A statement shirt only works if it survives the laundry. That sounds obvious, but most printed tees die young for the same handful of reasons: hot water, a hot dryer, an iron dragged straight across the print, and a bottle of bleach somebody grabbed without reading the tag. The same goes for a soy candle, which can tunnel, smoke or sputter its way through a jar that should have given you fifty-plus hours. This is the care guide we wish came in the box, written around the Silence Is Not Neutral line, but everything here applies to every printed tee, hoodie, tote and candle we make.
How to wash a printed t-shirt so the print lasts
Start by turning it inside out. That one habit does more for a direct-to-garment print than anything else, because it keeps the printed surface from rubbing against zippers, buttons and the drum of the machine. Wash cold, on a normal or gentle cycle, with a mild detergent and no fabric softener. Softener leaves a coating that dulls the ink over time and makes the print feel stiff instead of soft. Skip chlorine bleach entirely; if you need to brighten a white tee like the Silence Is Not Neutral slim-fit tee, an oxygen-based brightener is fine on the fabric but keep it away from the design.
Drying is where most damage happens. Heat is what cracks a print, so tumble dry on low or, better, hang it. A tee pulled from the washer, given a shake and hung on a hanger will be dry by morning and the print will look the way it did on day one. If you must iron, do it inside out on a medium setting and never put the iron directly on the ink.
Expect the fabric itself to soften with each wash. That is the cotton relaxing, not the print failing. Ringspun cotton tees are printed to order in the USA, and the ink is cured into the fibers rather than sitting on top, so a well-cared-for shirt should look right for years of regular wear. If you are between sizes or wondering how much a tee will shrink, the measurements on our FAQ and size guide are taken after a first wash, so what you see there is what you will live with.
Hoodies and crewnecks: same rules, a little more patience
A fleece pullover like the Silence Is Not Neutral hoodie takes the same cold, inside-out wash. The difference is weight. Heavy fleece holds a lot of water, so if you hang it to dry, lay it flat for the first hour or drape it over two bars of a drying rack rather than hanging it by the shoulders, which can stretch the neckline. If you use the dryer, low heat and pull it out while it is still very slightly damp. Drawstrings get tied in a loose knot before washing so they do not disappear into the hood.
Keeping a canvas tote clean
A heavyweight canvas tote is built to be thrown around, but it is not built for the washing machine. Spot clean with a damp cloth and a little dish soap, working from the outside of a stain inward, and let it air dry. Do not bleach and do not machine dry, which can shrink the canvas unevenly and pucker the print. If a tote like the natural canvas Silence Is Not Neutral tote gets a full soaking, reshape it while it is damp, stuff it with a towel and let it dry standing up so the corners hold their shape.
Soy candle care: the first burn decides everything
Soy wax has a memory. The first time you light a candle, the wax melts outward from the wick, and wherever that melt pool stops is as far as the candle will ever melt again. Light it for twenty minutes and blow it out and you have taught it to tunnel, leaving a ring of unused wax around the edge for the rest of its life. So the first burn of a candle like the Silence Is Not Neutral soy candle should run long enough for the melt pool to reach the glass on every side, which in a 9oz jar is usually two to three hours.
After that, trim the cotton wick to about a quarter inch before every lighting. A long wick is what makes a candle flicker, smoke and blacken the rim of the jar. Keep each burn under four hours, keep the candle away from drafts, and stop lighting it when about half an inch of wax remains so the glass does not overheat. Our candles are hand-poured and assembled in the USA in a reusable glass jar, and once the wax is gone the jar cleans out with hot water and a little soap. Pop it in the freezer for an hour first and the last of the wax lifts out in one piece.
A few honest notes on wear
No printed garment is immortal. A tee worn and washed every week for two years will eventually show faint lines in the ink, especially across the chest where the fabric folds. That is normal for any direct-to-garment print, ours included, and following the steps above stretches that timeline a long way. What you should not see is peeling, flaking or a print that cracks in the first month. If that happens, it is a production problem and not a care problem, and we want to know about it. Shipping and returns are covered on the FAQ page.
If you are replacing a shirt that has seen a few too many hot washes, or adding a candle to the desk of someone who refuses to look away, the code SPEAKUP10 takes 10% off anything in the store. Everything ships from the USA, printed to order, so nothing sits on a shelf waiting for you to want it.
Related reading
Hoodie or Crewneck? covers which layer to buy in the first place, and What to Wear to a Protest covers what to do with it once you own it.