Back to Mother Nature
Basic blank T-shirts head back to organic for 2007.

JANUARY 01, 2007 -- The big trend in the 2007 T-shirt market is getting back to nature. And it's about time.

In the last decade, our T-shirts have been ribbed, distressed, burned-out, micro-fibered, sublimated, cropped, capped, "ringered," "thermaled," scalloped, mercerized, tie-dyed, reversed out, cross-stitched and crossed up. T-shirt fabric weights have gone from tracing paper thin, to super-absorbent heavyweight and back in the past year, toward model-waif sheer again.

While cotton has been king since the 1960s, it's been awhile since this market was in touch with its roots.

"The market should take note of the growing popularity of T-shirts made of organic cotton or other natural fabrics like bamboo," says Margaret Crow, marketing director for S&S Activewear in Bolingbrook, Ill. "While there are not as many color choices for natural fabrics as there are for standard cotton T-shirts — typically, the selection is limited to earth tones and neutrals — natural fabric T-shirts offer inherent benefits such as moisture-wicking and anti-microbial properties. At S&S, we expect that T-shirts made of alternative natural fabrics will appeal to non-profit programs or environmental organizations that emphasize sustainability."

Brinden Asher, director of marketing for Los Angeles-based Bella and the company's new brand, Alo, agrees that organic is the next big thing.

"Going organic is a big trend for '07," she says. "Bella is introducing its first-ever organic line of products for ladies, men, babies and toddlers. All garments are available in natural color and use the same high-quality fabrics, but just in a 100% organic cotton state."

So what does "organic" mean?

The term organic defines the process of growing and processing a variety of agricultural products, including food and fibers. Organic food, which most of us have seen to some degree in the grocery store, is grown on farms that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of poison fertilizers and pesticides. The same is true of farms that produce organic fibers. These farms try to grow cotton or other plants that produce the fibers for our clothing without using pesticides and fertilizers.

According to Gianna Giannulli-Chavez, design and merchandising director of Los Angeles-based fashion line Article.1, "About 1/3 of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used to produce a single pound of conventionally grown cotton fabric. Much of these chemicals find their way into the soil, air, water and the food we eat, adversely affecting all associated life. As a manufacturer, Article.1 recognizes its role and responsibility in helping the environment, and thus has created the Organics line.

"The end result is premium cotton that is grown organically, and profitably, without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. By currently offering a wider selection of colors, the Article.1 Organics line of T-shirts provides designers with even more versatility, without sacrificing the environment's health and well being, or your own," Giannulli-Chavez adds.

"Article.1 is very pro-earth and offers an amazing organic cotton line. We source organic cotton from the best growers in Texas to produce our super-soft, organic cotton T-shirts," she adds.

Article.1 offers a short-sleeve jersey crew and also a long-sleeve jersey in organic cotton. At its Web site (www.article1.net), the company shows its organic products in photos with a distinct sepia-tone. Color stories are shown separately. "Article.1 is dedicated to continuing its research and development of new and better technology in organic manufacturing practices, with future plans to introduce more styles and colors within the Organics line," Giannulli-Chaves says.

SHEER FOR ANOTHER YEAR

But don't go thinking that everything in the T-shirt market has gone the way of Al Gore. Lots of other trends — big sellers hanging on for another year and new staples — are filling T-shirt warehouses as you read this preview.

The first continuing customer favorite is sheer fabrics.

"In the '80s, the heavy-duty cotton T-shirt — i.e. the Hanes Beefy Tee — was among the best sellers. In the '90s, trends evolved toward the ring-spun 2x1 rib fabric," says Nicole Wilder, marketing associate for Boxercraft Inc. in Atlanta. "Now, in 2000 and beyond, T-shirts are developing into the sheer, fine jersey, giving us the softest and finest T-shirts yet."

And while the sheer movement retains plenty of momentum, the bare midriff look of the cropped topped T-shirt is passing as silhouettes are trending longer.

"Most T-shirts are loosening up," says Tony Lowitz, product development manager for American Apparel in Los Angeles. "The off-the-shoulder fit is back and the 'tight T-shirt with exposed belt buckle' look is behind us now. While form-fitting has still a ways to go, cropped waists are not selling as much as longer, layered looks, which are more popular these days."

"All of Bella's body lengths have increased to accommodate for lower rise [on jeans and ladies' pants]," Bella's Asher says. "Although there was some talk of waistlines of bottoms rising, the consensus is still with low-rise, and our T-shirts can comfortably accommodate this ongoing look."

Christi Pack, assistant marketing manager for North Carolina-based Hanes, agrees that shirts are going longer and that sheer jersey with color continues its strong sales. "Lightweight T-shirts are still very popular," she says. "You see them all over retail, and they're in high demand within our channel as well. Hanes introduced the SL04, Hanes Silver for Her Classic Fit Jersey Tee, this year. It's a 4.8-ounce combed, ring-spun shirt that is available in 16 colors. Color is very important with women, so your color palette has to be refreshed to maintain relevance among customers."

