How to Start a T-Shirt Business

The t-shirt business is extremely profitable. When it comes to men’s apparel, global t-shirt revenue is expected to reach nearly $47 billion in 2025. For women, that global figure rises to almost $75 billion. That’s a combined possible $122 billion in global revenue for just t-shirts.

Starting a profitable t-shirt business involves a number of key steps and considerations. This guide will show you why you might want to start a t-shirt business, 11 important steps to starting, and important factors and considerations to make the most of it. 

Why start a t-shirt business?

T-shirts are an interesting and accessible entry point into fashion: Casual apparel allows for a number of different designs, styles, and materials. They’re a staple of most wardrobes, so they’re adaptable to different styles and customers. They can be customized and personalized to fit your shoppers’ needs. 

Thanks to dropshipping and print on demand models, it can also be relatively low-cost to start a t-shirt business. You can dropship pre-designed shirts from suppliers or have your own designs added to t-shirts that are custom printed whenever you get an order. In both cases, you don’t have to order and store inventory or handle shipping.

Learn how to sell t-shirts without inventory

11 steps to starting a t-shirt business

There are a number of steps every budding t-shirt entrepreneur must take before launching their business into the world. Start by choosing your focus and developing a business plan before diving into sourcing, production, and deciding where you’ll sell. 

1. Research the market and choose your niche

Before you decide what you’re going to put on your t-shirts, the material, or where you’ll get them, survey the market. Market research on competitors, pricing, and customer needs is critical.

Look for what’s trending, who’s buying what, or what’s popular or coming back into vogue. What do long-lasting t-shirt brands do? Understand what you’re going to provide that’s different or needed in the market.

Don’t shy away from digging deep into a specific niche. For example, you may be a big fan of a popular romance-fantasy book but see little merchandise for it. There’s an opportunity to create and sell original designs based on the book. This has become a popular way to engage with large fan bases in film, TV, books, and music. Defining your niche and understanding your audience will help you stand out from competitors also trying to get their attention. 

Read our full guide to competitor research

2. Develop your t-shirt brand

Next you’ll want to develop your t-shirt brand’s identity. The basics of a brand identity include:

• Your business name

• Brand colorways or palettes

• Logo design

• Tone of voice and personality

These are the details that will differentiate it from others in the market. Keep your target customer in mind when developing your brand. Your brand identity should feel authentic to the community you’re trying to reach.

Follow our guide to building a brand

3. Lay out your business plan

A business plan is essential for your t-shirt business. Your business plan doesn’t need to be formal at the beginning. But it’s a good source of truth to help you stay on track toward your goals.

Elements necessary for a basic business plan include: 

• Business goals: These are your markers of success or growth. Make sure they’re time-bound and measurable, like “Sell 50 t-shirts in the first two months.”

• Market analysis: This is all of that research you did on your competitors and customers. Include how you’ll stand out and reach customers too.

• Marketing: Detail how you intend to get your products out into the market and to your customers, like social media, website, paid ads, etc.

• Budget: Consider what you’ll spend on making your t-shirts and any other costs, like losses for returns, printing, and advertising costs. 

• Operational plans: This will include where you’ll get your t-shirts, logistics like shipping, and any customer service information.

4. Decide how you’ll produce t-shirts 

Next, you’ll need to decide how you want to produce your t-shirts and find the right partners to make that happen.

There are a few different models you can choose from: 

Self-made
If you’d like to hand-make your t-shirts, you can follow a self-made model. That could include screen printing, painting, dyeing, airbrushing, or other DIY methods. This is more labor intensive, but there's pay-off in creating one-of-a-kind items.

Not only are self-made t-shirts more likely to be unique, the hands-on effort or small inventory could make them a more premium product in the eyes of shoppers. You may be able to charge more or build anticipation based on the limited quantity.

Print on demand
If you’re not exactly sure how many t-shirts you’ll be selling, especially if you do specific drops or pre-orders, then print on demand may be the best model for your business. With print on demand, you create the design and only print the number of t-shirts that customers order. That means it can easily scale if your product starts to gain traction.

There’s also no real risk of product surplus. Print on demand partners usually take care of the packaging and shipping portion, too.

Dropshipping
Another low-cost, low-barrier to entry option is dropshipping. With dropshipping, you’re selling a product that’s not your own original inventory, similar to print on demand. You won’t have to deal with inventory management, shipping or returns either. The products that are available and their quality, however, will depend entirely on the third-party provider.

5. Create your t-shirt designs

T-shirts can be as simple (gray, black, white) or inventive (graphic design, original art) as you’d like them to be. After you’ve done all of the work to understand your audience and your own place in the t-shirt market, you’ll want to design your t-shirts.

• Brainstorming and creative ideation: Look everywhere for creative input. Consider reaching out to friends, colleagues, or your community to help crowdsource design ideas. If you already have ideas, you can share them for feedback. This is also a great way to make potential customers part of the decision-making process.

