Guide
How to choose a uniform supplier, and when it should not be us
By Hayden Casey, owner of Uniformly
Choose a uniform supplier on three things before price: whether the gear survives your wash, whether a reorder of one garment comes back matching the first order, and whether every cost is on the quote. The unit price matters less than it looks, because most of what a uniform costs turns up later, in reorders and replacements. This is the checklist I would put to any supplier, us included, and the answers that mean you want someone else.
Will a reorder of one match the first order?
This is the question that separates suppliers, and the one most people forget to ask. A good supplier keeps the garment codes, the logo position and the thread numbers on record, so one shirt for a new starter comes back looking like the twenty bought last year. We keep all three, and there is no setup fee again on the same gear at the same logo size. A very small order does carry a handling charge, because setting up takes much the same work for one garment as for fifty. The charge is on the quote.
What the quote should show
Ask for one price per garment with the decoration already in it, and every other charge on its own line. Ours shows a one-time setup if we have not already set your logo up at that size, a handling charge on a very small order, freight and GST. One setup covers your garments at the same logo size; caps stitch differently and need their own. If something turns up on the invoice that was not on the quote, that tells you something about the supplier.
The uniform pricing guide covers what moves the number, including the one case where a minimum applies.
Who does the decorating
Ask who does the decorating and where, because it tells you who fixes a problem. Our embroidery is stitched in-house in Glenfield. Heat transfers are pressed in-house on our own heat press, and the transfers themselves are printed by a trusted partner, so part of that method is outsourced and we say so. A supplier who cannot answer this plainly is worth a second look. Embroidery vs heat transfer covers which method suits which garment.
Colour and logo placement
Expect a close colour match in thread rather than an exact one, and placement confirmed before anything is made. Thread comes in a fixed range of stock shades, so we match to the nearest one. It is usually indistinguishable at arm's length, but it is not a Pantone match. If an exact colour is critical, a pressed transfer gets closer. Logo size and placement are confirmed in writing after you order, and nothing goes into production until you approve them.
If you are still choosing the colours and where the logo goes, our guide on how to design a staff uniform works through those decisions in order.
Samples, sizes and fabric
Ask whether you can see a garment before committing to a run, and what that costs. We will send a sample at the quote stage. The sample is charged as a one-garment order, so the small-order handling charge applies and it costs more per garment than the run will. Most ranges run womens XS to 3XL and mens S to 5XL, though the ends depend on the brand. For what survives a commercial wash, see best fabric for work uniforms.
When a style is discontinued
Ask what happens when a garment you have standardised on stops being made, because over a few years it will. We buy blanks from New Zealand wholesale suppliers, and their ranges change. When a style is discontinued we tell you and show you the nearest current equivalent rather than quietly substituting it, so the new batch sits alongside the old. A core colour the wholesaler always stocks reorders more cleanly than a seasonal one, which is worth knowing before you choose.
Turnaround and urgent reorders
Ask for a turnaround that starts at artwork approval, because that is the point a supplier controls. Ours is about 5–21 working days from artwork approval. A straight reorder with stock on hand sits at the short end. A first order that needs digitising, a garment the wholesaler has to send in, or a rollout across several sites sits nearer the long end. If a date matters, put it on the quote request and we will tell you on the quote whether it is realistic.
When you want a different kind of supplier
Some teams need services we do not offer, and it is better to know that before the first email. A bigger supplier suits you if you want an online ordering portal, stock held on your behalf, or staff ordering their own gear. We do none of those. Reorders run by email or a phone call, off the setup we already hold, and everything is quoted to the business, decorated in Glenfield and couriered. If you need a few thousand identical tees in one or two colours, a screen printer is the better call.
Does it matter if your supplier is in Auckland?
Less than you would think. Production takes the same 5–21 working days wherever you are, so being close buys almost nothing on time. We are in Glenfield on the North Shore and work right across Auckland, but there is nothing to come to: no walk-ins, nothing collected in person, and everything leaves by courier, Auckland included. What matters more is whether a supplier answers your email, keeps your file, and tells you plainly when a job is not theirs.
Questions people ask
How do I choose a company uniform?
Start with the work: what the garment has to survive, how it is washed and who wears it. Then choose garments a wholesaler keeps in stock, so a reorder next year still matches. Decoration comes last, embroidery for a polo or jacket worn every day and a pressed transfer for a large or full-colour design.
What is the best brand for uniforms?
There is no single best brand; the right one depends on the garment. A brand that is strong on polos is not always the one to buy hi-vis or chef jackets from. We decorate garments from the brands our New Zealand wholesalers carry, shown on our product pages, and will suggest the one that suits the job.
Is there a minimum order?
No. One garment or several hundred, and larger runs price better per unit. A very small order carries a handling charge, because the setup work is much the same for one garment as for fifty; the charge is shown on the quote. Speciality film is the one exception to no minimum: reflective and fluorescent logos, and fabrics that need a film made for them, start at ten transfers of each design at each size (twenty for fluorescent), counted in transfers rather than garments. The quote says which your garment needs.
Put us through the same checklist
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