Red Nose Day T-Shirts: Custom Printing for Schools, Workplaces and Fundraisers

Red Nose Day is run by Comic Relief every two years in the spring, and each time thousands of schools, offices, clubs and families look for something to wear that makes the day feel organised rather than improvised. A custom T-shirt printed with your group's name, a funny slogan or a fundraising total gives everyone a shared look, makes collection tins easier to approach, and produces a photograph that people actually want to post. FabricForge prints in-house from a single item upwards, so a class of thirty and a team of five are equally straightforward.

Why custom shirts help a fundraiser

People give more readily to a group that looks like it knows what it is doing. When twenty colleagues turn up in matching tops, the event feels official, passers-by recognise it and the fundraising page gets shared. A printed shirt also solves the problem of the forgotten costume: nobody needs to find a red nose or a themed outfit on the morning, because the garment itself is the costume. For schools, it keeps the day inclusive, since children who cannot afford or arrange an elaborate outfit are not left out.

Slogans and designs that work

Comic Relief's own branding is protected, so a design should make a point of the group's identity rather than copying official artwork. We print the artwork you provide, and we cannot supply logos you do not have the right to use. These ideas stay safely your own:

• The group name with a joke. "Year 4 Do Funny Things", "Accounts Dept: No Laughing Matter", "The Lunchtime Supervisors Go Red".
• A fundraising target on the back. A simple line such as "Help us reach our goal" with your page address in neat text, which turns each wearer into a walking poster.
• A team list. Names across the back like a sports shirt, which also helps staff and children recognise each other.
• A dare or challenge. If your event includes a sponsored silence, a sponsored run or a baking contest, name it on the shirt.
• Red and white colour blocks. Using the day's colours without using official logos keeps the look right.

Choosing the garment and colour

Red is the obvious colour, and we have it among our 14 colours, though white garments with red lettering look equally strong and are easier for kids to keep clean. A T-shirt is the usual choice. A hoodie works if your event is outdoors or in a cold hall. Sizes run from S to 5XL in men's and women's cuts, with an oversized fit from S to 3XL, and children's sizes cover 3 to 16, so a whole school can be covered with one order.

Organising a school order

School orders have more moving parts than most. A teacher or office manager normally collects sizes, handles parent payments and communicates with us. A few steps reduce the pain:

1. Pick the wording with the head teacher or fundraising lead before any parent letter goes out.
2. Send parents a size chart, with a simple form for each child's name and size.
3. Collect the totals into one list by size so we can quote the full order.
4. Set a firm closing date for late forms, after which new requests go in a second small order.
5. Share the mockup with the staff group so errors are caught before printing.

For wider guidance on school orders, see bulk school printing, and for charities generally see charity T-shirt printing.

Workplace and club fundraisers

Offices tend to run Red Nose Day around a lunchtime event or a dress-down day. A printed shirt turns a dress-down day into an event. Keep the artwork simple so it can be worn again on a normal day. For clubs and teams, such as a running club or a darts team, a shirt that doubles as sponsorship publicity can attract donations from outside the usual circle. See charity fundraising T-shirt printing for more on how groups use them.

Ordering

1. Message us on WhatsApp, email or phone with a rough quantity and your date.
2. Send your artwork as a PNG or PDF. We do not design from scratch, but we resize and tweak layouts.
3. We confirm the details, quote the order and take payment.
4. You approve a mockup, with up to five rounds of changes.
5. We print and dispatch, and UK delivery can be next-day after approval.

Planning backwards from the day

Because Red Nose Day moves between spring dates in different years, check the official date before fixing your order timeline. Then count back. Leave time for delivery, for printing and for the mockup. Then leave time before that for the wording to be agreed, and before that for the collection of sizes. The steps people underestimate are the size collection and the approval of the wording. A well-organised order starts three or four weeks before the event, even though printing itself is quick.

What to do with leftover shirts

Fundraisers sometimes sell any spares to staff and parents who missed the deadline, which adds to the total. Order a small buffer of common sizes, but not so many that you carry unsold stock. The other option is to take late requests in a separate small batch.

Care instructions for kids' shirts

Children's clothing takes a beating, so give parents a note on care: wash inside out at a cool temperature, avoid a hot dryer, and do not iron directly over the print. Our care guide sets it out.

Designing for a Mixed Crowd

A fundraiser draws all kinds of people, from nursery children to retired volunteers, so the design has to read clearly at a distance and look right on every body type. Choose a bold typeface and a high-contrast colour pair. White on red and black on white are the two combinations that work for almost everybody. Avoid pale pastel lettering on a mid-tone shirt, because it fades in photographs. Lines of text should be short enough to read at a glance: three or four words are plenty.

Pairing Shirts with Other Fundraising Ideas

A shirt is the uniform for the day, and the activities are what raise the money. Typical events include a sponsored silence, a bake sale, a talent show, a staff-versus-pupils match and a quiz night. The shirt can carry the name of the event, which makes it feel more official. If you are organising something with several parts, give each team its own colour so the groups are easy to recognise. Our events guide explains how groups use printed tops across a day.

What to Check on the Mockup

For fundraising shirts, the mockup is your last chance to catch mistakes. Check the spelling of the group's name, the web address of any donation page, the size and position of the design and the colour of the garment. Ask a second person to read it aloud. Errors in a web address are the hardest to spot and the most costly, because they send donors to the wrong place. If any detail is unclear, tell us and we will revise it before printing.

Keeping Costs Fair for Families

Schools are often concerned about families who cannot afford another expense. Many schools meet this by making the shirt voluntary, by subsidising part of the cost from the fundraising pot, or by letting children wear a plain red top instead. We quote the full order together and can split sizes however you need, so the school can decide how to handle payment. Speak to us if you want advice on organising this fairly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you print the official Red Nose Day logo?

No. The official branding is protected, so we print your own design and wording. Use the colours and theme without the official artwork.

Is there a minimum order?

No. You can order a single shirt or hundreds.

Can I order different sizes in one go?

Yes. Mix children's and adult sizes in one order and send a list by size.

Can we put a QR code on the back?

A clear, high-contrast code can be printed, but it needs to be large enough to scan. Test the code on a printout before sending the file.

What if a child joins late?

Late requests can go into a second small batch. Tell us early so we can plan.

See also group orders, ordering and delivery and the quote form.