremely hot. For most outdoor workers in industries like construction and landscaping, a breathable and moisture-wicking shirt helps to keep them cool.

While worker safety and branding are vital, that doesn’t mean you should settle for a low-performance garment. Breathable shirts allow air to circulate on the skin, keeping workers cool on a hot day.

In addition to being breathable, your work shirts need to be able to wick away moisture. A moisture wicking fabric draws sweat away from the skin and dissipates it into the atmosphere, keeping you dry.

A material like polyester seems to pass these standards pretty well. Although it’s not as breathable as cotton, its moisture-wicking property is outstanding. When combined with cotton to form a poly-cotton blend, the fabric is both breathable and moisture wicking.

Wondering how to choose the best fabric? At fancysweetstx, we make all our work shirts using a poly-cotton blend because of its suitability for such environments.

After asking us to create branded work shirts for his business, this is what Nick Green had to say:

“fancysweetstx is our go-to place for all of our customized apparel needs.”
- Nick Green, US

Get in touch and let us help you grow your business with the power of branding, while also ensuring the safety of your employees.

custom work shirts help build your business loyalty

Create a Functional Work Shirt

Custom work shirts help build your business loyalty, communicate your brand message, and promote a safe and productive environment for your employees. 

When your employees wear branded shirts, people can take notice of your brand. This will attract potential clients who will be interested in your services themselves.

At fancysweetstx, we help you create functional work shirts that you and your employees will love. We help you choose the best fabric, design, and color to suit your working environment. Place a custom work shirt order today, and let us help you grow your brand with high-quality apparel.

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