Independent Trading Co. IND4000Z Unisex Heavyweight Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt

The Independent Trading Co. IND4000Z Heavyweight Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt is the full-zip version of ITC's flagship heavyweight pullover. It's got the same 10 oz of 70/30 ring-spun cotton/polyester, the same 100% cotton face, the same fleece-lined hood, and even the same double-needle split-stitch construction. The difference is the zipper: a #5 nickel zipper running the full length of the front, which turns the IND4000 from a pullover into a layering piece you can throw on over a tee and unzip when the day warms up! 

Why a full-zip is a different product, not just an extra option

It sounds obvious, but the shape changes how the hoodie gets worn. As we say at bulkthreads.com, the pullover hoodie is a commit: once you put it on, it stays on until you're ready to pull it off over your head! A full-zip is a layering piece. You can wear it open over a tee or button-down, half-zipped on a cool morning, fully zipped when it's actually cold. For day-to-day wear (which is what most retail merch is bought for), that flexibility matters. It's why retail brands carry both, and why we'd nudge anyone running a merch line for a brewery, a band, or a real-estate office to think about ordering the IND4000Z alongside (or instead of) the pullover.

The other thing the zipper does: it gives you a different decoration story. Full-zip hoodies are commonly decorated with embroidery on the left chest and a name or logo across the back yoke, because that's how they wear when they're zipped up. Pullovers more often carry a center-front graphic. So if your design lives on the chest and back, the full-zip is the cleaner canvas.

The fabric and construction (same as the pullover, for the record)

The IND4000Z runs 10 oz/yd² (16.7 oz/L yd) in a 70/30 ring-spun cotton/polyester blend with a 3-end fleece construction and a 100% cotton face at 32 singles. That means the surface you see and decorate is pure cotton, which keeps it from looking plasticky and helps print and embroidery sit cleanly. The interior brushed fleece carries the polyester for shape retention and pill resistance. Heather colors shift to 52/48 cotton/poly; Forest Camo runs 75/25 cotton/poly. These shifts are normal across this color range and don't meaningfully change how the hoodie prints.

The construction details carry over from the pullover, which is the whole point. The hood is fleece-lined. Seams are split-stitch double-needle across the shoulders, hood, and side seams (the stitching pattern that keeps the seams from giving out after a season of real wear). The hood drawcord runs through nickel eyelets, not plastic ones, which is the small detail that keeps the cord from blowing out the front of the hood the first time someone yanks on it. Twill neck tape covers the back-of-neck seam for a finished interior. The 1x1 ribbing at cuffs and waistband is a tighter knit than the body fabric, which is what holds the shape after wash cycles. Fit is generous, sitting on the relaxed side rather than slim.

The zipper itself is worth a closer look. It's a #5 nickel kissing zipper, which is the size and style you'd find on a retail full-zip hoodie. "Kissing" just means the two zipper halves meet flush when closed (rather than overlapping under a placket). #5 is the standard mid-weight zipper gauge, big enough to feel substantial in the hand without looking oversized. Nickel hardware ties the zipper to the matching nickel eyelets at the hood, which is one of those small consistency details that quietly reads as quality.

Decoration

The 100% cotton face does the heavy lifting here, same as on the pullover: screen-printed inks bond cleanly, embroidery sits flat on the structured surface, and DTG works thanks to the cotton substrate (though the 10 oz body means longer pretreatment dry times than a lighter blank). For the IND4000Z specifically, the two most common decoration setups are left-chest embroidery (which reads cleanly when the hoodie is zipped up and looks intentional when it's open) and back-yoke or center-back screen prints, which read across the back regardless of zip position.

One thing to think through with full-zips: a center-front graphic gets cut down the middle by the zipper. That's fine if the graphic is intentional about it (split-design hoodies are a real streetwear move), but if you're carrying a logo over from a pullover design, the chest-and-back placement reads better. Worth talking through with your decorator before committing to a large order.

(Want us to handle the decoration? Send your logo for custom screen printing, embroidery, or DTF transfers.)

The IND4000 family

The IND4000Z is the full-zip leg of a coordinated heavyweight trio. The IND4000 Heavyweight Pullover Hoodie is the original, same 10 oz 70/30 fabric in a pullover silhouette. The IND3000 Heavyweight Crewneck brings the same construction into a hoodless crewneck for buyers who'd rather not have a hood at all. Running the three together (pullover, full-zip, crewneck) gives you a complete heavyweight set across one decoration setup, which is what a brewery or boutique might want when they're building out a year-round merch line.

If you want a step heavier, the IND5000P Legend Premium Heavyweight Cross-Grain Hoodie sits at 13.5 oz with a cross-grain weave (yarns running in alternating directions for extra structure). It's the heaviest hoodie in the ITC catalog and the closest wholesale blank to a true gym-weight or heritage-weight retail fleece.

Questions buyers ask

Is the IND4000Z just the IND4000 with a zipper?

The fabric and construction are identical. The difference is the silhouette, and that genuinely changes how the hoodie wears day to day. A full-zip layers easier, opens for cooling down, and decorates differently (chest-and-back rather than center-front). For retail-style merch, plenty of buyers actually prefer the full-zip to the pullover because of how it wears. If you can only stock one, the call is which silhouette your customer is more likely to reach for.

What kind of zipper does it use?

A #5 nickel kissing zipper. #5 is the standard mid-weight gauge (substantial in the hand but not oversized), kissing means the two halves meet flush when closed, and nickel matches the nickel eyelets at the hood for visual consistency. It's the zipper you'd see on a retail full-zip hoodie in the $60+ range.

Will a center-front graphic work, or does the zipper mess it up?

The zipper does cut down the middle of a center-front graphic. If the design is symmetric, sometimes it works (split-zipper graphics are a real streetwear thing), but more often, the chest-and-back placement reads better on a full-zip. We'd recommend talking it through with your decorator before committing to a large run, especially if the graphic is detailed.

How does the IND4000Z compare to a Gildan 18600 full-zip?

Different tier of fleece. The Gildan 18600 is 8 oz 50/50 cotton/poly with a plastic zipper, built for the budget end of the market. The IND4000Z is 10 oz 70/30 with a 100% cotton face, a #5 nickel kissing zipper, fleece-lined hood, twill neck tape, and the rest of the ITC construction package. The 18600 wins on lowest unit price. The IND4000Z wins on every aspect of construction, hand feel, and finished retail-product feel. It comes down to whether the buyer is optimizing for cost or for end-customer experience.

Is it WRAP-certified like the pullover?

Yes. The IND4000Z is made in a WRAP-certified facility (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), which is the apparel industry's primary certification for ethical and lawful production. For ESG-conscious buyers, corporate gifting, or university merch, the WRAP credential is worth pointing at.

Order the Independent Trading IND4000Z Heavyweight Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt blank or fully custom decorated, with automatic bulk discounts at checkout, 1 to 3 day shipping, and free returns. Browse the full Independent Trading Co. collection or all wholesale hoodies and fleece.