No More Conference T-Shirts, Please!

In an unexpected fit of spring-cleaning, I went through my wardrobe getting rid of all my old conference t-shirts.

Hundreds of 'em! They're all covered in logos for companies which long-ago went bust, or for events which are no-longer running, and most have... errr... "shrunk" in the wash.

I know I'm a grumpy old sod. But I've a couple of serious points to make. T-shirts are wasteful, exclusionary, and a bit of a crap gift.

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

I've just recycled a whole sack of conference t-shirts.
BarCamps, GovCamps, Cons, trade shows, festivals. Is it time to retire the T as schwag?
I mean, let's not go for branded fidget spinners(!) but is there something more useful which can be given away?

♻👕👍

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Firstly, if you have spare cash at your conference - SPEND IT ON THE CONFERENCE! Make the tickets cheaper - or give them away to people who can't afford to come. Get better catering than stale sandwiches or soggy pizza. Reinvest it into the community. Pay your speakers.

Secondly, sponsors - I promise you that no one is buying your paradigm-shifting product because they wear your logo under their armpit.

Joshua Mouldey

@desire_line

Replying to @edent@edent Never understood the prevalence of giving away relatively ugly ill-fitting branded T-shirts at conferences (and I do like T-shirts on general).

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I've blogged before about how t-shirts can be exclusionary. I'm not alone in thinking this.

JennyList at mastodon dot social

@Jenny_Alto

Replying to @edent@edent @sallylepage @MLBrook Often the women's sizes are also only for tiny women.

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bob

@rjw1

Replying to @Jenny_Alto@Jenny_Alto @edent @sallylepage @MLBrook One of the reasons we didn't do tshirts for @DevOpsDaysLDN is because I've never been to a conference where any of the t-shirts would fit me. Even the ones we did just for us organizers didn't fit me.

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There's a side argument. When you attend the 2018 conference wearing the t-shirt from the 2015 conference, you're sending a message: "I belong and you're just a newbie." If you've ever been to a concert and seen a dude wearing a t-shirt from the band's original 1974 tour he's saying that he is a real fan - not like you Johnny-come-latelys.

Ewww.

Do you really want an unending supply of logo'd Ts? What can you possibly do with them all?

Dr. Inés Dawson 🔬🎥🏳️‍🌈

@InesLauraDawson

Replying to @edent@edent Youtube hoodies and jackets are the best. Old conference shirts are good for hair dying though

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Lee Porte

@leeporte

Replying to @edent@edent I tend to use them for painting, gardening, mechanical work etc

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Yeah, fair enough. But there's a limit to the number of times I can colour my hair while doing the gardening.

This is a serious problem!

Alternatives

OK, so you want to give away something. You need to bribe your participants into loving you. What can you distribute instead?

Suw

@Suw

Replying to @edent@edent Notebooks. You can never have too many notebooks. Not pens, though, because I have a million branded pens and they are all always shite.

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Jude Gibbons

@judeGibbons

Replying to @edent@edent Towels was a popular suggestion on a thread I read a while back.

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Of course, you don't need to give crap away to attendees.

Ian Oates

@IanOates

Replying to @edent@edent A Pi to a school? Costs about 4-6 printed t-shirts I think.

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Or, alternatively, turn those old shirts into a blanket.

quiltingshed.bsky.social

@andrea_r

WordCamp nap blanket for sale etsy.com/listing/488579… #genesiswp #WordPress #dradcast

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Check Your Privilege

I'm lucky. I can afford to buy my own clothes. And my body-shape is pretty well available at most retailers. I strut with the confidence of a mediocre white man and don't need to prove myself in the workplace by conspicuously displaying symbols of my in-group membership.

Am I wrong? Do you have a source of secret survey data showing how much conference attendees love free branded t-shirts?

Shove your thoughts in the comment hole below.