At Anvil Knitwear, the hottest selling fashion product is the Anvil Ladies Semi-Sheer Collection. Perhaps most notable from this New York-based line is the enhanced Ladies Semi-Sheer Tee (style 379T). Anvil has added a contrast blanket stitch to its ever-popular tee. New to the line is the ladies 2x1 rib tank top. This shirt (style 2425) seems unique to the blank goods industry in that it is the first tank with contrasting scalloped-stitching trim.

Anvil also has added University of Texas Orange as a new color throughout its line, as well as a new copyrighted color, the socially relevant CharityPink.

"Anvil received an overwhelming response from our distributors in regard to style 2425 and our new camouflage shirt (style 939)," says Kristine Naylor, marketing manager. "Everyone could not wait to pick up this style for 2007."

FASHION CAMO

A wide variety of camouflage prints are indeed all the rage for 2007. While Anvil offers the style in the traditional Army green, it also will offer sand as a color option this year.

Other companies have gone further off-the-base with their color combinations.

"The hottest selling item for Boxercraft is our camo print shirt," Wilder says. "New for 2007, classic green camo and fashion pink patterns are available in all our T-shirts. Camo printed T-shirts are the new must-have. In particular, our pink camo print shirt is the hot-selling item. It's hard to keep up with the demand from our customers, who are looking for unique prints."

"Our Code V Camouflage line is really taking off," agrees Mindy M. Anastos, marketing and merchandising manager for L.A. T Sportswear, Ball Ground, Ga. "We offer camouflage for the entire family in five fashion colors. Customers love this variation on the classic T-shirt. It gives them something different and unique to offer their clients."

STRIPES AND PRINTS

American Apparel is offering stripes this year, according to Lowitz. "Stripes are one of our biggest additions to 2007," she says. The company will offer styles in white/black, white/gray and navy/beige.

Other patterns also are heading into the custom T-shirt market from retail. Alternative, with offices in Atlanta and a showroom in Los Angeles, has its finger on the pulse of retail T-shirt trends, which often seems to originate from the music industry-driven shops on Melrose Avenue. Paige Cannon, director of sales and marketing for the fashion-forward company, commutes back and forth between the cotton country of Georgia and the left coast, and says she sees patterns coming back in a big way.

Alternative will introduce hot styles for the New Year, Cannon says. "We have argyle, rainbow and houndstooth prints," she says. "People want what is different right now. Everyone is looking for the new blank. With a focus on fashion, Alternative is launching loose knits that are slightly heavier weight than our currently popular sheer styles. All-over distressed prints are also emerging on the scene. Comfort is still a factor, but style is playing more of a role than ever before [in T-shirts ].

"The best new items from our last product launch in August were our women's vintage heather hoodie (style aa1966) and the women's gauze long-sleeve crew (style aa1794)," Cannon adds. "Our Gossamer Gauze Collection was completely new."

Cannon sees loose knits and distressed printed fabrics jumping to the front of the fashion ranks. "The hottest selling fashion fabric is still our burnout fabric," she says. "Sheer is definitely not dead. In fact, for us, sheer is still growing strong, but we see it playing a secondary role in the future to newer fabrics that are coming out of the gate with a bang."

COLOR BASICS

Garry Bell, VP of global marketing for Gildan, has seen colors come and go. "In our industry," he says, "there continues to be a lot of buzz about lighter fabric weights and specialty fabrics, but the reality is all the volume and business buzz is focused on color and the printability of garments."

Bell acknowledges the complications of stocking a ton of color selections across a broad array of products. "We now are sitting with 57 colors in our best-selling Ultra Cotton T-shirt and every year the business side of me says we need to discontinue some colors, but every year we keep them all and add more because they are continuing to sell," he says. "A color palette like ours allows almost any corporate program to be serviced with perfectly matched color offerings."

What's hot at Gildan? "Our brights and pastel lights are doing very well," Bell says. "The core basics remain a constant majority of everyone's business. We have definitely seen good growth in the collegiate colors like [University of] Texas orange, [University of North] Carolina blue, [University of Nevada/Las] Vegas gold and others."

At Article.1, white is the new white, according to Gianni Giannulli-Chavez. "Oh yes, white is huge," she says. "But we also seeing black, nude, olive, and raw, clean, simple patterns, almost back to mod. We will see a splash of color this year. However, muted tones of yellow and mint are the forerunners."

"Natural color pallets are in — cream, greens, browns — soft natural tones," says Bella's Asher. "Bella had added several new colors that fit this new softer color trend, including moss green, cream, granite, soft pink, and sea foam blue."

"Whereas brown has been 'the new black' for the past two years, we see black coming back into popularity," says L.A. T's Anastos. "That being said, earth tones like khaki and olive continue to rise in popularity."

For Hanes "rich jewel tones are very popular colors for 2007," Pack says. "Hanes has expanded our women's line with plum and teal this year."

"We are focusing on what we call 'milky colors,'" says Cannon from Alternative. "Basically, think of taking a color and adding milk to it. The result of that is what Alternative is featuring right now, colors such as milky red and milky navy. We definitely believe in patterns, though, for 2007."