I launched my website! In short the idea of my website is that user submit t-shirt designs and other users can pre-order those shirts if enough get pre-ordered then obviously it’s worth printing. My idea for this site came from a few places
1. Demand. After learning that I used to screen print, lots of people ask if I will print them a shirt that says something. Usually it’s some nerdy or niche idea and they only know one other person who would buy one. Of course screen printing 2 shirts would cost about $60-$100 and of course they would not want to pay $50 each for a t-shirt. If only there was a way to let other know about this niche t-shirt. Hmmm…
2. Tuangou. Tuangou is a Chinese term that goes something like this:
Tuangou (團購 or 团购): Where several people – sometimes friends, but possibly strangers connected over the internet – agree to approach a vendor of a specific product in order to haggle with the proprietor as a group in order to get discounts. The entire group agrees to purchase the same item. The shoppers benefit by paying less, and the business benefits by selling multiple items at once.
After I learned about this awesome practice, my motivation for building the site went way up. Power to the people. na mean?
3. Threadless. Of course there are very similar sites that are awesome and successful. The reason this is third on my list is even though we practically do the same thing (user submitted designs are chosen by popularity and printed for everyone), our goal and market are quite different. Other sites allows those with the most skill, wit, and internet presence to get designs printed. The only problem is how often are you the BEST at anything when compared to EVERYONE on the internet. That’s like me thinking I might get picked to perform for Cirque du Soleil. Again, those sites are awesome, but different.
So anyway, the site just went up last week and it’s doing great. Building users and Shirts. I am super excited about the first approved submission: Somethings Wrong by TKozar:
A couple people have inquired about my lack of push-up doing. I have been slacking but I fully intend to keep up on them. Weeks ago I was sick for 2 weeks and that is what got me started on this hiatus. Just days ago I decided that I was going to start doing them again full force. But 3 days ago playing bball I rolled my ankle and my foot swelled up like a blueberry. But it’s almost better now so I will def be pushing up like crazy soon.
I am pretty seriously toying with the idea of giving up plastic for good. Well at least new plastic. Because it’s everywhere and will never go away. Companies produce it but we are the demand, so if people just stopped buying products in plastic and it became a common practice, companies would hear of it and really begin to come up with other means of packaging, only for their own greedy reasons but at least it would happen.
I would really love to see the same process for being plastic-free as for veganism during the last decade. When I went vegan 10 years ago the vegan foods available were ‘rice’ cream, veggie dogs, and veggie burgers (ok, maybe a couple more, but still it sucked) only in large or specialty stores. Now, any product can be found in a faux version. Even in small convenient stores vegan products are not a rare sight. Plastic-free could be even more successful because using plastic is not an inherent instinct like consuming animals is. And as far as I know there are no plastic advocacy groups, and everyone knows that plastics are terrible for the environment.
I found a blog of a girl who is on year 3 of a plastic-free lifestyle (Envirowomen), who has established great rules for living this way.
Basic Rules:
Cannot purchase anything new that has any amount of plastic (lids, linings, stickers, etc…) Can Rent, buy used, borrow, find, re-use any plastic. Cannot throw away any rented, used, borrowed, found plastic. Cannot ask someone else to buy plastic for you or for themselves. Can accept gifts from unknowing givers.
I just now decided I am going to do it. The only thing it needs now is a catchy label so other can feel like part of the community if they jump on the bandwagon. Sans Plastique? ideas? The girl who has done it for 3 years calls it NoNewPlastic Pledge but pledges aren’t lifestyles and are easy to break.
Hi my name is bookis, I’ve been Sans Plastique for 2 days.
Hna sleep talks all the time. This is the first time I’ve succesfully captured it. It’s hilarious. At one point she says “in my dream…” which would make you think she is awake, she is probably 95% asleep.
We need more submission so please sign up, and submit a design!
Posted by bookis 
