Gildan at ShirtStore — the Canadian mass-market brand for club, event and promo textiles

About Gildan

Gildan is a Canadian mass-market textile brand and one of the largest vertically integrated manufacturers of basic apparel worldwide. Headquartered in Montréal, Québec, the brand was founded in 1984 by brothers Glenn and Greg Chamandy, with roots in the family-owned childrenswear business Harley Inc. Gildan produces over one billion textiles a year in its own plants across the Caribbean, Central America and Bangladesh, and is the global market leader for blank t-shirts in the promo and print-decoration segment.

Key facts at a glance:

• Manufacturer: Gildan Activewear Inc. (Montréal, Canada)
• Founded: 1984
• Market position: Global mass-market leader for printable blank textiles
• Certifications: WRAP, Better Work, Fair Labor Association, UN Global Compact
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gildan_Activewear
• Manufacturer website: gildan.com
• Main product lines: Softstyle 64000, Heavy Cotton 5000, Ultra Cotton 2000, Hammer H000, Heavy Blend Hoodie 18500

Gildan × Category — Jump straight to your product

Gildan covers the following categories at ShirtStore:

• 👕 Gildan T-Shirts printed — Heavy Cotton 5000, Softstyle 64000, Ultra Cotton 2000, Hammer Adult
• 🧥 Gildan Hoodies printed — Heavy Blend 18500 for clubs, schools, events
• 👔 Gildan Polos printed — DryBlend 8800 for service teams and sports clubs
• 🎽 Gildan Sweatshirts printed — Heavy Blend Crewneck for crew wear

Brand story — how a small Canadian knitter became the global mass-market champion

Gildan Activewear was founded in 1984 in Montréal, Canada, by brothers Glenn and Greg Chamandy, who acquired a knitting mill to supply fabric to the family-owned childrenswear business Harley Inc. Harley was closed in 1994 to focus on the expanding activewear division, and Gildan went public on the TSX and NYSE in 1998. Today's Gildan group is a vertically integrated textile factory with a complete in-house value chain: from cotton sourcing through spinning, knitting, dyeing, cutting and finished shirt — all in their own plants.

Production runs in the Caribbean (Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti), Central America (Nicaragua) and Bangladesh. All plants are WRAP-certified (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), and Gildan is a member of Better Work, the Fair Labor Association and the UN Global Compact. For the US market there's an additional "Made in USA" line.

The sheer scale — Gildan produces over 1 billion textiles per year — enables the price-performance ratio the brand is famous for: premium yarns and solid workmanship at mass-market prices. Exactly that combination makes Gildan the first choice for every project where quantity matters more than premium image.

Core range — the most important Gildan models at ShirtStore

Gildan is broadly positioned: t-shirts (Heavy Cotton, Softstyle, Ultra Cotton, Hammer), hoodies and sweaters (Heavy Blend), polos (DryBlend), plus kids and women's versions of the top sellers. The most important models:

Gildan 64000 Softstyle® — the slim ring-spun classic

150 g/m² ring-spun cotton, modern tailored cut, very soft hand. The 64000 Softstyle is Gildan's answer to modern streetwear cuts and the most-printed Gildan model in Europe. Ideal for crew wear, fashion labels and events where the shirt should fit like a premium tee but at Gildan price. Women's variant: 64000L Softstyle Women's, kids: 64000B Softstyle Youth. Detailed finishing options, volume tiers and FAQ on the model page: Gildan Softstyle 64000 printed.

Gildan 5000 Heavy Cotton™ — the classic for bulk runs

180 g/m², 100% cotton, classic regular fit with straight shoulder seam and double-stitched hems. The 5000 Heavy Cotton is the robust club and event shirt par excellence. Over 70,000 units in stock at ShirtStore — no other t-shirt comes close to that depth. Top choice for screen-printing bulk runs and festival crew wear.

Gildan 2000 Ultra Cotton™ — the heavier premium tee

200 g/m², denser weave than the 5000, with a noticeably stronger hand. When your project needs a slightly more upmarket standing (e.g. for premium promotional shirts or heavy-cotton designs), the 2000 Ultra Cotton is the right pick. Also available as 2400 Long Sleeve variant.

Gildan H000 Hammer™ Adult — the premium-heavy

190 g/m² ring-spun cotton, modern-tailored fit. The Hammer Adult is Gildan's premium line — direct competitor to B&C or Fruit of the Loom Heavy. Slightly more expensive than 5000 or 64000, in return with softer look and feel. Very popular for fashion labels and premium merchandise.

