Body image or body positivity is an influential movement in our modern world. It has profoundly impacted how the population’s point of view as well as influenced how the apparel industry works. Starting with the launch of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign, many businesses have acknowledged the importance of diversity and inclusiveness and big fashion brand have started offering plus-size clothing.
Rather than taking it as a pure opportunity for increasing revenue, retailers and sellers are making advancements in order to improve customer satisfaction, nourish relationships with the audience and promote a healthy and positive worldview.
In order to help the customers easily find the size to fit their body, business owners, especially print on demand sellers, should seek to find print-on-demand suppliers that offer a wide range of clothing sizes, especially the plus-size variants and “big and tall print on demand" options. In this blog post, we will explore the best plus size print on demand companies.
Why you should sell plus size print on demand clothing?
Plus sizes are defined as sizes 18 and over, or 1X-6X as well as other extended sizes (7X and up). According to this definition, we will select the print on demand suppliers that offer such sizes.
As mentioned earlier, people are increasingly aware of inclusiveness and body positivity. Undoubtedly, there is an increasing demand for plus-size clothing. According to the latest report by AlliedMarketResearch, the value of global plus-size clothing marketing was around $480,991.8 million in 2019 and is expected to cross $696,712.1 million by 2027. This segment registers a CACR of 5.9% from 2021 to 2027.
From the business perspective, the plus-size clothing market has a huge potential with growing demand. The promise of revenue is undeniable. However, there are more ethical reasons that justify why you should start selling inclusive fashion than just profit. In this sense, you are treating your buyers with duly respect and care.
By providing more size options that cater specific needs of customers in different body sizes, sellers and retailers are able to nourish special connections with their buyers and establish an ethical-conscious standpoint for their brands.
In conclusion, selling plus size print on demand clothing helps you make advancements in terms of profit and customer relationships.
Best Plus size print on demand companies
Printify
With a widespread network of over 100 printing partners across different countries, Printify has a wide variety of products, meeting different needs of the customers including plus-size buyers and those looking for “big and tall print on demand" items.
With basic items such as short sleeve t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, classic unisex t-shirts, polo, hoodies, sweatshirts, you can easily find printing providers in Printify’s system which provides up to 10 sizes, from 2XS to 5XL.
Depending on the print providers, you can find suppliers that offer products at a very competitive price.
Merchize
Merchize provides a large selection of print on demand products. Many of these products are available in plus sizes, offering more opportunities for sellers to tap into the plus-size clothing market.
Clothing products on Merchize are available in up to 10 sizes ranging from XS to 6XL. These include classic unisex T-shirts (XS-6XL), V-neck T-shirts (XS-6XL), Pocket T-shirts (S-6XL). Besides offering classic items in plus sizes, Merchize also makes some unique products available in larger sizes, for example:
- Ringer T-shirts (S-6XL)
- Short-Sleeve Raglan (XS-6XL)
- Reflective T-shirts (S-6XL)
- Upside Down Pocket T-shirts (S-6XL)
- Slanted Upside Down Pocket T-shirts (S-6XL)
- Flip T-shirt (S-6XL)
- Bleached T-shirt (XS-6XL)
Besides these products, Merchize also includes a variety of products that are available from size S to 5XL. Check out our catalog for more plus-size clothing.
These unique offers can increase the diversity of your plus-size catalog. What’s more important, these products are available at a very competitive price, promising to increase your profit margin.
Start Selling Plus Size Clothing with Merchize now!
CustomCat
CustomCat is providing a variety of print on demand products. As per the latest updates, the America print on demand provider is offering over 350 products in different categories. Many of these options are available in plus sizes, offering more opportunities for you to sell inclusive clothing. For example, their T-shirt and Sporty T-shirt come available from S-6XL sizes. You can also find other less popular products in large sizes like polo shirts, jackets, v-neck wind shirts, hooded jackets, and more.
Alongside regular products that come with a full-size range, CustomerCat also provides specific plus-size products like Ladies’ Curvy T-shirts (from $16), Ladies’ Curvy V-neck T-shirt (from $16).
With a large production facility built in Detroit, CustomCat has a huge production capacity that assures a reliable supply for your print-on-demand business.
Yoycol
If you are willing to expand your production range, especially your print on demand size-inclusive products, Yoycol is a great option to start with.
Yoycol has one of the largest print on demand product collections. As for the plus-size range, this print on demand provider offers around 30 products, ranging from essential products like hoodies, t-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, to unique fashion statement pieces like women’s dress, wide-leg pants, joggers, and so on.
Besides the diverse product range, Yoycol has an upper hand over other print on demand providers thanks to competitive pricing. But the major challenge for this supplier is the longer shipping time because their products will be shipped from their manufacturing facility in China.
