When discussing what promotional products distributors wish their apparel decorators knew to complete excellent and timely work of high-quality projects, it’s probably good practice to start with the reverse. So, the question becomes, what do industry contract decorators wish distributors knew before submitting orders they hoped would deliver wow moments for clients?

Jim Owen is the president of Swag Promo (asi/340491) and began his career in the industry more than 25 years ago as a manufacturer’s rep for a leading apparel company.

Apparel – combining T-shirts, polos, caps and other wearables – makes up nearly 50% of promo sales, according to data from the 2024 Counselor State of the Industry report. If such a large portion of business success and/or potential failure is reliant upon outside supplier partners, both parties better make sure they understand the needs of each other’s businesses. This process must start with educating distributors about methods of decoration; processes and costs to complete each; the technicalities of the different processes; and the things that can go wrong with each.

Read the rest of Owen’s column on Apparelist.