Branded t-shirts — corporate merch in the UAE
Custom t-shirts for GITEX booth crews, ADIPEC delegate packs, ENBD sports days and Aldar community events. Combed cotton 180 gsm and ring-spun 220 gsm, screen print, DTG and DTF, MOQ 50 units, 8–12 working days.
Why a GITEX booth crew t-shirt is not a GITEX give-away t-shirt
A 40-person booth crew at Dubai World Trade Centre walks the concourse for 10 hours, sweats through the first three, and gets photographed at the stand reception. The tee needs shoulder-to-shoulder taping, side-seamed construction, double-needle hems and a 180 gsm combed-cotton body that holds shape after the first 30°C wash. A give-away tee handed out at the same show is different — 150 gsm open-ended, single colour screen print, packed 50 per polybag. Both have their place, but they aren't interchangeable. We've done 5,000-piece booth-crew orders, 10,000-piece give-away waves and 200-piece limited drops for the Louvre Abu Dhabi member events.
Three SKUs for the three main UAE use cases
The Atlas 180 is the workhorse — 100% combed ring-spun cotton, 180 gsm, side-seamed, taped neck and shoulders, double-needle sleeves and hem. AED 22 at 100 units, AED 17 at 500. The Atlas 220 is the premium upgrade — 220 gsm, slightly heavier drape, suiting photography. AED 32 at 100, AED 26 at 500. The Atlas Recycled is the sustainability story for the Aldar and Emaar ESG programmes — 60% recycled cotton / 40% recycled polyester (GRS-certified), 200 gsm. AED 38 at 100, AED 31 at 500.
Print method depends on artwork, not on what's cheapest
Plastisol screen print is the default for the GITEX and ADIPEC booth-crew orders — opaque, durable, fast on cotton, hits a per-colour screen cost of AED 120 with a half-second per-shirt production rate. Water-based discharge ink is for the dark-tee give-aways where the print needs to feel like fabric (essential for the ENBD marathon finisher tee, where the runner is in it for three hours). DTG (direct-to-garment) is for photographic artwork under 50 shirts — common for the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Alserkal Avenue member drops, where every tee is different. DTF (direct-to-film) is the budget hybrid for runs of 50–200 with multi-colour artwork at AED 8 per print area.
Packing for hot staging and retail display
Booth-crew tees ship in 25-piece polybags with a sizing strip printed on the bag for fast distribution at the venue. Give-away tees for retail-ready distribution fold into a belly-band sleeve with a size sticker. Pre-pack for ADNOC and ENBD staff rolls ship in 50-piece carton packs with the recipient's site code on the outer. Each tee carries the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tag for fabric safety.
MOQ, lead times and AED pricing
Standard MOQ is 50 units (Atlas 180 and Atlas 220), 30 for the Atlas Recycled. Plastisol-print orders under 250 pieces ship in 8 working days; 250–1,000 in 10 days; runs over 1,000 with DTG artwork in 12–14 days. Pricing in AED, VAT 5% added on the FTA EmaraTax e-invoice. Sample tee with logo printed ships in 4 working days; sample cost credited at 200+ unit orders.
UAE context — what drives the demand
GITEX Global in October and ADIPEC in November are the two largest single-week peaks. Dubai Marathon in January, the Dubai World Cup in March and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November drive event-crew and finisher drops. ESG-aligned tees for Aldar's Saadiyat residency launch, Emaar Misiano and Alserkal Avenue member programmes run year-round. The Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Museum of the Future have an ongoing member-gift programme that rotates quarterly. We hold the Atlas 180 in S–XXL at our Jebel Ali warehouse year-round.
Frequently asked questions
What GSM survives the GITEX booth-crew 30°C wash cycle and the long-day sweat pattern?
180 gsm minimum. Below that, the cotton pills at the cuff and the side seam twists by wash five. The Atlas 180 with taped neck and shoulders holds shape past 50 wash cycles at 40°C; the 150 gsm promotional tee is finished by wash 12.
Can you do a full DTG print on a dark tee for the Louvre Abu Dhabi member drop?
Yes. DTG on the Atlas 220 in heather black or charcoal. We pre-treat the print area with a white undercoat to keep the colour saturation. Max print area 30 × 40 cm. MOQ 30, lead time 10 working days for runs under 100.
Do you do sizes XS to 3XL?
Yes, all three SKUs. XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, 3XL are all cut on the same spec; the women's cut in the same fabrics is the Atlas Lady 180 at the same per-unit price, MOQ 50. We can mix sizes freely on any order above 100 pieces.
What's the per-shirt carbon footprint of the Atlas Recycled versus the Atlas 180?
The Atlas Recycled runs about 4.2 kg CO₂e per shirt against 7.8 kg for the Atlas 180, sourced from the supplier's published LCA. We include the CO₂e figure on the swing tag for ESG reporting at no extra cost.
Can you print a chest number on the back for the Dubai Marathon finisher tees?
Yes. Number print on the back is included in the Atlas DTU per-shirt price for runs of 200+ numbered pieces. Lead time is 12 working days from the runner list. We hold the Atlas 220 in white at our warehouse year-round for this programme.
Is the OEKO-TEX 100 tag included by default or a premium?
Included by default on all three Atlas SKUs. The tag is sewn into the side seam at the hem; it's standard for UAE hospitality and a hard procurement requirement for the ENBD, FAB and ADCB programmes.
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