Compare American Apparel vs. Other Similar Brands
American apparel is the best in the biz when it comes to soft, comfortable ring spun t-shirts. The question is… how do the others brands compare? Such; Tultex, Alternative Apparel, Next Level Apparel, Anvil, Gildan, Canvas, Hyp, District Threads, Kavio, Boxer, Bella, and Astyle Apparel.
Read on!
American Apparel
Quality: 5/5
Price: 2.5/5
Availability: 5/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 5/5
Color Options: 5/5
Notes: AA pioneered this mass-produced vintage style t-shirt movement and deserve credit there. The price is not too high considering that they are all in the USA. All the other company mentioned above are made either overseas or in Mexico except District Threads. With how expensive Alternative Apparel is, you would think they are made here in the states but no. American Apparel offers tons of styles and always do a GREAT job keeping their inventory stocked. Almost every other company has major issues with backorders. There’s nothing worse than finding the perfect tee and having to deal with stock issues. For those of you who are interested in the discharge ink process, American Apparel discharges consistent every time.
Now for all the others…
(graded out of 5 stars)
Tultex:
Quality: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 4/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 1/5
Color Options: 5/5
Notes:Great for the price but their quality control is low. The body of the tees are occasionally twisted, but not too much of an issue. They only offer a small selection but usually carry good stock. They discharge well.
Next Level Apparel:
Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 4/5
Printability: 4/5
Style Options: 3/5
Color Options: 3/5
Notes:For the price and quality this is our favorite, hands down. They are very consistent (spec-wise) and they wash very nicely. They don’t have too many styles to choose from but, they are awesome teees!
Alternative Apparel:
Quality: 4/5
Price: 1/5
Availability: 2/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 4/5
Color Options: 2/5
Notes:Cool, trendy, and expensive. Their slub tee is very nice as well as basic and baseball style tees. For some reason, their washed (treated) t-shirts, such as their enzyme wash and destroy tee, run small and loose their shape in the wash (shrink from the bottom). Their womens line is quite nice. Lots of options and great for starting a new clothing line.
Bella:
Quality: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Availability: 4/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 5/5
Color Options: 3/5
Notes: This is a female line only (mens version is Canvas). They have a huge selection of styles but can be a bit pricey.
Alstyle Apparel and Anvil:
Quality: 4/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 1/5
Color Options: 3/5
Notes: They only offer 1 soft style but the price, quality, and availability is fantastic.
District Threads:
Quality: 5/5
Price: 3/5
Availability: 3/5
Printability: 5/5
Style Options: 5/5
Color Options: 2/5
Notes: Great quality but for the price, there are better options and they don’t have too many choices.
Hyp, Kavio, and Boxer are all good brands (mostly for girls) that offer a lot of unique t-shirt styles as well as pants and shorts. Their prices are mid-range and are adding new products each season.
Contact us today to get started with your tees!!
