Redbubble T-Shirt Review – Tech Stuff

Redbubble.com is a print-on-demand shop that sells printed t-shirts, clothes, art prints, and other items with a focus on user/artist created images. The great thing about the site and the print-on-demand concept is that there are thousands of print designs to choose from, and even the color of the shirt is customizable. This is a review of the 3 t-shirts I recently bought from the shop.

The order:

I ordered 3 regular XL (Classic) t-shirts, with the following description:

Solid colors are 100% preshrunk cotton, heather grey is 90% cotton, 10% polyester, denim heather is 50% cotton, 50% polyester

Fabric weight: 5.3 oz (180gsm) heavyweight

Classic, generous, boxy fit

Double-needle hems and neck band for durability

Ethically sourced

The price for the order totaled 48€ including shipping, due to a limited-time -20% offer. The list price per shirt was close to 18€, so I kinda expected good quality products. The order was shipped from Germany to Finland, and took one week to arrive from ordering.

My order: 3 t-shirts. A Ramen-wave, LEGO-brick and Mars -themed shirts.

Shirt Quality

Fabric and Build

The t-shirts were all Gildan-branded, with 2 of the shirts Gildan Heavy Cotton, and one Gildan Ultra Cotton. Gildan Heavy is reportedly 185gsm, while Gildan Ultra is 205 gsm, so the one Ultra was a welcome surprise. The density was as promised, and a bit more, so I was happy with that.

The Gildan shirts are, to my experience, ok quality, although nothing special. The stitching on the shirts feels a bit loose, and some of the collars on my other Gildan shirts have stretched quite soon after being taken into use.

Print

Redbubble uses a “direct to garment” printing technique, instead of the traditional screen-printing. So I was a bit worried about the print quality, and rightfully so.

The print quality turned out to be a big disappointment. Most of the print edges and color transitions were blurred, and the solid colors in the original designs are not solid in the prints. From far away, they look ok, but close up, the colors are grainy. Furthermore, the print feels a bit plasticky and not very pleasant to the touch. I fully expect the printing might peel or crack if the shirts were rubbed violently or folded sharply.

After the first wash

The Mars shirt was washed in 40 degrees Celsius following the washing instructions on the shirt.

Despite being preshrunk, the shirt shrunk slightly in the first wash. Before washing, the shirt was 61 cm wide, 79 cm long; afterwards, it was 60 cm wide, 76 cm long. This translates to ~2…3% decrease in dimensions. In practice, I didn’t notice the difference, since the fit wasn’t that tight in the first place. I guess this is still typical for cotton shirts, even if preshrunk.

The print survived the wash without problems.

In the first wash, the shirt shrunk 3cm in length and 1cm in width.

Returns and Customer Service

I decided to return the Ramen noodle and Lego shirts. To my taste, the designs were such that in order to look good, they needed crisp clear edges and solid colors. The Mars shirt is a bit simpler in design, and I think it looks ok even with slightly blurred edges, so I wanted to keep it.

After filling out a return form and a refund request, I was first offered a shop voucher. I replied I wanted my actual money back, and was refunded promptly, in less than 30 minutes and generously: 40€ of the total 48€ order. I didn’t even have to return the shirts. What a great service.

Summary

Pros:

• Decent quality t-shirts in terms of fabric and build, although nowhere near premium.
• Thousands of designs to choose from.
• Great customer service and returns policy.

Cons:

• Poor quality print.
• Not very cheap, either. However, there seem to be -20% offers quite often.

Verdict:

Choose your designs carefully, taking the low quality printing into consideration. The great returns policy helps, but I will most likely look for better quality elsewhere in the future.

UPDATE (9/4/2021):

After 2 years in use, I can say that the Mars shirt has been a good buy. The print has not faded (nor peeled away), and the fabric (Gildan Ultra cotton) has lasted countless washes. The base color of the shirt is starting to slightly fade at the collar, and the collar is losing its elasticity, so the shirt is nearing its end-of-life. I haven’t shopped at Redbubble again, but might do so, if I found a simple enough but pleasant design.