When it comes to clothing production, a certain level of variation is inevitable, this is the nature of textiles. Clothes are still made & sewn together by humans, as a result they’re almost never perfectly symmetrical. Due to manufacturing tolerances the majority of t-shirts (and other products) made are not perfectly symmetrical. Tolerance refers to the acceptable range of variation in garment size, shape, and print placement. You can find more on print placement variation here.
Why Variation Happens
Fabric is flexible and moves during both manufacturing and printing. Even within the same batch of t-shirts, no two will be exactly identical. Factors like cutting, stitching, and handling all contribute to small differences. Once worn, these variations are rarely noticeable as garments adjust to the wearer’s body shape.
Tolerance in Manufacturing
Garment manufacturers set their own quality control standards, defining what is considered acceptable or unacceptable. These tolerances exist to prevent unnecessary waste, as rejecting usable products would drive up costs and increase the environmental impact.
What This Means for Your Order
We work with the highest retail-quality materials, processes and manufacturers to ensure consistency, but some variation is industry standard.
While variation is normal, we take quality control very seriously; if you believe the variation on your product is outside of acceptable tolerances please get in touch so we can investigate this further.