3 Potential Opportunities For Garment Decoration

During this COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses are having to, not only look for ways to cut back, but also find new, creative approaches to drum up business. This includes many of you in the garment decoration industry.

So we have put together some ideas and suggestions that we hope will help.

Online Conferences, Digital Events, and Virtual Gatherings

Even though most people are under ‘stay at home’ orders, virtual events still allow individuals to meet in large groups. And even if the event doesn’t require all to login at the same time, everyone can register and ‘attend’ the event by participating in the activity at home and posting their details later.

For example:

• Large conferences (like Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC) have shifted from an in person event, to streaming online.
• Marathons and Fitness Classes are available for participants to view at home and log their stats when they’re done.
• Live Concerts. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, and others are streaming live performances.

So where do you, the garment decorator, fit in to these scenarios?

So even though there is a much smaller demand for decorated garments and custom t-shirts, there is still a demand. It just may take a little more work to find these opportunities and offer your services.

Here are some websites to help you find some of those online events:

• Eventbrite.com
• Eventful.com
• Facebook.com/events/
• Google.com or Bing.com (search for events)

Class of 2020

Because of COVID-19, many schools have closed for the remainder of the academic year. However, school districts have adapted and transitioned classes online. And while most school events have been cancelled, the graduation ceremony is still under discussion in many areas. This could mean a potential for special graduation t-shirts and other customized apparel to commemorate such a unique graduating class.

To help get your creative juices flowing and to have an example to show your local school district, we are giving our readers a free ‘Class of 2020’ graduation design to download.

Customized Cloth Face Masks

This trend has already started taking off. As face masks become more popular and likely more of a requirement for the population, this is another chance for people to show their individuality. It’s also an opportunity for corporate identity. So you could contact local businesses that are still open and make a pitch for some branded cloth face masks for their workers. Depending on how good you are with a sewing machine, you could even make the masks internally and then decorate them.

Here are some examples of decorated face masks for FedEx and UPS:

And thanks to our friends at Siser®, they have released a list of materials that are recommended for cloth face masks:

• EasyWeed® (standard colors)
• EasyWeed® Electric
• EasyWeed® Stretch
• EasyWeed® Extra
• EasyWeed® SubBlock
• EasyWeed® Glow
• EasyWeed® Adhesive
• EasyReflective®
• BlackBoard®
• Glitter™
• Holographic
• Metal
• StripFlock® Pro (standard colors excluding black)
• EasySubli®
• EasyPatterns®
• ColorPrint™ Easy
• ColorPrint™ PU
• ColorPrint™ Soft Opaque
• ColorPrint™ Sublithin
• Hi-5 Print Matte

Previously, Siser® recommended ‘not putting HTV over the mouth or nose area of the mask’. But this has been revised, so go ahead and decorate those masks in any place you want.

Summary

Like so many people during this pandemic, our customers are struggling to keep their business afloat. We hope that these suggestions will help you drum up some work during these unpredictable times.
As always, Wellington House is here to help in any way that we can. As this pandemic progresses, our team will be here to support your business.

If you have any questions about the topics in this article, or even additional ideas, send us an email, call, or post a comment on our Facebook page.