Tultex: Affordable Quality. Diverse Range.

Tultex: Soft Retail-Quality Blanks at a Value Price Point

Tultex covers a specific niche in the wholesale market: soft, ring-spun retail-style blanks at a price point closer to the basic-tier brands than to, say, Bella+Canvas or Next Level. For screen-print shops and merch lines who need a tee that prints clean and feels good  without paying the premium for the top-tier retail brands, Tultex may be your best bet. Tultex's lineup centers on fabric families rather than garment type, since decorators tend to choose Tultex by fabric (Fine Jersey for soft retail feel, Poly-Rich for moisture management, Heavyweight for substantial hand) and then pick the right cut from there. 

Fine Jersey: The Retail-Soft Cotton Family

Fine Jersey is Tultex's flagship fabric and the reason most decorators reach for the brand. The construction uses USA-grown ring-spun cotton in a tight, lightweight knit that prints cleanly and feels closer to a Bella+Canvas 3001 than to a basic Gildan 5000, at a meaningful price difference. The Tultex 202 Unisex Fine Jersey Tee is the line's center of gravity — the unisex short-sleeve that most programs build around. The 202LS Long Sleeve covers the matched long-sleeve. The 235 Youth Fine Jersey brings the same fabric into youth sizing for matched family-program runs.

The women's Fine Jersey cuts give programs a real choice on fit. The 213 Women's Slim Fit is the fitted boutique cut. The 216 Women's Classic Fit is the relaxed cut that more buyers prefer for general-purpose women's programs. The 214 Women's V-Neck covers the V-neck silhouette. For specialty Fine Jersey, the 246 Unisex Ringer Tee brings the contrast-trim ringer back into the catalog, and the 245 Unisex Fine Jersey Raglan covers the baseball-tee silhouette. The S105 Unisex Fine Jersey Tank is the matched tank.

Poly-Rich: The Performance Blend Family

Poly-Rich is Tultex's polyester-cotton blend that delivers more moisture management and a softer hand than basic 50/50 cotton-poly. It's the right pick for athletic programs, summer event runs, and any decoration program that wants the brighter heather color options that polyester-rich blends deliver. The 241 Unisex Poly-Rich Tee anchors the line, with the 242 Long Sleeve and the 265 Youth Poly-Rich covering long-sleeve and youth.

The women's Poly-Rich cuts cover multiple silhouettes from a single fabric base. The 240 Women's Poly-Rich Crew is the standard crew, the 244 Women's V-Neck covers the V-neck, and the 243 Women's Scoop Neck covers the scoop. The 207 Men's Poly-Rich V-Neck is the men's V-neck. The 190 Women's Racerback Tank brings the fabric into a fitness-style tank silhouette.

Premium Cotton: The Heavier Retail Tier

Premium Cotton is Tultex's upgraded combed ring-spun cotton line, sitting between Fine Jersey and the Heavyweight family. The fabric reads more substantial than Fine Jersey while keeping the soft retail hand. The 502 Men's Premium Cotton and 516 Women's Premium Cotton cover the all-cotton tier. The 541 Men's Premium Cotton Blend and 542 Women's Premium Cotton Blend add a polyester component for heather color depth and reduced shrinkage. The 602 Combed Cotton Tee and 602CVC Combed CVC are the unisex options at this tier, with the CVC version delivering the deeper heather palette that all-cotton can't reach.

Tri-Blend: The Soft Heathered Hand

For programs that want the soft, lived-in feel and heathered look that triblend fabrics deliver, the Tultex tri-blend pair gives buyers a unisex-cut and fitted-cut option in matched fabric. The 254 Men's Tri-Blend and 253 Women's Tri-Blend use a poly/cotton/rayon construction at a price point well below the comparable Bella+Canvas and Next Level triblends, which makes the line useful for decoration programs that want the triblend aesthetic without the premium-brand markup.