Check our list of cheap print on demand companies to get the best prices for your products
Gooten
Gooten is an up-and-coming print-on-demand company that can provide a considerable number of products. Similar to Printify, Gooten also works with various third-party printing providers, which allows them to expand their catalog as well as optimize the shipping cost and time.
On top of that, Gooten also offers plus-size variants for some products in their catalog, for example, Jersey Crew Neck Tee, Pullover Hoodie, Crew Neck Sweatshirt, and Long sleeve shirt.
Note that Gooten only offers 5XL as the largest size. If you are expecting to sell bigger sizes, Gooten couldn’t deliver what you want.
Contrado
Contrado must be the leading print on demand provider when it comes to plus-size clothing. Established back in 2002, Contrado is now one of the largest print on demand companies in the UK.
One of the biggest strengths of this print on demand supplier is its broad selection of products that expands into various categories. Up to this point, Contrado has introduced over 450 products for print on demand.
As for plus-size products, Contrado delivers a very impressive range of options, possibly one of the best. A majority of their product collection is available from 2XS to 7XL. Rather than providing standard classic items, Contrado can make plus-size variants available in different products and forms, for example, regular-fit T-shirts, slim-fit t-shirts, basic custom t-shirts, and more.
Apart from the basic clothing items like t-shirts, and hoodies, Contrado includes large size variants for many products from different apparel categories like sleepwear, dresses, swimwear, sportswear, underwear, and skirts.
Contrado is clearly one of the top options when it comes to plus-size clothing. But the pricing for Contrado’s business is on the expensive side. While Contrado is best for the UK market, it might not be the best option if you are targeting the US market as this company doesn’t provide
Printbar
Another print-on-demand company that includes various plus-size options is PrintBar. In fact, this print-on-demand provider dedicated a separate category for plus-size clothing. This selection includes all the essential wardrobe items like hoodies, long-sleeve shirts, classic t-shirts, women cotton t-shirts, oversized hoodies, and more. Some products like Classic Men’s Tee and Men’s Fleecy Hoodie can offer from XXS-11XL size range, combined with a variety of color options.
However, most of their plus-size collection are men’s apparel. There is only one product in Printbar’s plus-size category for women, which is the Women’s cotton t-shirt. This classic product is available from size 6 to size 24.
If your target audience is men, you will find PrintBar a great choice to start fulfilling your plus-size selection.
How to sell plus-size print on demand clothing?
Provide more than just big size clothing
In the past, plus size clothing was in short supply – there are not many options for people to choose from. All that plus size individuals ask for is the cloth that fits their body. But that’s no longer the case.
Customers now expect more than comfortable outfits for their bodies but also clothing that shows their fashion senses and how they are. If you want to appropriately approach this potential market, you should venture outside the classic wardrobe essentials like T-shirts, hoodies, or sweatshirts. Selling unique stylish pieces in plus size can help you seize valuable business opportunities.
With print on demand, you can easily create unique and fashionable designs that help your customers show their styles and personalities.
Include product images for your products
Having good images is a must for ecommerce products. It is even more important for selling plus-size apparel clothing to make good use of product images. The key is to show how the cloth fits customers’ bodies – which is a big concern for plus-size shoppers.
Source: Jolie Noire
For print on demand stores, you should try to create mock-ups using real-life stock images of plus-size models. This can help to capture shoppers’ attention and highlight your plus-size products.
Be attentive in how you approach plus size clothing
When approaching a special group of customers, you should always be attentive to the message your brand is sending.
As a seller, it is the right thing to pay close attention to how your end-users will interpret and perceive your brand message, especially with your copywriting. Any ambiguous or insensitive implication can make buyers misunderstand and question your intention.
Read the best tips for start selling print on demand in 2024
Plus size clothing Trends
Women plus size clothing
According to Statista, in 2021, plus-size women’s clothing industry was valued at 6.67 billion U.S. dollars while the value of plus-size men’s clothing industry is 848.9 million U.S. dollars.
Statistics indicate that the need for women’s plus size clothing is dominating the market the plus sizing clothing market. To make the most out of big-size apparel, you should focus more on women’s clothing.
Products like dresses, leggings, bras, swimsuits are some items that can appeal to women buyers. If you can provide plus size for these items, you can attract more buyers to buy these products.
Casual wear
Within the plus-size clothing market, the casual wear plus size clothing segment accounted for the highest share.
Making up the largest share in the plus size clothing market, casual wear is a category that you shouldn’t skip. Items in this category are T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, and so on.
Bold and color prints
As we have pointed out above, plus-size clothing is for anything but just hiding the wearers’ bodies. Plus-size shoppers are now more willing to experiment with bolder styling that shows off their personality and proudly expresses who they are. That’s why bold and color patterns and prints receive positive responses from plus-size shoppers.
