Every year, the same thing happens. A committee gets elected in March, everyone is enthusiastic, and then exams and summer swallow the plan whole. Somebody remembers the hoodies in the second week of September, by which point every garment decorator in the country is working flat out and the blank you wanted is out of stock in medium.
This is the guide we wish more committees read in August. It covers what freshers' merch is actually for, a timeline that works backwards from your fair, how to budget it, and how to get sizing right without a spreadsheet argument.
Start with what the merch is actually for
Society merch does three separate jobs, and most committees only think about one of them.
Visibility at the fair. Freshers walk past a hundred stalls. Six people in matching bright hoodies standing behind a table read as an organised society before anyone says a word. This job is best served by loud colour and a big, legible design - legibility from three metres away matters more than subtlety.
Belonging for members. The hoodie a member buys in October and wears all year is a different product. It needs to be comfortable, reasonably neutral in colour, and not embarrassing to wear off campus. Members buy this one; you don't give it away.
Revenue. Merch sold at a small margin funds socials, kit and competition entry fees. It is not a big earner, but it should not lose money either.
You can serve all three with one design, but you'll do it better if you accept that the fair kit and the member kit are two different products with two different briefs.
The timeline: work backwards from your fair
Fix your freshers' fair date first, then count back. These are planning buffers, not promises - confirm actual production times with your supplier when you get a quote.
6-8 weeks out (early to mid August)
Decide what you're ordering and how many, in rough terms. Get the logo sorted now, while there's no time pressure. If your society logo only exists as a Canva export or a screenshot from an old Instagram post, this is the moment to have it redrawn properly - it's a one-off job and you'll reuse the file for years. Request quotes on two or three garment options so you can see what the price actually turns on.
4-6 weeks out (mid to late August)
Approve artwork and place the committee order - the smaller, urgent one you need in hand for the fair itself. Open your pre-order form for the member hoodies at the same time, even if the fair hasn't happened yet; returning members will order early and their numbers help you plan.
2-4 weeks out (early September)
Chase the last pre-orders and place the main order. This is the point where delays start costing you, because everything is running against Welcome Week across the whole industry. If you are late here, be honest with members about the delivery date rather than promising fair-day collection.
Welcome Week itself
Fair kit is worn, not sold. Take the member hoodie pre-order form to the stall as a QR code and collect orders there - most societies get a large share of their annual merch sales in that single afternoon. Deliver in October and nobody minds, provided you said October.
Budgeting: where the money actually goes
Three things move the price, and only one of them is the garment.
The blank. The single biggest lever. A mid-weight pullover hoodie and a heavyweight one can differ substantially per unit before a single stitch or print is applied. Ask your supplier to quote the same design on two garments and you'll see it immediately.
The number of print colours and positions. Screen printing is set up per colour, per position. A one-colour left chest is cheap. A four-colour front plus a two-colour back is a different job entirely. If budget is tight, reduce colours before you reduce garment quality - a clean one-colour design on a decent hoodie beats a full-colour design on a thin one.
Quantity. Setup costs are fixed and spread across the run, so unit price drops sharply between 20 and 50 pieces and then flattens. This is why one combined order beats three small ones across the year.
A sensible approach: set the price you want members to pay, work backwards to your unit cost, and then choose the garment that fits - rather than picking the garment first and discovering the price later.
Sizing without the guesswork
The most common merch disaster isn't a bad design, it's a size list that doesn't match the people.
Collect sizes individually. Never estimate on someone's behalf, and never assume a hall or squad splits neatly around medium. If you're running a pre-order form, put a size guide with actual chest measurements on the form - brand sizing varies enormously, and "medium" means different things on different garments.
Two practical rules. First, hoodies are worn oversized by most students, so a size guide alone under-predicts demand at the larger end; offer the full range up to at least 3XL rather than stopping at XL. Second, order two or three spares in your most common sizes. Someone always joins late, and a spare is cheaper than a re-run.
Design decisions that age well
Put the year on it only if you want it to be a 2026/27 artefact. Leaving the year off means unsold stock can be sold again next September, which quietly solves the over-ordering problem.
Keep the back design large and simple. Small text across the shoulders reads as clutter from any distance.
Think about whether you want embroidery or print. Embroidery on a left chest looks smarter and lasts longer, and suits committee and alumni kit. Screen printing suits big, colourful, front-and-back society designs and is more cost-effective across a large run.
Finally, check your university's rules. Many institutions restrict use of the university crest or name on unofficial merchandise. Find out before you print, not after.
Common mistakes worth avoiding
- Ordering before the fair based on optimism rather than pre-orders.
- Leaving artwork to the last week, then paying for redraws under time pressure.
- Choosing a garment colour that clashes with a one-colour print (light print on light garment never works).
- Forgetting the giveaway items - tote bags and bottles get carried around campus all year and cost a fraction of a hoodie.
- Promising fair-day delivery on an order placed in September.
FAQs
How many hoodies should a first-year society order?
Order to confirmed pre-orders plus a small buffer, not to your membership number. Societies routinely over-order in year one because sign-ups at the fair don't convert to purchases at the rate committees expect.
Is it worth ordering fair kit separately from member hoodies?
Usually yes. The fair kit is small, urgent and loud; the member hoodies are larger, later and more considered. Splitting them means one small order can be rushed while the big one is planned properly.
Can we reorder mid-year if we sell out?
Yes, and reorders are simpler because the artwork and setup already exist. Costs come down on repeat runs for that reason.
Planning a society or club order for Welcome Week? Take a look at our freshers' week hoodies and t-shirts and society and club hoodies pages, or get in touch with your numbers and date and we'll quote it.
