Anybody can sell a T-shirt, so it’s crucial to help clients set their brands apart by offering retail-ready, thoughtful packaging. Even something as simple as a branded box and custom tissue paper can turn a routine shirt order into a delightful unboxing experience. But don’t be afraid to try a more creative presentation method.

1. Drink It Up

Pasteurized Tees in Buffalo rolls up its printed shirts and boxes them in old quart-sized milk cartons. Owner Michael Bowen says the packaging fits seamlessly with the company’s branding, looks attractive and helps the T-shirt shop stay neat and organized. Other T-shirt companies have stuffed their shirts into paper coffee cups, letting a fold of fabric peek out to resemble cappuccino foam, or canned their tees in hipster-approved mason jars.

2. Follow the Scent

PXP Solutions (asi/78964) in Garland, TX, printed T-shirts with coffee-scented ink, then packaged them in brown paper coffee bean bags, complete with a custom label to reinforce the branding. Following along with this idea, a T-shirt printed with bacon-scented ink could be wrapped in butcher paper or shrink-wrapped onto a meat tray.

3. Keep It Tight

Suppliers like Stuffed Tees (asi/79662) and Smashing Factory (asi/87816) can compress 100% cotton garments that have been screen printed or embroidered, squeezing them down into stock or custom shapes like guitars, baseball bats, dog bones and much more.

4. Take It to Go

T-shirt brand Johnny Cupcakes is known for its creativity. The company’s retail locations are set up like old-fashioned bakeries with tees displayed on bakery racks. “The experience is the product,” founder Johnny Earle says. “We trick hungry people every day. They come into our stores thinking they can get a baked good, but they leave with a T-shirt and an experience they won’t soon forget.” Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts are packaged in custom pastry boxes, in keeping with the sweet treat theme. Pizza boxes, Chinese takeout cartons or kids’ meal crates could be used to similar effect.

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