Heavyweight: The Substantial-Hand Family

For programs where the tee needs a substantial weight and structured drape (streetwear-adjacent merch, garment-dye programs, anywhere a thin retail tee feels too soft), the Heavyweight family runs at a noticeably heavier hand than Fine Jersey or Premium Cotton. The 290 Unisex Heavyweight Jersey is the line's anchor, with the 291 Long Sleeve and 293 Pocket Tee covering long-sleeve and pocket variants. The 299 Heavyweight Street Tee brings the streetwear-cut version with a more boxed silhouette suited to drop-cut graphic programs.

Fleece, Polo, and Specialty

The fleece line covers the standard hoodie and crew tier. The 320 Unisex Fleece Pullover Hoodie is the workhorse, the 331 Full-Zip Hoodie is the matched zip, the 340 Crewneck covers the crewneck silhouette, and the 320Y Youth Hoodie matches the adult 320 for coordinated family-program runs. The 260 Beach Full-Zip Hooded Long Sleeve Tee is a lighter-weight hooded zip-up suited to coastal, resort, and warm-climate lifestyle programs.

For corporate and uniform programs, the 400 Men's 50/50 Sport Pique Polo covers the polo slot at the same value-tier price positioning as the rest of the line.

All Tultex styles ship same day via UPS Ground and typically arrive in 1 to 3 business days. Automatic volume discounts apply at checkout (no codes required), and free returns are included on every order. Related collections: Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Gildan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Tultex compare to Bella+Canvas, Next Level, and Gildan?

Tultex sits between the basic-tier brands (Gildan, Hanes, Fruit of the Loom) and the retail-quality blanks (Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Allmade) in both price and feel. Compared to Gildan, Tultex tees are noticeably softer, use ring-spun cotton, and read closer to a retail garment. Compared to Bella+Canvas 3001 or Next Level 3600, Tultex is generally less refined in fabric and finish but priced well below those brands. For decoration programs that want a soft retail-style tee without paying the premium-brand markup, Tultex is the practical pick. For programs where the absolute softest hand and most refined finish matter (boutique merch, retail-positioned brands), Bella+Canvas or Next Level are the better picks.

What's the difference between Tultex Fine Jersey, Poly-Rich, Premium Cotton, and Heavyweight?

Four fabric families that cover different program needs. Fine Jersey is the lightweight ring-spun cotton workhorse — soft retail-style hand, best for decoration programs that want a Bella+Canvas-adjacent feel. Poly-Rich is the polyester-cotton performance blend — better moisture management, brighter heather color options, suited to athletic and summer programs. Premium Cotton is the upgraded heavier ring-spun cotton tier — substantial hand, suited to programs that want more weight than Fine Jersey delivers. Heavyweight is the substantial structured tier (290, 291, 293, 299) — closer to a streetwear-style hand, suited to drop-shoulder graphic merch and garment-dye programs.

Is the Tultex 241 a fine jersey tee?

No. The 241 is a Poly-Rich (polyester-cotton blend) tee, not a Fine Jersey. The actual unisex Fine Jersey tee is the 202. The two styles look similar in catalog listings but use different fabric constructions: the 241 is a polyester-rich blend with moisture management and brighter heather options, while the 202 is a ring-spun cotton fine-jersey knit with a softer retail hand. For programs deciding between them, the 202 is the right pick for cotton-feel decoration programs, and the 241 is the right pick for athletic, summer-event, or heather-color-driven programs.

Are Tultex tees good for screen printing and DTG?

Yes, across the line. Fine Jersey, Premium Cotton, and the cotton portions of the Heavyweight family take screen-print ink and DTG cleanly. Poly-Rich works for plastisol and water-based inks, with attention to dye migration on darker colors (a polyester underbase or low-bleed white can help). The Tri-Blend 253/254 work for screen print with attention to fabric stretch under the press. For DTG-heavy programs, Fine Jersey and Premium Cotton are the cleanest substrates in the lineup.

Do Tultex orders at Bulkthreads qualify for volume discounts?

Yes. Automatic volume discounts apply at checkout across all Tultex styles (no codes required). All orders ship same day and typically arrive in 1 to 3 business days, with free returns on every order.