Activewear & Performance T-Shirts — China Stock

Polyester knit is hydrophobic: it moves moisture to the surface instead of holding it in the fibre, which is what "quick-dry" means in practice. It also does not shrink like cotton, so a size chart taken from a cotton tee will be wrong on a performance body.

For decoration the difference is bigger. Polyester takes sublimation into the fibre, giving a permanent full-colour print with no hand feel. It will not take discharge, and plastisol on polyester needs a low-cure ink or it will crack — the fabric surface is smoother and the ink does not key into it the same way.

The deep-neck gym tee is a relaxed athletic cut with a wider neck opening. The muscle tee drops the sleeve to a cap and widens the armhole so the arm is free. The compression style is a close-fitting knit with high stretch, cut to sit tight across the chest and shoulders.

Compression is the one that gets returned most often, because buyers size it like a t-shirt. Ask for the flat-lay chest measurement and the stretch percentage, and tell customers to size up if they are between sizes.

Activewear sits at $4.35–$7.15 FOB depending on the cut and tier. Because the fabric is polyester, an all-over sublimated print costs no more in ink than a two-colour one — the cost follows the printed area. That is often the cheapest way to get a complex team or event design onto a performance body.

MOQ is 100 pieces per style and colour, with the usual tier steps at 300 and 600 pieces.