Gildan 18500 Heavy Blend™ Hoodie — the classic hoodie

271 g/m², 50% cotton / 50% polyester, classic hooded sweatshirt with kangaroo pocket. The 18500 Heavy Blend is the best-selling hoodie for clubs, schools and events. Very popular for school hoodies, graduation classes and team wear. Also available as full-zip variant (293).

Gildan 8800 DryBlend® Jersey Polo — the performance polo

50/50 cotton/polyester, moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant. The 8800 Jersey Polo is the standard choice for service teams, sports clubs and promo events needing a polo with some performance content but without the premium price.

Advantages of Gildan at a glance

• Top price-performance ratio — best ratio of quality to unit price in the mass-market segment
• Very broad colour palette — 40+ colours in most main models
• Size range XS-5XL — also available in Heavy Cotton and Heavy Blend Hoodie
• WRAP-certified production — responsible supply chain, documented working conditions
• High availability — over 200,000 Gildan items in stock at ShirtStore, short lead times even for bulk orders
• Universally compatible with finishing — screen printing, embroidery, DTF, flex/flock all work flawlessly
• Stable dimensions through washing — good shape retention, no extreme shrinkage

Finishing recommendation — what suits Gildan?

Gildan's 100%-cotton models (5000 Heavy Cotton, 2000 Ultra Cotton, 64000 Softstyle, H000 Hammer) are the ideal carriers for screen printing — which is also the most economical finishing for bulk runs from 25-50 pieces. For single-colour designs on light shirts you reach the optimum unit price from 100 pieces upwards.

For multi-colour or photographic motifs, DTF printing is the solution — works on 100% cotton just as on the 50/50 blends (Heavy Blend Hoodie, DryBlend Polo). For small runs under 25 pieces, DTF is cheaper than screen printing.

Embroidery makes particular sense on the firmer fabrics (Heavy Blend Hoodie, Heavy Cotton T) — the fabric thickness carries embroidery well. On thin Softstyle shirts the embroidery would tend to show through, so prefer print there.

Volume discount for Gildan

Tiered for all Gildan models at ShirtStore:

Free shipping from 100 pcs. Bulk orders above 500 pcs: please use the bulk inquiry — we calculate individually for clubs, schools, corporate clients and resellers.

Use cases — who orders Gildan at ShirtStore?

Sports clubs and teams

Club shirts, team hoodies, coach polos — Gildan is the classic here. Football clubs typically order 16-22 shirts (players + bench), volleyball or handball clubs often 12-15. Gildan 5000 or 2000 in club colours with screen-printed logo remains the standard setup.

Corporate customers for events and promotion

Trade-fair appearance, employee crew wear or classic promo shirts for a trade-fair event: Gildan offers prices that stay economical even at 500+ shirts. Softstyle 64000 with embroidered chest logo is the typical B2B combination.

Schools and educational institutions

Graduation classes, school hoodies and student crew wear are their own world — and Heavy Blend Hoodie 18500 with school logo is the unchallenged number 1.

Fashion labels on a small budget

Anyone starting their own label or streetwear line often begins with Gildan Hammer or Softstyle as the carrier — solid quality, fair margin.

Material specification table — the key Gildan models

Source: Gildan spec sheets 2025. Colour availability may vary seasonally — live availability in the configurator.

Print method comparison — what works on Gildan?

Deeper dive: Screen print · DTF print · Embroidery · Digital print · Flex print.

Configurator workflow — a Gildan order in 5 steps

1. Pick the model. In the configurator, filter Gildan, then choose 64000 (Softstyle for modern crews), 5000 (Heavy Cotton for high volumes), 2000 (Ultra Cotton for premium promo), 18500 (Heavy Blend hoodie) or 8800 (DryBlend polo).
2. Calculate colours and sizes. Mix per order — the quantity ladder calculates automatically (3 % from 3 pcs, 25 % from 100 pcs, 32 % from 500 pcs). At 500+ pieces screen print, the plate fee waiver applies from the second order.
3. Upload the artwork. Vector SVG or vector PDF for screen print and embroidery. PNG at 300 dpi for DTF and DTG. For sponsorship layouts with multiple sponsor logos we offer free sponsor-layout service (Prepare logo file).
4. Pick finishing. For 100+ pieces with single-colour design: screen print (cheapest unit cost). For multi-colour design under 100 pieces: DTF. For sport shirts with jersey numbers: flex print. Embroidery for polos and hoodies with premium ambition.
5. Approve the preview. PDF preview before production. For screen print bulk orders with Pantone sponsor colours we recommend a pre-press sample (€20–60, credited against main order).

