Brand Review: Bella + Canvas
One of the most important if not the most important decision for any project is which brand to choose when screen printing or embroidering garments. There are so many different manufacturers out there, how can you know which product will fit your needs best? As decorators, it is our job to help clients select the best garment for their needs--after all, we work with these brands every single day so we should know best, right? Which brand should you work with for your project? Keep checking in with our blog as we continue to review many of the popular garment manufactures in the field today.
This month's brand review will focus on one of the highest quality, fashion-forward and eco-conscious companies in the garment industry: Bella + Canvas.
For those of you who are looking to take your clothing project to a higher level, look no further than Bella + Canvas. Modern fit, quality materials, environmentally conscious, highly customizable, employs Americans, no outside sweatshops, waste conscious, fashionable; Bella + Canvas checks all of these boxes and then some. To be frank, Bella + Canvas is in a league of their own when compared to most other brands and that is exactly why they deserve your closer consideration so let's find out more!
First let's get down to brass tacks and look more closely at the garments and the materials that they're made from.
Airlume Cotton - Most popular in their Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tee (~$4.10 per blank), this 4.2 oz. 100% combed and ringspun cotton tee claims to be one of the softest cotton t-shirts in the industry and honestly, it's hard to argue their point. These t-shirts speak for themselves as consumers can immediately feel the difference between Bella + Canvas cotton and your standard name brand cotton tees. In terms of garment material, the words "soft" and "smooth" are not commonly put together. The standard budget-friendly process for softening garments often uses abrasion to soften fibers which can make prints feel fuzzy or rough. That is not the case with any product from Bella + Canvas. Using only long staple cotton fibers and combing out more impurities than anyone of their competition, this process provides the softest fabrics and smoothest printing surface.
Heather CVC - Most popular in their Unisex Heather CVC Short Sleeve Tee (~$4.93 per blank), Bella + Canvas offers this 4.2 oz. fabrication comprised of 52% airlume combed and ring spun cotton, and 48% polyester. With the addition of a more synthetic material like polyester, this shirt model offers elevated softness/comfort paired with technical and moisture-wicking performance. Would you like to add a performance-friendly option to your product line? Look no further.
Tri-Blend - Most popular in their Unisex Triblend Short Sleeve Tee (~$6.34 per blank), we often warn people about sampling these garments because they'll fall in love. Bella + Canvas calls this model, "Your new favorite t-shirt." Utilizing a 3.8 oz. 50% polyester, 25% airlume combed/ring-spun cotton, and 25% rayon construction, Bella+Canvas continues to outdo themselves in terms of softness and comfort. As is typical with tri-blend garments, you can usually expect a slight heathered texture to the colors which stems from the blend of synthetic fibers but as you should know by now, Bella + Canvas is anything but typical. Standing out from the pack, B+C offers select colors in a solid color option.
Flowy - Most popular in their Women's Flowy Cropped Tee (~$7.16 per blank), Bella + Canvas' line of women's flowy garments are the epitome of comfort with an inclusive fit that is flattering for all body types. Utilizing 65% polyester and 35% viscose, a fabric blend that was quite literally invented by Bella + Canvas, with a stunningly light 3.7 oz. weight, this tee is a must have for active wear, summer fashion, or any situation where comfort and breathability is paramount.
Street Fleece - Most popular in their Unisex Sponge Fleece Pullover Hoodie (~$20.75 per blank), the Bella + Canvas street fleece or "sponge fleece" will be one of the softest, coziest garments you'll ever own. Made from 52% airlume cotton and 48% polyester with a 7.0 oz. weight, this sweatshirt will keep you warm all year round and is thin enough to be layered with other outerwear if desired. As always with Bella + Canvas, you have plenty of different styles, cuts, and colors to look through with their street fleece line to suit your style. Take a look at their drop shoulder hoodies, crew-neck sweatshirts, zip-up sweatshirts, crop hoodies and more!
USA Strong. Bella + Canvas puts America to work by running the largest apparel cutting facility in the western hemisphere here in United States which operates out of Los Angeles, California. In fact, B+C has created over 1000 jobs right here in the US and are always seeking out ways to continue to grow their footprint domestically to bring even more jobs to Americans. Any manufacturing or assembling that is done outside of the US is completely sweatshop free, earning B+C the highest, platinum rating from W.R.A.P.. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production is a globally recognized, independent 3rd party certifying body whose mission is to promote ethical, humane and lawful conditions and practices in all manufacturing facilities. This is huge.
Water reduction. This paragraph is about to blow your mind. B+C uses state-of-the-art dye equipment which runs more efficiently and uses 7x less water than the average clothing manufacturer. Every week Bella + Canvas saves 24 million gallons of water. Read that again. TWENTY-FOUR. MILLION. GALLONS. On top of that, any water that is used during the dying process is filtered and recycled.
Energy reduction. Now if their water conservation practices don't impress you, surely their energy reduction practices will. Through the use of solar panels, Bella + Canvas takes serious steps toward lowering their carbon footprint as much as humanly possible. Utilizing skylights and motion-sensor LED lighting, B+C makes sure that their power usage is as low as possible to boot. If you went to visit one of their manufacturing locations, you would find charging stations for electric cars in their parking lots as well--just another small detail that shows how much B+C cares about renewable energy.
Virtually zero-waste. Having optimized cutting practices, plastic use and excess fabric is kept to a minimum. So what do they do when there is waste material from their manufacturing processes? Any material that can't be turned in to a t-shirt can be recycled in to a number of different items like baby bibs, stuffing, upholstery, and more. Even though B+C is a tremendous operation, their LA Headquarters produce almost no landfill. Let's be real, the amount of effort that Bella + Canvas puts in to being eco-friendly is awe inspiring.
I think we can all agree that Bella + Canvas is an amazing company in many ways. In spite of all of these reasons listed above, they continue to keep their heads down and innovate their process constantly. Want to know the beautiful part of this whole thing? You don't have to take anybody else's word for it. Comb through the Bella + Canvas catalog, call up your apparel decorator and order in some samples. You're going to be happy that you did.
When it comes to bringing your project to life, the importance of who you choose to work with can not be overstated. The team at South Shore Customs is not only committed to providing a fast and affordable service, we also stand by our craft as artists who are invested heavily in creating the highest quality products for our clients. Have questions about process or pricing? Want to get started on a project? Speak with one of our knowledgeable team members today.
