G.R. Dad Hat

Around 81% of Printful orders are delivered within the same region they’re fulfilled in. Having fulfillment centers close to our customers is good for both the business and the planet. Strategically located fulfillment centers allow for faster shipping times and lower shipping costs, and it also helps with reducing CO₂ emissions produced when transporting orders.

Products available in the same region are shipped together whenever possible. This helps our customers save money and is much better for the environment.

Our stock:

Traditional retailers produce items before putting them up for sale, so they’re always manufactured in bulk to save money. In contrast, Printful only makes products when an order is placed, limiting our stock to items that already have a buyer. 

This lets us avoid the overproduction that is widespread in the rest of the industry. Unsold stock is usually thrown out or burned, with fashion retailers alone wasting 92 million tons of textile each year. In POD, waste mainly comes from items damaged during printing, and Printful’s rate of damages is consistent with the industry standard. We also keep our reshipment rate low by taking all orders through a 3-step quality check before we ship them out.

Our fulfillment:

Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is more sustainable than other more outdated apparel printing methods, such as screen printing. Not only does screen printing use a lot of water and plastisol inks that don’t biodegrade, but it’s also generally used for bulk orders, which leads to overproduction. In comparison, DTG printing is more eco-friendly because items get printed only when they’re ordered, and this method can be used for single-item printing.

DTG products
For DTG products, we use Kornit Water-based and NeoPigment inks that are Oeko-Tex™ certified, which means they are safe to print on children’s clothing and reduce environmental waste. These inks provide a high washing colorfast AATCC rating of 4.

Sublimation products
We use Mimaki Dye Sublimation Ink Sb411 and Sawgrass SubliJet HD ink for sublimation products. Both of these inks are Oeko-Tex™ certified. For some sublimation products, we also use MYSUBLI-E Sublimation Transfer Ink.

Phone cases
We use Mimaki UV Inkjet Ink Lus 120 ink for phone cases. This ink is GREENGUARD Gold certified, which means the ink meets the gold certification for building materials, finishes, and furnishings.

Posters
For posters, we use Epson UltraChrome GS3 ink. This ink is also GREENGUARD Gold certified.

Other non-apparel products
For mugs, we use Sawgrass SubliJet HD ink. For selected non-apparel products, stickers, and canvas, we use EPSON SC80610/80600 ink.

In 2020, we partnered up with waste management service providers Geocycle and Martex to take care of fabric waste in our Tijuana and Charlotte facilities. In total, we sent 206,737 lb. (93,774 kg) of fabric waste to recycling within the first year.

Last year, we’ve also found recycling solutions for our Los Angeles, Barcelona, and Riga facilities, which has enabled us to recycle a total of 649,298 lb. (131,665 kg) in 2021.

Whenever possible, we also donate damaged and returned products to local charities, like the Red Cross, the American Kidney Fund, and Goodwill.