Experience cases — three typical Gildan orders

Case 1 — Lower Saxony sports club, 220 Heavy Cotton tees for anniversary tournament

A handball club in Lower Saxony celebrated its 75th anniversary and needed 220 tees for players, coaches, volunteers and sponsor guests. Model: Gildan 5000 in royal blue. Finishing: screen print chest (club logo, three-colour) plus back (sponsor layout, five sponsor logos). Unit price at 220 pieces: €7.90 net (5000 from €4.50 + two-sided screen print approx. €3.40 at 220 pieces with sponsor-layout service free). Delivery 11 working days. Pantone match for the main sponsor logo was confirmed via pre-press sample (€45, credited).

Case 2 — Berlin ad agency, 250 crew tees with DTF in 5 days

An ad agency in Berlin organised a 3-day conference with 250 attendees and needed conference crew tees for helpers and speakers. Model: Gildan 64000 in black. Lead time: 5 working days (too short for screen-print plate-fee setup with a multi-coloured design). Finishing: two-sided DTF (chest logo monochrome, back conference title + sponsor logos in four colours). Unit price at 250 pieces: €9.90 net (64000 from €4.90 + two-sided DTF approx. €5.00). Delivery on the 5th working day with UPS Express (surcharge €80). Feedback: the tees were intentionally re-worn at three follow-up events, sponsor visibility +35 %.

Case 3 — Münster university, 600 Softstyle tees for fresher welcome

A university group ordered 600 tees for the fresher welcome in four colours (royal, bottle green, white, heather grey, 150 pieces each). Model: 64000 in sizes XS to 3XL mixed per internal demand survey. Finishing: single-colour screen print (logo centred on chest). Unit price at 600 pieces: €5.40 net (64000 from €4.90 + single-colour screen print €0.80 at 600 pieces + plate fee pro rata €0.15). Tranche delivery in two waves (300 + 300 pieces, one week apart). Delivery 9 + 14 working days.

What we do better than competitors

• Bulk order tranches — for runs from 200 pieces we deliver in part-lots on request without compromising the quantity-discount terms. Many competitors force you into a single delivery.
• Free sponsor-layout service — town and club festival orders get the sponsor back layouted free of charge. Industry standard is €80–150 layout flat fee.
• Plate-fee waiver from second order — the screen-print plate fees from the first order are waived on a follow-up order within 12 months. Clubs and schools that need new runs each year save approximately €60–120 per follow-up order.
• Stock holding 200,000+ Gildan items — even at 500+ pieces there is no 2-week wait for manufacturer restock. We deliver from stock.
• EU finishing — Gildan blanks from the Caribbean/Central America, finishing in our EU facility. Combines global mass-market prices with EU finishing (shorter routes, no customs risk).

What makes ShirtStore special

• Over 200,000 Gildan items in stock — even bulk orders from 500 pieces ship immediately
• From 1 piece — we finish single units too, quantity discounts start at 3 pieces
• Made in EU — finishing in our own facility, fair conditions
• 24-48h dispatch — order by 2 pm on weekdays, in production the next day
• Trusted Shops verified — buyer protection and money-back guarantee

Ready for your Gildan order?

Start designing → · Request B2B quote →

ShirtStore is your partner for Gildan textiles and textile finishing across Germany and Europe. We carry the complete Gildan range — Heavy Cotton 5000, Softstyle 64000, Ultra Cotton 2000, Hammer Adult, Heavy Blend Hoodie 18500, DryBlend Polo 8800 and the women's and kids variants — as blank stock for wholesalers and resellers or finished directly for companies, clubs, schools, event agencies and private customers. Over 200,000 Gildan items in stock, deliverable 24-48h, finishing in our own EU facility. Whether classic club shirt, school hoodie for the graduation class, promotion shirts for the next trade fair or streetwear line for your own fashion label — Gildan is the reliable mass-market choice. WRAP-certified production, documented supply chain, fair prices from 25 pieces. ShirtStore.de — from favourite classic to finished crew wear.