Product mockup

Plant Companionship sweatshirt

S / White
$45.00 USD
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Product mockup

Plant Companionship sweatshirt

$45.00 USD
Size
ColorWhite
Walt Whitman knew what was up. Plant companionship in America. He was writing in 1860 about growing things as the model for how people might live together.

His argument was that what holds a country together isn't laws, it's everyday bonds of friendship, solidarity, and mutual care, which must be grown, like a forest, not built or enforced.
Up to 75% of profits shared

25% of every sale of this piece goes to our partner community garden in the city it celebrates.

And 50% of our annual profits support even more gardens, plus the independent creators telling these stories with us.

Organic cotton, lower footprint

This is a midweight sweatshirt at 280 gsm, made from 80% organic cotton and 20% recycled polyester.The fleece inside is brushed soft, and the seams are flatlock stitched, which means they lie flat against you instead of rubbing. The fabric carries four certifications:

  1. GOTS — the cotton is certified organic, and it requires the mills that processed it to meet environmental limits on chemicals, water and waste. The people working there must have safe conditions, fair pay and the right to organise.
  2. GRS — the polyester is certified recycled, with the chain of custody tracked back to the source.
  3. OEKO-TEX — the finished fabric is free of harmful substances.
  4. PETA-Approved Vegan — no animal materials anywhere in it.

Little caveat: these labels only cover what goes into the fabric and how it's made, not the full footprint of the finished sweatshirt. We're working on getting those numbers, and we'll share them when we do.

Comfortable fit

A straight cut that sits at the hip with the shoulder seam sitting directly on the shoulder. It's somewhere between slouchy and fitted, a true medium fit, so if you want the oversized look go up at least one size.

The collar and sleeves have a fine, elastane-free rib (elastane often gives out because it wears down quickly with heat and washing).

Our photos are mockups. Here it is on an actual human →

Original artwork

We're three people who got deep into the stories of community gardens across America. Every design starts as a story we research together and ends as an artwork we make together, after an unreasonable amount of time spent on decisions no one else will ever notice.

Pick where your design goes

For products where placement is available, choose from the options above to have your design printed on the front or back, big or small (depending on the item). Embroidery is also available for some garments. Let your unique little snowflake shine.

Up to 50% of profits are shared

When you buy through a Collectives Creator’s link, 50% goes to them, supporting real people and initiatives, not ad platforms.

We also have City Can capsule, where an additional 25% of profits are donated to a community garden in that city.

Independently grown

We’ve taken no outside investment. We take what we need to run We Are Collectives, then share what's left with community initiatives.

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FAQs

Shipping + delivery

Returns + damaged items

Sizing + care

Production + profit

Where do you ship to?

The United States is our home market and most of our orders go there. We ship almost everywhere else too, with a small extra charge added at checkout to cover the longer journey. Customs and import fees are set by your country rather than by us, so we can't cover those.

How long does shipping take?

There are two parts to the wait. Your item gets printed after you order it, which takes two to five business days. Shipping then takes another three to four business days inside the US, or five to twenty business days everywhere else. A US order usually arrives about a week to a week and a half after you place it.

How much does shipping cost?

It depends on what you ordered and where you live, and the exact amount appears at checkout. We charge what our fulfillment partner charges us and we don’t mark it up. Sometimes an order ships from more than one location, which is why it can come out slightly higher.

We don't offer free shipping, for two reasons. A quarter of the gross profit on every city can design goes to that city's community garden. We also pay a meaningful share to the Collectives Creators who put these designs in front of people, which leaves our own margin thin and nothing spare to absorb postage with. The second reason is that we would rather be upfront about what a garment costs to move than fold it into the price and make it up elsewhere (by lowering the garment’s quality or cutting its sustainability practices).

Will my order arrive in separate parcels?

Occasionally, it will. Hats always travel on their own, because they can get crushed in a box with a folded tee. Items printed in different facilities also ship separately, and when that happens the packages can arrive a few days apart. Each one gets its own tracking link.

How do I track my order?

You'll get a tracking link by email as soon as your package leaves the print facility. If your order shipped in more than one package, you'll get a link for each.

What happens if my parcel is delayed?

Delivery windows are estimates and carriers have bad weeks. If your package is more than a few days past its estimate, email us at hello@wearecollectives.com with your order number and we'll chase the carrier. If it turns out to be genuinely lost, we'll reprint it or refund you, as long as you tell us within thirty days of the original delivery estimate.

Do I have to pay customs or import fees?

You might if you are outside the USA. Our fulfillment partner has all of our products available for fulfillment within the USA and only some of those products available for fulfillment within the EU and UK. If your order ships from a facility outside your country the amount varies by destination and order value, so we can't predict it or cover it. Our fulfillment partner routes every order to the facility nearest you.

