Sweatshirt colour: the safe bets for a group order

Sweatshirt colour: the safe bets for a group order

For a group order, the safest sweatshirt colours are navy, black, burgundy, heather grey and ecru. They suit everyone, and by alternating the colours of the sweatshirt and the logo, two colourways are enough to make a real collection.

The essentials in 4 points:

• The safe bets for a group sweatshirt: navy, black, burgundy, heather grey and ecru.
• Alternation makes the collection: an ecru sweatshirt with a navy logo next to a navy sweatshirt with an ecru logo, and one pair of colours gives two colourways that answer each other.
• In screen printing, the sweatshirt colour changes the bill: printing a one-colour logo comes to around €2.50 excl. VAT per coloured sweatshirt for 50 units, against around €1.50 on a white one (our prices for the marking alone, checked on 1 October 2026, indicative and subject to change).
• One or two colours are enough, and several colours of the same sweatshirt, with the same marking, count together for the quantity price.

Every group order hits the same question one day, posted in the WhatsApp group: "which colour are we going for?". Ten minutes later there are twelve suggestions, three camps, and nobody has looked at what the colour changes to how the logo looks or to the budget.

A sweatshirt colour for a group is not chosen the way you choose one for yourself. It has to suit very different people, make the logo stand out and stay within the budget of the whole order. Here are the colours that work everywhere, the ones that tell your identity, and what each choice changes in practice.

The safe bets: navy, black, burgundy, heather grey, ecru

The safest sweatshirt colours for a group order are navy, black, burgundy, heather grey and ecru: four neutrals and one deep colour, which suit every style, go with any pair of trousers and leave the spotlight to the logo.

• Navy: the most versatile of the five, serious without being dull, as comfortable in a meeting as in the stands.
• Black: the most urban, the one that best brings out a light logo.
• Burgundy: the warm colour of campuses and clubs, which adds character without overdoing it.
• Heather grey: the sport and campus feel, low-key for everyday wear.
• Ecru: the warm light neutral, softer than white.

Our Inspirations collections build on these bases: Club House plays navy and ecru, Campus pairs burgundy with cream and grey with navy. To choose the model itself, our comparison of the best sweatshirts to personalise reviews the range.

Which sweatshirt colour for your group?

The colour of a group sweatshirt also depends on who will wear it, and where they will wear it.

• A company: a neutral for the sweatshirt, the brand colour in the logo, for an outfit people also wear outside the office.
• A club: the club colours, on the sweatshirt or in the logo, so the team recognises itself in the stands.
• A student union (BDE): the school colours, as we advise in our guide to designing your BDE logo.
• An event, a crew, volunteers: a bright colour that can be spotted from a distance in a crowd.

The logo has to stand out on the chosen colour

For the logo to stand out, choose a sweatshirt that contrasts with it: dark for a light logo, light for a dark logo. A white or ecru logo reads from a distance on a navy, black or burgundy sweatshirt; a navy or black logo stands out on ecru or heather grey. Two colours that are too close, such as a navy logo on a black sweatshirt, are only readable up close: before settling the sweatshirt colour, look at the colour of the logo that will go on it.

Alternation: swapping the colours of the sweatshirt and the logo

Alternation means swapping the colours of the sweatshirt and the logo from one garment to the next: an ecru sweatshirt with a navy logo, a navy sweatshirt with an ecru logo. With a single pair of colours, the order offers two colourways that answer each other, and the group looks dressed by a brand rather than by a last-minute order.

The pairs that work best start from a safe bet:

• Ecru and black: the sharpest contrast, the streetwear feel.
• Ecru and navy: softer, the club and seaside feel.
• Burgundy and cream: the campus feel of our Campus collection, to swap with a cream sweatshirt and a burgundy logo.
• Ecru and forest green: the club and outdoors feel, when green is the group's colour.

It is the advice we give every group, from the club to the young brand: everyone picks their colourway, and the collection keeps a single identity. This works best with a logo in a single colour: our article on the logo of a clothing brand explains why a one-colour logo often looks better, and costs less to print. The basket shows the exact price of each combination, sweatshirt and logo, before you order.

What the sweatshirt colour changes to the price

In screen printing, the sweatshirt colour changes the price of the marking: a one-colour logo comes to around €2.50 excl. VAT per coloured sweatshirt for 50 units, against around €1.50 on a white sweatshirt. At 100 units the gap narrows, to around €1.50 against €1 (our prices for the marking alone, checked on 1 October 2026, indicative and subject to change).

At 50 units, the price grid on our screen printing page shows it clearly: a one-colour logo on a coloured sweatshirt costs the same as a two-colour logo on a white one.

The second effect is on the garment: some colours and larger sizes cost a little more from the brand. The extra charge is shown on the product page as soon as you select them, before you order.

How many colours to offer in the same order?

For a group order, one or two sweatshirt colours are enough:

• One colour: the strongest team effect, and the simplest size collection.
• Two colours: everyone gets a choice, without the order scattering, especially when the two colourways alternate the logo colours.
• Beyond that: each extra colour adds its own list of sizes to collect and check.

Offering several colours does not cost you the quantity price: for the same sweatshirt with the same marking, our product pages work out the price tier on the total, as the FAQ of our BDE logo guide details.

A trend colour has its place as an accent or in a limited run; the base of the order remains a neutral. To build a range over several seasons with a base colour, a character colour and an accent, our article on trend colours sets out the method.

White or ecru: which light colour to choose?

White is the cheapest colour to screen print on, but it is also the one that shows stains fastest: on a sweatshirt worn every day, the difference soon shows. Ecru keeps the brightness of a light sweatshirt with a warmer tone that is more forgiving.

For an evening or gala sweatshirt worn a few times, white remains a fine choice. For an everyday sweatshirt, ecru or a dark neutral will age better.

Getting the same colour on the next order

A conventionally dyed colour can be reordered in a very consistent shade, which matters for a team that welcomes new members during the year. Sweatshirts dyed after making, with a washed look, vary slightly from one sweatshirt to the next: it is intentional, as our Heritage Arc collection points out, but best avoided if the new sweatshirts have to blend into the series.

Seeing the colour and the price before ordering

In the designer, you place the logo on the sweatshirt and judge the result before ordering. The basket then breaks down the price of every size, every colour and every marking before payment: a colour or large-size extra charge shows up before you order, never on the invoice.

To judge a shade in real life before the full run, a blank sweatshirt can be ordered from a single unit.

Key takeaways

• For a group, start from the safe bets: navy, black, burgundy, heather grey or ecru.
• Alternate the colours of the sweatshirt and the logo: an ecru one with a navy logo, a navy one with an ecru logo.
• The identity colour, that of the club, the school or the brand, comes in as an accent, on the sweatshirt or in the logo.
• In screen printing, a coloured sweatshirt costs more to print than a white one.
• One or two colours are enough; several colours of the same sweatshirt, with the same marking, keep the price of the total quantity.
• For the most consistent restock possible, choose a conventional colour over a washed one.