Brian Base, the creator of RideSearch.com, was at the Green Dallas event held this last weekend here in Dallas, Texas. Proforma Green runs the t-shirts for RideSearch.com and both RideSearch.com and Proforma Green had been asked to participate in the event by the City of Dallas.
Well Brian was wearing a shirt we ran for him for the 2008 Plano Green Living Expo back in April (another event we both attended as vendors) and I noticed something.
The RideSearch.com shirts are natural cotton shirts. This means they have no dye in them, they are the color of untreated, undyed cotton.
What I noticed was that these shirts fade, although I am not sure fade is the correct word. As I mentioned the natural shirt, whether organic or regular cotton, are called natural because they have no dye in the shirts. So really there is no color (dye) to fade from the shirt, it is just the natural wear of the cotton.
And it seems that over time these shirts go from a sand tan color to more of a lighter parchment color.
I never really thought of it before but because the shirts have no dye in them they just act like what they are, natural cotton, and the “fading” is a result of their nature.
This caught me totally off guard, I simply was not aware of this fact. Now I am thinking it might be something to make a point out of, for example printing on these shirts under the client’s artwork or logo something like “This shirt is 100% organic non-dyed cotton which will naturally fade over time”.
This could be done small in 12 or 14 point type. The idea is to use this fact as a bona fides of the shirt’s natural nature to which they act accordingly.
The fading of course does not have any bearing on the art printed on the shirts, that holds up perfectly well. Also the material itself – the cotton – holds up as well as their dyed counterparts. Natural cotton shirts are also softer than normal shirts because they have not gone through an industrial dyeing process.
As a second choice we do offer dyed organic shirts like the Anvil Adult 5.0 oz. 100% Organic Cotton Short-Sleeve T-Shirt which comes in BLACK, CHARCOAL, CHOCOLATE, CITY GREEN, NAVY, RED, RIVER BLUE, WHITE and YELLOW HAZE for clients that want to avoid the natural fading.
As for RideSearch.com Brian did not seem to mind at all. He loves the shirts and seems to get a big kick giving them away at events. He always has a fist full of shirts when he walks through the crowds.
Adventures in Green Marketing 
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