Alternative for American Apparel

Posted February 2nd, 2017 by RottenApples

As many of you already know, AA was bankrupt and sold to Gildan, I dont know how this affects the production for the US but closing the LA factory shot down the production and exporting to Mexico, so I'm in need of a new tshirt provider that can export to México.

I'm launching my second vol. Of Beast my sports based clothing line soon!

I'm looking for similar fit and quality/price as AA and I would like to lnow, what are your opinions on the best quality blanks for a sports brand, resembling the confort style of nike/underarmour, ehat material should I aim for?

Thanks in advance for any comment and opinions!

10 Comments

Add Comment

Sushilove said about 4 years ago

Bella-Canvas
or
Next Level
MrSnake said about 4 years ago

A lot of brands switched to Next Level including myself.

As for a sports blank, not sure what to recommend.
miles to go said about 4 years ago

i switched the next level years ago and I can't use bella canvas because their dye lots have caused a ton of issues when I've tried using them with discharge ink. If you don't buy the Us made, you can get an order of tees mixed from multiple factories and multiple times I've had tees discharge totally differently with canvas, so I just avoid them personally. if you print with plastisol it won't matter
Random said about 4 years ago

I switched to Next Level also. I do use Bella for their tri-blends though which I prefer their cut more.
As for sports blanks try. I have used them and like their products, but you do need to request samples to judge the sizes for yourself. http://www.augustasportswear.com
RottenApples said about 4 years ago

Well I'm switching to NextLevel, I need to confirm order to get a shipping quote and has been a problem, hos much are they charging per unit? AmericanApparel was like 50cents per shirt
Sotare said about 4 years ago

How does Next Level compare to American Apparel as far as the comfort, cut, and feel of the shirt?

I personally feel like AA are the best shirt blanks I've worn yet. They are so comfortable and soft. Kinda bummed that this has happened to the company. Great product, kinda sketchy organization at times.
RottenApples said about 4 years ago

What Sotare said and the paying method, for me seems a little fishy, I know it's a big company but asking for all your credit info with pictures to confirm the order. How do you manage this?
dbdesign said about 4 years ago

Next Level is better and cheaper than AA, I have been using them for years.
The fit is better and more consistent, in my opinion, especially at larger sizes. I own a weightlifting apparel brand, good shirt for casual as well as active.
Sotare said about 4 years ago

Alright, I'm gonna order one and see how they feel. I liked that American Apparel was all American made and sweatshop free as well, but it sounds like NextLevel is pretty good. I just got screen printing equipment to do my own shirts now, so I wanna get everything ready to release some new shirts this spring/summer.
RottenApples said about 4 years ago

Just received my first order from NextLevel, they feel great! The only problem I had was with the payment options, as if you are not from the US it requires for you to make a a wire transfer ($45usd for any transaction) and that was practically 30% of my order total.

Besides that, everything's great!