This year, 2023, TeamTogs turns 20! We've loved every minute of the last 20 years and we thank you all for your continued support. Of course, it goes without saying, if you have any branded Apparel and Merchandise requirements please get in touch, just email us! 

TeamTogs in Karen's words...  After 20 years, I've decided to share the story of our business.

An idea is born...
I trained as an Events Project Manager which I loved. During this time, I identified the importance of well-dressed teams and supporting merchandise to impact audiences and brands. However, I noticed that no one was offering a truly consultative approach to branded Apparel and Merchandise, and after a conversation with my entrepreneurial Mum, the idea for TeamTogs was born!

Small beginnings... 
In 2003 initially, TeamTogs HQ was the spare room of my flat in North London and I continued to freelance in the events world to pay the bills. After 2 years, as the business grew, and my spare room was overflowing, I needed space and order! So, I hired a desk in a West London studio and decided to throw myself into TeamTogs full-time. It made sense that my then fiancé Martin (who I'd met in the events industry) joined me in my mission. Soon, it was time to invest in more space and some equipment, so TeamTogs took over the garage of our first home in Hertfordshire. As the TeamTogs premises were expanding, so was the TeamTogs family; we hired our first employee and Martin (now my husband) and I were fortunate enough to welcome our 2 sons.

The juggle is real... 
Looking back, juggling motherhood, a growing business, employees and working with my husband was at times crazy! Hard work, humour and humility kept us going, and of, course the loyalty of our growing and varied customer base. Within a few years, TeamTogs had taken over 1 and then 2 units of a local business park, employing 4 people and investing in some serious printing and embroidery machinery. 

The Watling Street era...
In 2011, we moved into our current home on Watling Street, initially occupying the basement, then taking over the ground floor in 2014. After surviving the pandemic, where the world we operated in and worked with went virtual, we expanded to the 1st floor in 2022 so we now occupy 3 floors of our Watling Street hub!  Here we have an impressive range of machinery which enables us to manage production in-house, a bespoke showroom to showcase our capabilities and a wonderful specialist team. 

Reflection...

Looking back we would never have dared to dream TeamTogs would occupy its current premises and have the opportunity to work with such interesting and diverse clients. We are immensely proud of the TeamTogs team and are eternally grateful to all those that have supported us along the way.

Despite our organic growth, we've never lost sight of our values, and we continue to offer a personal touch and a consultative approach to all our clients. I'm excited to see what the future holds for TeamTogs! 

Our 3 biggest learnings...
Obviously, the last 20 years have been a massive learning curve but if we had to summarise what we've learnt it comes down to these 3 nuggets which we share with anyone starting a business: 
1. Innovate, be on-trend, energetic and positive in your approach.
2. Automate, automate, automate! Operational efficiency enables growth
3. Really care about your clients, your team and the quality of your work.

Thank you for allowing me to reflect back on our journey with you. If you have any branded Apparel and Merchandise requirements, all 01923 853 104 or send us an email. 

Karen 
#TeamTogsAt20

The festive season is just around the corner and after a demanding year it’s the perfect opportunity to treat your clients and staff to a Christmas gift and to showcase your brand.  

We are delighted to share with your our beautiful Christmas gift catalogue which is full of over 300 lower climate impact, high-quality gifts. For all items the CO2 footprint is available, and the certified traceable use of recycled content has been indicated.

This catalogue represents a selection of the brandable clothing and merch we have curated. From personalised advent calendars, wonderful well-being gifts, food and drink goodies, bespoke hampers, gorgeous stationery kits, cosy hoodies and beanies and anything else you can imagine – we can source and brand it and help you spread the joy of the season whilst building your brand.

So, don't wait until the last minute!  Start planning for your personalised festive gift and clothing requirements ASAP so you can: 

•          Get ahead of the game and maximise the marketing opportunity.
•          Create memorable experiences.
•          Strengthen your brand identity.
•          Make the coming festive season one to remember!
•          Show your audience and brand ambassadors you care.
•          And much, much, more….

Let us Consult with you to Create your perfect festive gifts and help your brand Shine this festive season. 

N.B.

- If you place a Christmas order before 31st October 2023 - then for every order we receive over £1500 + VAT we will donate £50 to NHS Charities Registered Charity No 1186569. Please reference "TeamTogs Christmas gift catalogue" when placing your order.

