PPAI leaders contributed their industry expertise on why blank t-shirts are big business to a Business Of Fashion (BoF) article released this week. BoF is a London-based global resource for fashion creatives, executives and entrepreneurs in over 200 countries. The article by Lauren Sherman, exclusively for BoF professionals, explores the thriving opportunity of purchasing and imprinting blank apparel for fashion brands, bands and concert organizers.

The article cited the annual revenue of the promotional products industry at $23 billion in 2017 with a growth increase of more than nine percent last year. Paul Bellantone, CAE, president and CEO of PPAI, is quoted in the article as saying, “Promotional merchandise, with its stronghold in the promotional products industry and growing popularity in the fashion industry, is a two-sided market with economic benefits and growth opportunities for multiple platform players.”

Norm Hullinger, CEO of supplier alphabroder, also added to the article with commentary on the shifting paradigm about what companies want from suppliers. “The biggest change is the trend toward ring spun T-shirts. The basic [unseamed] tubular t-shirt, with a hard, scratchy feeling, isn’t going to cut it anymore,” he said, adding that modern blanks companies like Bella Canvas, which generates more than $130 million a year in revenue, have benefited from this change in demand because brands and corporations alike are often willing to pay a premium for a better product.

The full article is available only to BoF professional members; see the opening page here.