how many shirts should a business order?
- Christopher Pisano
- 6 hours ago
- 6 min read
One of the most common questions businesses face when ordering custom apparel is:
How many shirts should we actually order?
Ordering too few can lead to constant reorders, higher per-shirt costs, and employees without the apparel they need. Ordering too many can leave you with boxes of unused sizes and styles.
The right quantity depends on your number of employees, how often the shirts will be worn, employee turnover, future hiring, and whether the shirts are uniforms, promotional apparel, or giveaways.
Here is a practical way to estimate how many shirts your business should order.
Start With the Number of People Receiving Shirts
The first step is determining exactly who needs apparel.
This may include:
Full-time employees
Part-time employees
Seasonal employees
New hires
Managers
Field employees
Office staff
Contractors
Sales representatives
Event staff
Once you know the total number of people, decide how many shirts each person should receive.
How Many Shirts Should Each Employee Get?
The answer depends heavily on how often employees are expected to wear them.
1–2 Shirts Per Employee
This can work when branded shirts are:
Worn occasionally
Used for company events
Provided for trade shows
Used for volunteer days
Part of a larger wardrobe
This is usually not enough for employees who are expected to wear company apparel every day.
3 Shirts Per Employee
Three shirts per employee is a reasonable starting point for businesses where branded apparel is worn several days each week.
It provides employees with some rotation between laundry cycles without creating a large apparel inventory.
5 Shirts Per Employee
Five shirts per employee makes more sense when branded shirts are essentially the employee's daily uniform.
This is common for:
Contractors
HVAC companies
Landscapers
Cleaning companies
Delivery businesses
Automotive shops
Service technicians
Warehouse employees
Construction companies
An employee working five days per week can have a clean company shirt available for each workday.
A Simple Business Apparel Formula
A basic starting formula is:
Number of employees × shirts per employee = initial shirt requirement
For example:
A company with 40 employees providing three shirts per employee would need:
40 × 3 = 120 shirts
But you should usually order slightly more than the exact employee requirement.
Add Extra Shirts for New Hires and Replacements
Employee apparel rarely stays static.
People are hired, garments become damaged, sizes change, and employees occasionally need replacements.
For that reason, businesses should consider maintaining a small inventory of additional shirts.
A practical starting point may be approximately 5–10% additional inventory, depending on the company.
For an order of 120 shirts, that could mean adding roughly 6–12 extra shirts in common sizes.
The exact amount should depend on your hiring activity and how frequently employees need replacement garments.
How Should You Choose the Size Breakdown?
This is where businesses often make expensive mistakes.
Do not simply divide the order evenly between:
SmallMediumLargeXL2XL
Your workforce may have a completely different size distribution.
Whenever possible, collect actual employee sizes before placing the order.
A simple employee apparel form can ask for:
Employee name
Department
Shirt size
Preferred fit
Garment type
Quantity
If collecting exact sizes is not possible, base your size breakdown on previous apparel orders rather than guessing.
Keep Extra Inventory in Your Most Common Sizes
If you are ordering extra shirts for new hires or replacements, concentrate most of that inventory in the sizes your company uses most frequently.
For example, if most employees wear Large, XL, and 2XL, it would make little sense to stock equal quantities of Small through 4XL.
Your previous orders can become extremely useful forecasting data.
After several apparel orders, track:
Most common sizes
Least common sizes
Which garments are reordered
How quickly replacements are needed
Which departments use the most apparel
This makes future ordering much easier.
Should You Order Everything at Once?
Often, yes—but not always.
Larger orders can create production efficiencies and may lower the cost per piece.
However, placing one enormous annual order can create other problems if your workforce changes frequently.
A better strategy for many companies is to establish scheduled apparel orders throughout the year.
For example:
Quarterly ordering
January April July October
or:
Twice-yearly ordering
Spring Fall
This allows the business to consolidate orders without carrying excessive inventory.
When Larger Orders Make Sense
Ordering larger quantities can work particularly well when:
Employee count is stable
Branding is unlikely to change
The same garments are used year-round
Storage space is available
The business regularly hires employees
You know your historical size distribution
A company with 100 employees that consistently uses the same branded T-shirt may benefit from ordering several hundred shirts at once.
When Smaller Orders Make More Sense
Smaller, more frequent orders may be better when:
Employee turnover is high
Apparel styles change frequently
Departments wear different garments
Branding may change
Storage space is limited
Employees choose their own apparel
In these situations, flexibility may be more valuable than maximizing order quantity.
