College sweatshirts never go out of style
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Since Ivy League students in the US made it part of the preppy look in the 1950s, wearing sweatshirts with the name of their school or team on campus, this timeless style has become a staple of every college and school wear wardrobe around the world.
Styling
With bold designs on front, back or chest students everywhere are proud to wear the colours of their school, but they want to be on-trend too. From oversized hoodies to neat sweats which can go from classroom to date, effortless style is a must.
Decoration
And it’s not just about the garment, the decoration has to look great and last long too! The fabric must provide the smoothest surface for print, ensuring details are bold and colours don’t fade. Quality is not luxury, it’s an obligation.
Fabric
Let’s talk about fabric, as the needs of both buyers and wearers are evolving. All-season styles, durable conscious fashion, loungewear comfort and new trends in decoration are all driving requests for a range of fabric types which will deliver the best quality in all circumstances. A sweatshirt collection offering a wide range of fabrics will make it easier to find the right style for each school or university. Meeting customer and wearer expectations as well as the decoration need, you can make sure the result is exactly what’s required.
Colours
A school’s identity is not just its logo, it’s also its colour. And they are not all classic shades! The broader the colour offering of a sweatshirt range, including both classic and more contemporary hues the more likely you are to find the perfect garment in the right colour, the one that will appeal to the young trend conscious wearers. Apply high quality and durable decoration and you’ll help underpin the values of any school or university.
What’s sure is that every student will want their branded sweatshirt, the one that makes them look fashionable without making it look like they’ve tried too hard!
Get inspired :
B&C sustainability report is out. Discover it here.
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We strongly believe in a holistic approach that considers ecological, social and economic dimensions.
One of our greatest prides remains our commitment to sustainability. This commitment began 25 years ago and has only grown stronger over time, in our production and operating methods, in the content of our products and, of course, in our partnerships with the biggest environmental and supporting fair fashion development organisations. In the last two years, we have taken another step forward by appointing 4 in-house staff members whose mission is entirely dedicated to sustainability issues. We have also become a signatory to the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, which will undoubtedly guide us in the future. Because we believe that sustainability is not just about Organic Cotton – far from it. All the B&C collection is produced, transported, or stocked in a way that better respects people, and the planet (using less water, fewer pesticides or less energy). It is with this in mind, with great pride in the projects we have already accomplished and great motivation for the challenges ahead, that we are publishing our first sustainability report this year.
Discover it here!
Trends - Dare to use textures!
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Current trends favour the addition of texture to textiles, either through the structure of the material itself or through the addition of textured decoration.
But how do you do it?
Combine several decorating techniques to create that perception of structure.
Here are some inspirations.
Break away from traditional embroidery by combining it with printing
By combining the best of printing and embroidery you will obtain an ultra qualitative, artistic and retail result.
Pimp your embroidery
Looking to add an extra touch or try something different to your embroidery projects?
Why not add 3D puffy foam to your embroidery designs to literally make them stand out!
The results are impressive.
Puff up your prints
Puff inks contain an additive that swells when drying. This gives your design a three-dimensional look. When creating a design, you have more options than just art and color – you can also add depth to that list. Puffy ink creates a new dimension and is a great way to add depth to a design.
Combine materials through your design.
Put knitwear on a single jersey for a surprising effect.
Output:
Remember that the quality of your base fabric is the foundation of the solution to achieve a superior result.
Why the piqué quality is key when printing a polo shirt? We tested our "B&C fine piqué", check the results.
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Some people doubt the print accuracy that can be achieved on a piqué polo fabric. We took up the challenge and screen tested our B&C Fine Piqué and compared the results with a Standard Piqué. Look at this, it’s without comment:
Another interesting benefit of B&C Fine Piqué: its even and flat surface enables perfect colours reproduction.
When you print coloured visuals, you can be sure the colours will come out bright and vivid.
When working with other open weave piqué, the ink simply falls through, so the colour coverage is not consistent and comes out faded.
The video we made of it shows you how much the quality of the “Piqué” impacts the quality of the print.
Experts have been testing B&C Safran Piqué. They were looking for the limits of the fabric and have tested thin lines, details, engravings, tiny symbols normally used on paper, as well as big flat tints or bright multicolour designs. Water based, discharge, plastisol screen printing or DTG (Direct To Garment)…whatever the technique, the results are amazing!
Watch the video and check what experts say!
Outputs of this test
When screen printing a polo shirt, the quality of the piqué is crucial.
If you want to achieve a faultlessly screen print, you need the smoothest and most even surface with the less hairy yarn possible. This will ensure the perfect detailing and a better end-result of your design. The unique superior quality of the 100% ring-spun combed cotton B&C Fine Piqué has an ultra-tight honeycomb structure, giving a perfectly smooth surface for decoration. This clearly sets it apart from other promotional polo shirt fabrics, allowing for finer prints and perfect detailing.
B&C Fine Piqué is available in:
DTG: is it right for a polo piqué?
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Yes, DTG (Direct To Garment) is perfectly compatible with printing on polo if your piqué surface is smooth, flat and dense. We did a special test to verify this statement: we printed on B&C Fine Piqué and Single Jersey T-shirts the same designs, at the same time, on the same machine.
Check out the results, it’s amazing!
The video we made of it shows you how the quality of the “piqué” fabric impacts the quality of the print in DTG as well.
Outputs of this test
Look at the result. Speechless, right?
The tighter the knit, the more even is the surface.
As B&C Fine Piqué offers an ultra-tight honeycomb structure, you can achieve perfect detailing.
Some others, not. The unique superior quality of the 100% ring-spun combed cotton B&C Fine Piqué has an ultra-tight honeycomb structure, giving a perfectly smooth surface for decoration.
B&C Fine Piqué is available in:
B&C is signatory of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
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At B&C, sustainability is a continuous effort. We have a 360° approach to sustainability and our products comply with EU health and safety standards. We adhere to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, because social and environmental sustainability is important for us – we hope for you too.
What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
In 2015, the UN member states agreed on 17 global goals to be achieved by 2030. These include ending poverty and hunger, creating decent work and economic growth, achieving equality and combating climate change. These goals are also the starting point of B&C’s sustainability strategy.
We want to do our part. That’s why we are committed to enforce the SDGs in our markets. We work to make our supply chains more sustainable through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
We proudly contribute to 7 SDGs
Some SDGs are less relevant to our textile imprint market than others. Therefore, we focus on 7 specific goals:
No poverty
- We support NGOs acting for higher wages, e.g. through the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF).
- We support farmers in their journey to organic cotton.
Decent work and economic growth
- Our suppliers comply with ILO (International Labour Organisation) requirements regarding fair working hours, equal pay between genders, no forced or child labour.
- We contribute to the economic growth of our Asian partners and the livelihood of their workers.
Responsible consumption and production
- We follow the ILO standards and the FWF code of labour practices.
- We run social, environmental and governance due diligence processes when selecting new suppliers.
- We have full traceability and monitoring of our Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories.
Climate action
- We have increased our share of sustainable fibres.
- We favour sea freight over air transport.
- We have a 100% green warehouse that uses solar panels and wind turbines.
- B&C boxes are 80% made of recycled material and are fully recyclable.
Partnership for the goals
- We partner with our stakeholders to contribute to a better future.
- Internally, sustainability is a mindset and a matter for all departments.
Good health and well being
- We do not use any hazardous substances, as certified by Oeko-tex.
- We support initiatives that contribute to a healthier life for farmers.
Gender equality
- Our Code of Conduct requires ‘no discrimation’ of any kind by factory management.
- We provide training in factories to prevent violence and harassment in the work place.
- At B&C HQ 50% of the Management Committee is female.