- If you don’t see what you are looking for in this catalogue, remember this is just a taster of what we can offer. Call us on 01923 853 104 or email

There are logos that everyone recognises after just one look.  What about your brand?

Building a strong brand is a journey. Each step counts … Let us help you to give your brand recognition.

Send us print ready artwork for your business, club, group or team and we will send you 100 labels for free!   No catch, just a freebie!

Free Labels Terms and Conditions

1.         The Promoter: TeamTogs LTD.  139-141 Watling Street, Radlett, Herts, WD7 7NQ (registered in England and Wale, registered company number 4931003)
2.        Eligibility: This promotion is open to UK residents (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) aged 18 years or over, excluding employees and their immediate families (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent and/or “step” family), of The Promoter, associated agents or anyone professionally connected with the prize promotion. Promotion is addressed to Clubs, Teams and Groups managers, Experiential and Marketing Agencies, SMSs and corporates.
3.        Promotional Period: 01/08/2022-12/08/2022
4.        Entry Instructions: Email sent to info@team-togs.com with FREE LABELS as a subject
5.        Only one entry per person per prize promotion unless otherwise stated in the individual promotion. All additional entries will be disqualified.
6.        Any entries that the Promoter consider (in our absolute discretion) to be dangerous, vulgar, offensive, indecent, illegal racist, copied, offensive, cruel or fraudulent, or infringe on the rights or copyright of others will be immediately disqualified.
7.        No third party or bulk entries. If it becomes apparent that either a participant or household is using any means to circumvent this condition such as, and without limitation, multiple email accounts, multiple reproduced or computer-generated entries, using multiple identities, fraudulently falsifying data, acting fraudulently or dishonestly in the opinion of the promoter or otherwise acting in violation of these terms, these participants will be disqualified, and any prize entitlement will be void.
8.        Incomplete, illegible, misdirected or late entries will not be accepted. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of delivery or receipt. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are incomplete, lost due to technical reasons, corrupted, delayed, wrongly delivered, or not received for whatsoever reason.
9.        Prize Fund: 100 free stickers with client’s logo. Size of the sticker not larger than 5cm long, 5cm high.
10.     Prize can be collected from Promoter’s office based in Radlett or sent to any UK address, provided by promotion participant without any additional cost.
11.       It is the responsibility of the entrant to provide correct, up-to-date details when entering the prize promotion and acceptance of the prize. The Promoter cannot be held responsible for winners failing to supply accurate information which affects prize acceptance or delivery of their prize.
12.      General: Promoter’s decision is final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into. Entry implies acceptance of these terms and conditions.
13.      Prizes must be accepted as offered by the named winner. There is no cash or alternative prizes, in whole or part. The prizes are not transferable and cannot be resold.
14.      The Promoter reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value should circumstances outside its control make this necessary.
15.      The Promoter reserves the right to verify winners and ask for proof of identity, age and address and to withdraw prize entitlement where there are reasonable grounds to believe there has been a breach of these terms and conditions.
16.      You agree that you will take part in and co-operate fully with reasonable publicity and to the use of your name, photograph and any comments in such publicity without any fee being payable.
17.      By entering the Promotion, each entrant grants the Promoter a world-wide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty free and sub-licensable right and licence to use reproduce, modify, adapt, publish or display (in whole or in part) any intellectual property contained in the content of their entry, without royalty, payment or other compensation. Each Entrant agrees not to assert any moral rights in relation to such use and warrants that they have full authority to grant such rights.
18.      The Promoter reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to eliminate or disqualify any entries or entrants that it regards as being in breach of these terms and conditions or the spirit of the Promotion. Those who try to circumvent the entry process and/or entry instructions by any method, will be disqualified and any prize award will be void.
19.      Entry into the Promotion is at the entrant’s sole risk. To the extent permitted by law, neither the Promoter nor Supplier accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury, costs, expenses or claims (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) suffered by entrants or any third parties arising out of or in connection with the Promotion and/or accepting a prize. The Promoter and Supplier further disclaim liability for any injury or damage to entrants or any other person relating to or resulting from participation with this Promotion save that nothing in these terms and conditions shall act to limit or exclude the Promoter and Supplier’s liability resulting from its negligence or fraud.
20.    If for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned for reasons (including but not limited to tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of the Promoter which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Promotion), the Promoter reserves the right (subject to any written directions given under applicable law) to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion.
21.      If an act, omission, event or circumstance occurs which are beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter and which prevents the Promoter from complying with these terms and conditions the Promoter will not be liable for any failure to perform or delay in performing its obligation.
22.     The Promoter accepts no responsibility for system errors or other issues that may result in disruption to, lost, delayed or not received entries, winner notifications or prizes. The Promoter, the Supplier or its agencies will not be responsible for the non-inclusion of entries as a result of technical failures or otherwise, including any such failure which is within the control of The Promoter or its agencies.
23.     Where a prize is provided by a Supplier, the Promoter accepts no responsibility for inaccuracy of any prize description, and The Supplier is responsible for prize fulfilment.
24.    If any of these clauses should be determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable then it shall be severed and deleted from these Terms and Conditions and the remaining clauses shall survive and remain in full force and effect.
25.     The Promoter and the Supplier reserve the right to cancel, amend, withdraw, terminate or temporarily suspend this promotion in the event of any unforeseen circumstances or technical reason outside its reasonable control, with no liability to any entrants or third parties but will use all reasonable endeavours to avoid consumer disappointment.
26.     The decisions of the Promoter are final and binding in all matters relating to the Promotion and no correspondence will be entered into.
27.     The Promotion and these terms and conditions, and any disputes arising therefrom, shall be subject to English law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh Courts.
28.     Data Protection: Any personal information that entrants share with the Promoter will be kept secure and only used in line with these terms and conditions unless the entrant has opted in to future marketing from the Promoter and/or the Supplier. By entering the promotion, entrants agree that their information may be used by the Promoter to administer the promotion and winners consent to give their name and county for the winners’ list.
29.     Promoter’s Privacy Policy https://www.team-togs.com/privacy-policy.