• Design placement: Consider where any designs will go and how big they’ll be. This can impact your design files or what type of printing you’ll be able to do.

• Licensing: If you’re looking to reprint any image on a t-shirt, double check to ensure there aren’t any licensing fees you’ll need to pay for the image.

6. Choose your fabric

Next you’ll need to decide on your product and where you’re going to get it. T-shirts are made from different types of materials. Those include natural textiles and synthetic materials. The quality of your shirts, including how they feel, wear, and hold up over time, can have a big impact on whether customers return or recommend you. Pay attention to these details as you evaluate fabric options.

• Cotton: This biodegradable textile is more breathable, durable, and comfortable. There are different types of cotton, such as pima, organic, or ring-spun.

• Linen: Made from natural flax fibers, linen is a durable material for a shirt. Often, it’s a bit rougher on first wear, but the material is meant to soften over time. 

• Blends: Many t-shirts are a blend of a few materials. Natural fiber combinations include cotton, linen, hemp, and bamboo. They can also be mixed with synthetic materials like rayon, spandex, or polyester. 

• Polyester: Polyester is lightweight, durable, and often wicks moisture. It’s good for avoiding creases and active wear, like workout t-shirts, but is less environmentally friendly. It can take many years to decompose. 

7. Choose a printing method

Once you’ve selected your fabric, you’ll need to consider your printing method. Not all designs will work for all printing methods. For example, some printing methods aren’t ideal for more detailed designs. You may need to weigh whether a certain design or printing method is more important to your product.

Some printing methods include: 

• Screen printing: Also called silk screen printing, this method literally presses ink into a mesh screen and onto the t-shirt by hand or machine. Designs can be uploaded digitally to create a stencil for the screen printing. 

• Airbrushing: With the help of a small painting tool, a design is brushed onto a t-shirt, usually via a stencil. To set it, an iron is applied to the dry design. 

• Direct-to-garment: An image or design is applied directly to the t-shirt. Then the t-shirt is fed through a printer and cured to ensure it stays on the garment.

8. Choose your suppliers

You’re going to need suppliers for your t-shirt business. These may include printing businesses to help with the bulk of the printing for you; custom t-shirt manufacturers; or wholesale suppliers to provide you t-shirts in bulk. Make sure you work with a supplier you trust to deliver on time and with consistent quality. 

Always get mockups of designs and physical samples of your t-shirts before selecting the one you want to sell. Consider whether they’re true to size, comfortable, and maintain quality after washing.

Some suppliers also have more sustainable practices than others. If that’s an important part of your business, you can look for wholesalers or manufacturers with sustainability certifications. 

9. Calculate startup costs and pricing

Consider how much you’re going to need to spend upfront to start and run your business. A t-shirt business does have a relatively low startup cost. But it depends on the model you choose. For example, a print on demand t-shirt business costs less than buying t-shirts in bulk via wholesale.

Your costs could potentially include:

• Design help

• Inventory 

• Production services or materials

• Packing materials

• Shipping costs

• Transaction and card fees

• Paid promotion

• Website subscription

This will help you understand the cash you need upfront to get started and what to price your items to make a profit. If you can estimate repeated costs, like shipping fees, you can also estimate how long you can stay in business with the budget you’ve set. 

Learn more about managing your business finances

10. Set up an online store and other sales channels

This is one of the most important steps in setting up your t-shirt business. You’ll need an online store to sell your products. Even if you decide to sell t-shirts in a physical location, a large segment of any audience shops online.
Here’s what your online store will need: 

• Domain name: This should include your t-shirt brand’s name. 

• Product pages: Where you’ll list your t-shirts for sale.

• Contact and about us: If your customers need support, it’s important to have that information easily accessible to them. 

• Policy or FAQ pages: Include any information about shipping, returns, or answers to commonly asked questions.

Beyond your website, there are other sales channels to consider. These sales channels include: 

• Third-party marketplaces: Marketplaces can come with high fees, but they can greatly expand your audience reach. 

• Social commerce: Integrate your business into social media platforms that have buying capabilities. You can show up where your customers are, like Instagram or Facebook, and they can make a purchase without leaving the app.

See our favorite ecommerce website designs

11. Promote your business

Once you’ve landed on the t-shirts you want to sell, the designs you like, and set up your website, it’s time to promote your business. 

• Social media: Plug into your audience on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. 

• Paid ads: Target your audience with paid ads that appear on search engines or social media platforms. 

• Email marketing: Connect directly with your audience by sending promotional emails or newsletters. Build your mailing list by offering discounts in exchange for email signups. 

• Search engine optimization (SEO): Consider leveraging keywords and phrases your audience would search to find your shirts and weave them into your website content. You can also connect your store to Google Shopping results.

Start with small steps that fit your time constraints and budget. You can start with one or two t-shirt designs and slowly build your social media following and email lists before starting to test paid ads or adding designs, for example. Taking the time to validate interest in your designs will set you up for longer term success.