Sustainability and Responsibility at Printful

Getting better one print at a time

Why are we striving to do better?

Sustainability matters to our customers, our team, and of course, the planet. We also know that all the sustainability challenges in the fashion industry don’t have a quick fix. To learn more about our efforts, take a look at our sustainability timeline.

Printful’s mission is to make on-demand manufacturing the norm for a planet with finite resources and people with infinite ideas. It’s an ambitious goal, so we’re taking it one step at a time.

Our sustainability journey

August 2020

Switched to triangle poster boxes without plastic caps
October 2020

Established a Green Team for our facilities
December 2020

Started measuring cut & sew fabric waste
January 2021

Partnered with Geocycle and Martex to process fabric waste
February 2021

Launched our first recycled all-over print product
September 2021

Developed a sponsorship policy
December 2021

Established a Code of Conduct

Planet

Always changing for the better

The fashion industry needs to make fundamental changes to protect the climate from harm. Our goal is to provide a less wasteful way of production through print-on-demand.

Made to order

Limiting waste

Efficient shipping

Made to order

Every purchase, big or small, has a footprint. With each purchase, you have a choice. You choose the size of the mark to leave on the planet, and we want to help you choose wisely.

Around 85% of all textiles produced by the fashion industry end up in landfills, making it a major contributor to environmental damage. One in every five garments reaches a landfill without being worn even once. By choosing print-on-demand, you choose apparel that’s created only as the order is placed, creating less fabric waste than conventional manufacturing.

Packaging waste

As of May 2021, we’ve started using packaging made of post-consumer recycled plastics for all apparel orders shipped from our in-house facilities. We’ve also reduced the use of packaging altogether and introduced triangular cardboard boxes for poster orders to replace tubes with plastic end caps.

Fabric Waste

To reduce our fabric waste, we introduced a new product—all-over print Scrunchies. They are small enough to be created from fabric scraps that would have otherwise gone to waste. Our damaged and returned products get donated to local charities, like the Red Cross, the American Kidney Fund, and Goodwill.

Sustainability in numbers

62,579 lb.

Weight of plastic caps saved

377,278 lb.

Weight of fabrics recycled in 2021

81%

Orders fulfilled and shipped locally

Efficient shipping

Around 81% of Printful orders are delivered in the same region they’re fulfilled. Having fulfillment centers close to our customers is good both for the business and the planet. Strategically located fulfillment centers allow for faster shipping times and lower shipping costs, and it also helps with reducing the CO₂ emissions produced when transporting orders.

To reduce the impact of shipping on the environment, we stock our store with products that are fulfilled in our core market. Moving fulfillment closer to our customers reduces greenhouse emissions created by transporting products across the world.

Products

Made only when you need them

Reducing fashion waste is going to be an ongoing process for manufacturers as well as consumers. By choosing products that are made on-demand, you make a choice that helps the world.

Reliable quality

Eco-friendly products

Efficient printing

Reliable Quality

The better the quality, the longer the product lasts. Before we add new products, we do durability, wash, and wear tests to make sure they’ll stand the test of time. Producing long-lasting products means reducing new purchases. We work with suppliers that produce high-quality products that last many washes, keeping print colors vibrant and the fabric soft. Learn more about some of our most popular clothing suppliers, their sustainability information, and certifications in our apparel brand guide. To make our product sourcing more transparent, this year we added a Source tab to every product in our catalog, which tells you about each item’s manufacturer and country of origin. You can also download product certificates—such as GOTS and OEKO-TEX—in the Description tab of all our eco-friendly products.

Average Product Rating

Eco-friendly products

This product collection is growing along with the needs of our customers. Having already added 20 products in 2021, we plan on launching new eco-friendly products over time. Printful also offers custom printed fabric made from over 80% recycled polyester.

Efficient printing

Many of our products are printed with the direct-to-garment (DTG) technique. With DTG, ink is sprayed onto the garment, which helps it soak better into the fabric and makes the print less prone to fading. To learn more about the difference between DTG and other printing methods, take a look at this article. For more details about what inks we use for our products, check out the FAQ about our ink types.