Over the years we have struggled with how to manage t-shirts. People want them but the t-shirt spammers are relentless and we don’t want them in our group. But let’s be honest… the selection out there for alpha-1 t-shirts is terrible! And awareness and encouragement and fun are all important. We think we may have come up with a solution…
We have set up an account through TeePublic. They are a service that allows artists to upload their designs to their store and then the public can buy them on t-shirts, mugs, etc. They handle all the purchasing and shipping and customer service, we just provide the artwork. Artists are paid anywhere from $2-5 per shirt (so not much) and our idea is to take any money made each month and send it to the Alpha-1 Foundation or one of the other international organizations to support research and programs for Alphas. We will post those amounts, along with receipts, in the group on a regular basis so everyone can see.
Our goal in this is not so much the fundraiser aspect… it’s really just to have a fun way to provide shirts (and all sorts of other merchandise… sweatshirts, mugs, phone cases, etc.) that everyone can enjoy, wear for awareness and feel a part of the process without allowing the spammers into our group.
If you have an idea for a t-shirt (whether that is just a concept or a full design) send it to us here and we will try to get it up on the site for anyone to buy and wear with pride. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Here is the link to our store: https://www.teepublic.com/user/a1adsupport