New Products Courtesy of Printful
Did Someone Say MAD SWAG?
We set up a new account with an on-demand printing service, which means a whole slew of new product options for you without breaking the bank for us. And the best part? They have eco-friendly options! The latest additions to the shop include t-shirts made from recycled cotton and polyester and tote bags made from 100% organic cotton. There are also some motivational mugs up for adoption.
Recycled T-Shirts
When I started to consider outsourcing a few products, I knew they had to be more sustainable than your average vendor. Both of the base t-shirts we're offering are made from recycled materials and organic cotton. Most of our designs (the darker fabrics) come printed on a 100%-recycled cotton/polyester blend. It's made from cotton scraps and upcycled plastic bottles, making it a perfect match for our mission. It's soft and comfortable, to boot!
There is (of course) a Mad Teacup design, plus a couple pulled from our Box of Nope. Let us know if there are any other designs we should try!
Eco-Friendly Shirts and Bags
We have a few eco-friendly options, as well. Our white shirts are printed on a cotton/poly blend made from 60% organic cotton and 40% upcycled plastic. Each shirt keeps at least 4 plastic bottles out of landfills and oceans. Our eco-friendly totes are made of 100% organic cotton and come in two sizes. I did a little testing on these and found that the ink does not hold up well to machine washing, so keep that in mind if you tend to get messy.
Cheeky Coffee Mugs
The Weirdo Mug is my love letter to all my fellow weirdos. It's my new go-to coffee mug. (The one that only gets washed a couple times a month because it's constantly in use.) It just says, "Go get 'em, weirdo." It's my little reminder to keep doing me, no matter how many crazy looks I get. The Carpe Diem mug is similar, reading "Carpe that diem."
There's a Leftie and a Rightie version of each mug, so you can choose which side the handle is on. I'm a Rightie, so when I hold mine in my right hand (like I do) the Mad Teacup logo is facing away from me so the mug can whisper sweet nothings at my face.
Want to Know the Nitty Gritty?
The short story is Printful is making it super easy to integrate their services with the site. Printful is a global company specializing in on-demand manufacturing, so they'll be fulfilling the new products instead of us. It's a great model for small businesses that might not be able to afford the upfront costs of ordering and maintaining stock (like me!). It means the production costs are a little higher, but it's worth it for the flexibility. The idea is to be able to move to a more conventional fulfillment option in the future, but we've got a lot of growing to do before then.