Think Beyond T-Shirts
Many business apparel programs include more than one garment.
An employee apparel package might include:
3 T-shirts
2 polos
1 hoodie
1 jacket
A field technician may need durable work shirts, while an office employee may prefer polos or quarter-zips.
Instead of asking only, "How many shirts do we need?" consider:
What apparel does each employee need to do their job?
That creates a more effective apparel program.
Different Departments May Need Different Apparel
Not every employee needs the same uniform.
For example:
Field Employees
May need:
T-shirts
Long-sleeve shirts
Hoodies
High-visibility apparel
Work jackets
Office Employees
May need:
Polos
Quarter-zips
Button-down shirts
Jackets
Sales Teams
May benefit from:
Premium polos
Performance apparel
Jackets
Embroidered outerwear
Segmenting apparel by job function can improve both comfort and professionalism.
Don't Forget Seasonal Apparel
Your apparel requirements may change throughout the year.
Summer may require:
Lightweight T-shirts
Performance shirts
Polos
Fall and winter may require:
Hoodies
Crewnecks
Long-sleeve shirts
Jackets
Beanies
Businesses that plan seasonal apparel in advance can combine purchases more strategically and avoid last-minute ordering.
Consider Employee Turnover
Turnover matters when estimating apparel quantities.
If your company regularly hires new employees, keeping a small inventory of standard garments can prevent you from placing an emergency order every time someone joins the company.
This is especially useful for businesses with:
Seasonal hiring
Rapid growth
Multiple locations
Large field crews
Frequent onboarding
You do not necessarily need dozens of every size. A small inventory of your most frequently used sizes may be enough.
What About Multiple Business Locations?
Companies with several locations should determine whether apparel will be:
Ordered centrally
Ordered individually by location
Stored at headquarters
Shipped directly to each location
Centralized purchasing can improve branding consistency and make it easier to consolidate quantities.
However, each location should still provide accurate employee counts and sizes before orders are placed.
How Often Should a Business Order Apparel?
There is no universal schedule.
For many businesses, a good starting point is to review apparel needs every three to six months.
Your company may need to order more frequently if you have:
High employee growth
Seasonal employees
Heavy garment wear
Frequent events
Multiple locations
More stable businesses may only need one or two major orders per year.
Example: 50-Employee Company
Suppose a contractor has 50 employees who regularly wear branded T-shirts.
The company decides to provide four shirts per employee.
50 employees × 4 shirts = 200 shirts
The company then adds 10% additional inventory:
20 extra shirts
Total initial order:
220 shirts
Those additional shirts can be distributed across the company's most frequently used sizes and kept for new hires or replacements.
The business could then review inventory every quarter and reorder as needed.
Common Apparel Ordering Mistakes
Businesses often overspend because of avoidable ordering mistakes.
Ordering Too Few
Repeated small orders can create unnecessary administrative work and may increase the average cost per shirt.
Ordering Too Many
Large quantities of unusual sizes or outdated garments can sit unused for years.
Guessing Sizes
Collect actual employee sizes whenever possible.
Ignoring Future Hiring
If you know you will hire 10 employees next month, account for them in the current order.
Changing Garments Constantly
Standardizing a few core apparel options can simplify purchasing and help employees maintain a consistent appearance.
Build an Apparel Program Instead of Placing Random Orders
As a company grows, apparel purchasing should become more systematic.
Rather than reacting every time someone needs a shirt, establish:
Approved garments
Approved logo placements
Employee allotments
Standard size collection
Ordering schedules
Minimum inventory levels
Replacement procedures
This reduces administrative work and makes apparel spending easier to forecast.
How Many Shirts Should Your Company Order?
For many companies, a practical starting point is:
Occasional wear: 1–2 shirts per employee
Regular wear: 3 shirts per employee
Daily uniforms: 4–5 shirts per employee
Then add a reasonable amount of extra inventory for replacements and future hires.
The exact number should be based on your workforce, apparel usage, hiring plans, and ordering frequency.
Get Pricing for Your Business Apparel Order
Once you know approximately how many employees you need to outfit, the next step is comparing garment options and pricing at different quantities.
FTF Design Co. works with businesses that need custom T-shirts, polos, hoodies, uniforms, workwear, and other branded apparel.
Use our custom apparel pricing calculator to compare options, or request a quote for a larger company apparel program.
Comments