Do you accept returns or exchanges?

We don't accept returns for a change of mind or for the wrong size. Your item is printed specifically for your order, so there's no warehouse to send it back to and no next customer waiting to buy it. Damaged and misprinted items are a different situation, and we'll always sort those out.

What if my item arrives damaged or misprinted?

We'll reprint it and send you a new one, or refund you, whichever you'd rather have. Email hello@wearecollectives.com within thirty days of delivery with your order number and a clear photo of the problem. You don't need to return the item to us.

What counts as a printing error or defect?

It covers a print that landed in the wrong place, or in the wrong colors, or on the wrong item as compared to that shown on the original order. It also covers a print that's cracked, warped or damaged, and any garment that arrives with a hole or a broken seam. What it doesn't cover is the small variation in color and placement that comes with printing things one at a time, which we go into further down this page. If you're not sure which one you're looking at, send us a photo and we'll take a look.

What if I ordered the wrong size?

We can't swap it, because the item was printed to order and there's nothing sitting on a shelf to swap it for. Please use the size guide on the product page before you order. If a garment turns out to be far off what the guide said, do tell us, because that means our guide may be wrong and we may need to fix it.

How long do refunds take?

We process refunds as soon as the claim is approved. After that it sits with your bank, which usually takes a few business days.

How do I choose my size?

Every product page has a size guide with the garment's actual measurements laid flat, in inches and centimeters. Measure a similar piece of clothing you already own and wear constantly, compare the chest and the length, then pick the size that matches. This works better than guessing from S, M and L, which mean different things on different blanks.

What if I'm between sizes?

Size up. Cotton shrinks slightly on the first wash. If you specifically want a fitted cut, size down and expect it to be snug.

How do I wash it so the print doesn't crack?

Wash it cold, inside out, on a gentle cycle. Ideally, hang it up to dry, or if you must, tumble dry on low. Skip the bleach and don't iron directly onto the print. The ink soaks into the fibers rather than sitting on top of them, so it holds up well, though hot water and a hot dryer will age it faster.

What does print on demand mean?

Nothing gets printed until somebody orders it. That means no warehouse of unsold tees getting discounted twice and then landfilled, which is where most of the waste in clothing actually happens. Your order is printed at the facility closest to your address and ships from there.

Why does production take a few days?

Your item doesn't exist yet when you order it. Printing it, letting it cure, checking it and packing it takes two to five business days, and then shipping starts. It's slower than ordering from a warehouse, and that's the trade-off for not having a warehouse.

Will the item look exactly like the photos?

It'll be close, but not identical. Each piece is printed individually, so placement can shift a little and colors can land a shade off. Your screen is also lying to you slightly, because no two displays render color the same way.

How do print placements work?

A print placement is simply where on the garment a design sits, whether that's across the front, on the back, or smaller over the chest. For each design, we choose the placements that suit that particular artwork, so what you see on the product page is the full set of options for that piece. Whatever you select is exactly how your piece is printed. If there's a placement you'd love to see that isn't listed, email us at hello@wearecollectives.com, we’re very open to your requests.

Can I change or cancel my order after placing it?

No, we can't. Orders go into production quickly and once printing has started there's nothing left to cancel. If you spot a mistake in your address, email us immediately and we'll try to catch it in time.

How does the garden money actually work?

Each of the six city can designs is tied to a named community garden in that city, and a quarter of the gross profit on that design goes to the garden it's named for.

Here's the math on a $45 sweatshirt not including shipping. Production and fulfillment take about $25, which leaves roughly $20 of gross profit. The garden's quarter of that is about $5. Our own quarter is exactly the same size. If a Collectives Creator sent you here, they take half of the gross profit, and that comes out of the three quarters that aren't the garden's. The garden's $5 stays $5 either way.

The other designs in the collection don't carry that quarter at the point of sale. What happens instead is that we share our year-end profits with the community gardens, a few other initiatives and some of the independent creators who help make all of this possible.

How do I become a Collectives Creator?

Collectives Creators are the people who put these designs in front of an audience, and they earn half the gross profit on the sales they bring in. That's money we're then not spending to advertise on tech platforms, which is deliberate. We'd rather commerce worked this way round, with the money going back to people and creators who already share what we're trying to do here.

Can I order a batch for my garden or my group?

Yes. If you're thinking about a large order, email hello@wearecollectives.com before you order rather than after, and we can look at a discount. It also helps us to know a large order is on its way.

Can't find what you're looking for? Send an email to hello@wearecollectives.com

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Questions, issues and unsolicited ideas are all welcome. There's no chatbot here, just Grant. He definitely has way more typos than a bot, but he's much better company.

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