Uniforms are an excellent resource for your staff. They can help improve team-building, customer service, and brand awareness. Work uniforms can also help promote togetherness, unity, and pride. When workers and managers wear a complementary uniform, they are all part of the same team. In short, they foster team spirit!

Now, more than ever, the uniform industry aspires to much more than just practical.

Remember that what your staff/team wear could directly affect your reputation as a brand. Ask yourself what your current uniforms convey and remember that a comfortable employee is a happy employee, so keep them in mind. Choose high-quality products that have a longer lifespan. Importantly offer a wardrobe of choice to suit age, gender, shape and size.

As we love fashion and on-trend styles, we believe that customers' apparel and merchandise can and should be inspired by great designs. Refresh your corporate uniforms, don’t be afraid of bright colours. Not every uniform has to be black, navy or grey!  Why not match with crisp cotton, modern motifs and lightweight staples to welcome the new season?

Curate your unique, branded range and see how new business apparel will improve overall customer service and brand awareness. Tell us about your needs, messaging and environments and we will CONSULT to help you CREATE unique workwear to enable your brand to SHINE.

How to avoid greenwashing?

Number one is to ask questions

Companies should be able to tell you more about the following:

Claims

If you see something on the label, ask what those claims mean.

If this information seems intentionally vague or broad, there's a chance that this company was using greenwashing techniques. Check for……

Certification

A company can put "natural and organic" on their labels, but if it doesn't have a certification label, it is most likely NOT organic.

Be aware there are hundreds of different certifications. Your supplier should be able to at a minimum provide you a link to relevant certifications which should outline who they are and what the standard means.

Read carefully as there are often standards within standards. For example, one of the most common certifications in the textiles industry you will see is the OEKO-TEX standard.

However, the standards are based around free from harmful substances not necessarily eco-friendly or sustainable. They have additional standards that cover free from harmful substances which are also sustainably and ethically produced.

Beware of the common greenwashing words

These may include: eco-friendly, green, all-natural, earth-friendly, non-toxic, plant-based, plant-derived, pure, raw, healthy, organic (without certification). These words mean NOTHING without certification. Natural does not mean environmentally friendly, so be sceptical of these claims. Vegan is another one to look for. We are seeing many more products certified vegan which doesn’t automatically mean it is also sustainable. If it is there will be a separate certificate

Look for irrelevant claims

These are claims that are “technically true” but not relevant. One example is a “CFC-Free”- CFCs are banned by law, so this is not truly an indication of sustainability or environmental friendliness.

