When you are buying corporate T-shirts in bulk, the single biggest quality signal hiding in plain sight is the GSM rating — Grams per Square Metre. It tells you how dense, and therefore how substantial, a fabric actually is.
Most cheap promotional T-shirts sit between 140-160 GSM. At Sarunex, our standard polo shirt is 240 GSM — noticeably thicker, more opaque, and far less prone to "see-through" embarrassment after a few washes.
Ring-Spun vs Open-End Yarn
GSM alone does not tell the whole story. The way the yarn is spun changes how soft and durable the final fabric feels. Ring-spun yarn is combed and tightly twisted, producing a smoother, stronger thread. Open-end spinning is cheaper but produces a coarser, weaker yarn that pills faster.
What To Ask Your Vendor
- What is the exact GSM, and is it lab-tested or just advertised?
- Is the yarn ring-spun or open-end?
- What is the cotton-to-polyester ratio?
- Is the dye reactive or pigment-based?
Armed with these four questions, you can quickly tell a serious manufacturer from a reseller padding margins with thin fabric.
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