How many ill-fitting XXL tees from a fundraising run or golf tournament do you have stuffed in your dresser?
I’ve got over a dozen balled-up in my bottom drawer. It’s getting sad down there.
Many charity t-shirts become sleepwear, or your designated “messy activities” outfit – but not all!
Here’s ten rocking tees for a good cause you’ll take pride in wearing.
National Center for Science Education
T-shirt: Evolution is very gradual change we can all believe in
What’s it gonna cost me: $18.95
Story: Professor Mike Rosulek’s Darwin design parodies the famous Obama poster, in support of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE).
Buy it: Zazzle.com
PETA
T-shirt: Adopt, don’t buy. Breeders kill shelter dogs’ chances.
What’s it gonna cost me: $25.50
Story: PETA is well-known for their provocative & clever merchandise. See also “Club soda not seals” or “I am not a nugget!”
Buy it: PetaCatalog.com
Macmillan Cancer Support
T-shirt: We Are Macmillan. Cancer support.
What’s it gonna cost me: £8.99
Story: This pretty tree illustration was created in partnership with retailer New Look to benefit the UK’s Macmillan Cancer Support.
Buy it: NewLook.com
Skate4Cancer
T-shirt: Keep Calm And Skate On
What’s it gonna cost me: $37.99
Story: Super stylish take on “Keep calm and carry on” from the folks at Skate4Cancer.com.
Buy it: Kt8Merch.com
Jeans For Genes
T-shirt: JeansforGenes 2011
What’s it gonna cost me: £11.99
Story: JeansforGenes.org runs a yearly contest for a limited edition t-shirt design. This year’s winner was Lianne Miller of the London College of Fashion.
Buy it: JeansForGenesDay.com
New York Public Library
T-shirt: Library
What’s it gonna cost me: $28
Story: A fabulous retro design by Ryan Waller for PartOfIt.org, sales benefit the New York Public Library.
Buy it: PartOfIt.org
The Rainforest Site
T-shirt: Melt hearts not ice caps
What’s it gonna cost me: $16.95
Story: A big-hearted penguin reminds everyone to think of climate change.
Buy it: TheRainForestSite.com
Keep-a-breast.org
T-shirt: Margaux Arramon-Tucoo for Keep-A-Breast.org
What’s it gonna cost me: $39.99
Story:The folks behind the “I heart boobies!” phenomenon have launched a collaboration line with French surfer Margaux Arramon-Tucoo.
Buy it: Loserkids.com
Stonewall UK
T-shirt: Some people are gay. Get over it!
What’s it gonna cost me: £10
Story: A list of cool charity t-shirts couldn’t be complete without the famous & popular Stonewall UK tees!
Buy it: Stonewall.org.uk
Compassionate Dorset
T-shirt: Factory Chicken
What’s it gonna cost me: £13.99
Story: Illustrator Joe Coleman’s chicken design stands out in the group of cute cow designs on the Compassionate Dorset website. Proceeds go to Compassion in World Farming.
Buy it: Compassionatedorset.co.uk
In the mood to browse for wicked awesome tees?
Canadian social enterprises rule the scene …
Toronto’s Me to We Style produces ethically manufactured clothing made using certified organic cotton and viscose from bamboo. 50% of profits go to their charity partner, Free The Children. You can purchase a design from the website collection or order your own custom printed apparel.
Montreal’s Yellow Bird Project sells indie rock t-shirts for charitable causes. Artists create a design inpsired by a band or song, the musicians choose a favourite charity to receive proceeds, and the shirts are sold online. Bands include Broken Social Scene, Bloc Party, Stars. Charities include community funds, NGOs & environmental orgs.
Uh, I made this blog on a PC. So it’s a bit crap. Like real people. 
Claire – This is a great post and illustrates the true potential of merchandise for cause related organizations. Thank you for writing about this. Unfortunately, most nonprofits create generic, corporate designs that are neither creative, nor compelling to their supporters. Worse off, they don’t tell the personal stories of the people who are passionate about that particular cause. As the CEO of Audiolife, the music industry’s leader in eCommerce and merchandise fulfillment, I’ve been able to oversee hundreds of thousands of artist’s merchandising programs. The ones who succeed are those who create items that emotionally resonate with their fan base. After a personal experience with my family, I decided to leverage all of my experience in the music industry and start a new company that was exclusively focused on nonprofits. That company is GoodThreads (www.goodthreads.com). We help nonprofits increase donations and awareness for their cause by selling personalized merchandise. We’re just getting started but have major plans to rollout the service more broadly in 2012. Hopefully by this time next year, several of the ‘top 10′ designs will be created from the GoodThreads community.
All the best,
Brandon Hance