Companies playing on the “lesser of two evils” concept

A company might be claiming to be “greener” than a competitor, but be sure you need the product at all before progressing (e.g., plastic bags and most single-use items)

Look for minimal/recyclable/reused packaging

In many cases, companies using greenwashing tactics will still have their products in an unnecessary amount of packaging. That seems contradictory to claiming they’re sustainable, right?

As with most industries good practice comes with time and investment. The cost of ethical/sustainable product has reduced significantly over the last few years and is increasingly competitive. However, if you are getting a significantly cheaper costs from different suppliers then please question it. It may be due to the methods/machinery used but could it well be that you are not buying the product you think you are or be the product of low wages and slavery issues. Another important area we will blog at a later date.

To summarise

• Companies must be careful how they are communicating to make sure not misleading.
• They must state fact, not soft claims.
• Certification – Check and check again. Who issues it, and what does it really say?

These are tough questions to answer, especially in the hyper-convenience era we are living in.

One great way suggested by an IPM Bitesize article is the key to success is creative sampling, pop-up experiences, and experiential partnership activations that can help FMCG brands amplify their digital efforts by widening reach, generating WOM and creating a lasting impact.

Even online shopping, which has become ever more popular, especially during the pandemic, needs a direct, personal touch. Samples, freebies, and physical engagement are invaluable in building long-lasting and strong relationships with customers.

But are all freebies valuable?   

Is some form of merch better than no merch?

In our experience, any old merch can cause more problems than benefits. Why?

In the last few months, we all started to hear more and more about #GoZero action.

Imagine a company promoting itself as eco-friendly, using #GoZero in its social media campaigns, sending out to customers they'd thought not to use plastic or non-recyclable, but choose gifts that were not relevant or valued by the customer. Despite the good intentions, the message, instead of strengthening ties, will have the opposite effect.   Even worse, it could garner negative social media attention.

So, how do you choose suitable, on-trend, mindful merchandise that will align with the company’s value?

By explaining your work environment, needs, customers, and message, we can help maximise product relevance and provide the “wow factor” while having the added benefit of making things last longer, go further, and be more effective.

UV printing is a form of digital printing that uses ultra-violet lights to dry or cure ink as it is printed.

The UV cured inks are weather-resistant and offer increased resistance to fading, making it a great way to brand and personalise materials like acrylic, aluminium, foam board, corrugated plastic, wood and glass.

It is also pretty amazing to watch how it works!

Creating the perfect range of branded apparel may not be the simplest of tasks.

By helping us understand your work environment, needs, customers, and message, we can help maximise product relevance and provide the “wow factor” while having the added benefit of making things last longer, go further, and be more effective.

Get in touch today for a consultation with our sales team. Call 01923 853 104 or email info@team-togs.com

#Consult #brandedapparel #uniform #businessapparel #merch #brandedmerchandise #staffwear #yourlogo #customise #personalise #wardrobemanagment

If you are thinking about refreshing your branded apparel and merchandise and supporting your team to look and feel their best we can help you do that.

Not only can we CONSULT and collaborate with you on your brand image, but we can CREATE sustainable solutions that will enable your teams and brand to SHINE!

Take the headache out of ‘doing the right thing’!

Want to hear more about how TeamTogs can help your business remain on-brand, on-message, and become more secure and environmentally conscious?

Drop us an email info@team-togs.com or call 01923 853 104

#Consult #Create #Shine #crewclothing #eco #ecofriendly  #recycledclothing #uniforms #logo #brandedtshirt #ecofriendly #uniformshredding #shredding #protectyourbrand #goodsforgood

Uniforms often feature a logo, sometimes an employee’s name and business contact details. This is often the reason that affects the desire to sustainably  recycle or move-on branded apparel.

You could also argue perhaps that more damaging to the brand is staff wearing tired uniforms. Protect your brand’s identity and avoid employees opting to place a garment in the charity bag, or worse still in a black bin destined for landfill.

We are increasingly being asked to provide sustainable and secure services for the moving on of old corporate apparel. By using our Textile Shredding Service we can help you protect your brand and the environment. 

This will help you be proactive in supporting your teams to always look and feel their best.

Drop us an email info@team-togs.com or call 01923 853 104

#Consult #Create #Shine #crewclothing #eco #ecofriendly #softshell #activewear #recycledclothing #uniforms #jackets #ts #poloshirts #branded #logo #brandedtshirt #ecofriendly #uniformshredding #shredding #protectyourbrand