The People's Choice - Vote now!

About My Business

Thread Project is a purpose-built apparel brand, designed from the ground up to support the unsung heroes of Aotearoa — the decorators, printers, small businesses, and everyday legends who keep the country running. We make premium blank gear — think tees, hoodies, and tote bags — that’s crafted specifically for the printing and embroidery industry. Our customers are the people behind the scenes: the screen printers, the embroiderers, and the makers who help everyone else get their brand out into the world. From sports clubs to coffee shops, from tradies to start-ups — they all need good gear that looks sharp and lasts. But the gear most people were using just didn’t cut it. It twisted. It shrank. It printed terribly. It wasn’t made for them — it was made for margin. So we decided to change that. Thread Project is a collaboration between a group of friends and industry veterans with decades of experience in design, textiles, manufacturing, and branding. We’ve sourced ethical makers in the places best suited to each product — like our cotton tees from Bangladesh — and we’ve obsessed over every detail: fit, fabric, durability, printability, and supply chain consistency. No gimmicks. No junk. Just really good gear that’s built to do the job properly. We also launched a Local Legends campaign — not to promote ourselves, but to support our customers by celebrating the people wearing their work: the café owner, the builder, the courier, the volunteer. These are the people we make gear for. And they deserve to be seen. Thread Project isn’t about hype. It’s about getting the basics right, supporting small businesses, and lifting the standards of an industry that’s often overlooked. We’re still small, but we’re growing — and we’re proud to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Whether you wear it, print it, or stitch it — if you believe in doing things properly, you’re our kind of people.

Why We Should Win The Peoples Choice Award

We know what you’re thinking. Blank t-shirts? Hoodies? Promo gear? How exciting can that really be? But here’s the thing — behind almost every small business in Aotearoa, there’s someone wearing printed gear. A courier in a hoodie. A barista in a branded tee. A volunteer in a hi-vis. A local legend doing the mahi, day in, day out. And behind them is someone who printed it. A decorator. A screen printer. An embroiderer. A small business working hard to make other businesses look sharp. That’s who we built Thread Project for. We’re not a fashion label. We’re not influencers. We’re a crew of people from inside the industry — designers, makers, printers, and brand builders — who saw how broken the system was, and decided to do something about it. We make better blank gear — stuff that prints clean, wears well, and lasts. No gimmicks. No shortcuts. Just thoughtful design, ethical production, and a whole lot of listening. But what makes Thread Project special isn’t just the product — it’s the people behind it. And the people we’ve built it for. We’ve created a model where: • Up to 40% of the business is owned by the industry — decorators and promo companies who’ve been shut out of the brands they help build. • 40% of our profits go back to our Certified Decorators — not big shareholders, not offshore investors. Real people, doing real work, in communities around the country. • Our marketing doesn’t hype us up — it shines a light on the Local Legends who wear our gear. People keeping the lights on, the coffees flowing, and the country moving. We’re a young business, only a few months into trading — but we’ve already partnered with ~80 decorators across NZ, created over 20 styles, and built a model that rewards the whole community, not just the top of the food chain. So why vote for Thread Project? Because we’re trying to do business better. Because we believe good gear can do good things. Because this isn’t just our win — it’s a win for the many small, hardworking businesses who print, stitch, wear, and rely on what we make. In a world full of Goliaths, we’re proud to be a rag-tag rebellion of many Davids. And with your vote, we’ll keep backing the people who make Aotearoa tick — one tee, one hoodie, and one legend at a time.