MajBob Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Greetings from Southern Maryland! Can anyone advise me of BSA policy regarding customized troop t-shirts? Our troop would like to have some made-up to be worn as a class B uniform shirt. Are there any published policies which limit or advise in any way? Is there a difference between class B uniform shirts and 'activity shirts'? Can we extend the t-shirt idea to sweatshirts? Neckerchives? Hats? I have seen all of the above worn by various troops at jamborees, scout nights, and other places/events. Are they all legit? They almost always look great! Also, is there a set of recommended sources who others have used, and who 'specialize' in boy scout shirts? We don't have a particular source here that we have used, although there are tons of them around - not sure that they have the appropriate logos and emblems in stock . . thanks! Bob Hendry Troop 908 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA_Scouter Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I don't know if BSA has a policy on this or not, but you are certain to receive some lively debate on the subject this forum! ( some people are absolutely mollified by using the term 'class B' ) :-) For our troop, we use a local t-shirt shop.. we are sponsered by a volunteer firefighter organization, and someone found a graphic of an old horse drawn fire truck, and we just added our troop number to that and that's our graphic. Yellow on a green background, very nice... Basically, there are plenty of ready-made graphics out there that any t-shirt shop should have access to, just use your imagination and find one that fits the style of your troop... I'm sure there are many variations of fleur-de-lys out there.. I would suggestion that after you have the master graphic made up, keep it in your possession in case you have to switch vendors or want to look for better prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greying Beaver Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Activity Uniform = Class "B" Uniform. Get the best quality t-shirts for the best price and the silkscreening for the logo. You want the t-shirt to be a bright color. Our troop wears the Class "B" t-shirt under the Class "A" uniform shirton the way to camp and activities. They take off the Class "A" when they arrive at camp or the acitivity. Simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevorum Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Yes, you can certainly make custom custom troop T-shirts, hats, neckerchiefs, sweatshirts, windbreakers, cargo shorts, boxers, tents, water bottles, pocket knives, anything you want! The hat and neckerchief may be designated as elements of your unit's field ('class A') uniform, and the T- shirts may be designated as part of the activity ('class B') uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emb021 Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Check out classb.com as a source for your unit's t-shirts, etc. Never used them myself, but know others who have. Might be ads from similiar companies in the back of Scouting. Also, don't overlook your local t-shirt company, especially if they've done shirts for other units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FScouter Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Special design neckerchiefs must be approved by the council. They must be the same size as the official BSA neckerchieves. Refer to the Insignia Guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunt Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 It has been suggested by others that if you intend to use a copyrighted BSA symbol on the shirt, that you should get approval of the design from your council. I don't know if anybody actually does this. It has also been suggested that if you want the shirt to qualify as part of the activity uniform, that it must include certain elements, such as "BSA" or the fleur-de-lis. I haven't seen any documentation of this, and believe that it's probably enough for the shirt to be scout-related. Most shirts I've seem make it pretty clear that it's a troop t-shirt. On the "Class A" and "Class B" thing, to make a very long story short, these are not actual BSA designations, but are (by and large) shorthand descriptions of the BSA "field" and "activity" uniforms. However, many troops have their own widely differing interpretations of what these terms mean (as well as Classes C through Z). You can scroll down and read many hundreds of posts about this elsewhere in this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FScouter Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Agreeing with Hunt. The BSA uniform is clearly defined in the publications. The a,b,c shorthand is defined 38+ different ways and they're all different depending on who is doing the definition d'jour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschwartz Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 We have gotten pack T-shirts, leader polo shirts, and pack ballcaps from classb.com and are 100% happy with them. They are extremely easy to work with, you preview the design, and the shirts and hats are good quality. I'd recommend them w/o hesitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleInKY Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 We went the local route on making our t-shirts and other items. We designed our own logo and have been very happy. The pack only has t-shirts, but the troop has t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts and fleece that the guys can purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleInKY Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Oh, and I have heard that about it requireing the fleur-de-lis or "BSA" for it to be considered an "official" activity uniform. Not sure if this is the case. I've never seen it in writing. Ours always has included it (it's part of our logo). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperParatus Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Bob, Consider having a troop logo design contest open to all scouts. Most boys are pretty good on the computer and can easily create a decent looking logo using scouting and other images that are readily available on the internet. We have had good success with these folks for t-shirts. They offer an on-line design/layout tool and turn around is a matter of days. http://www.customink.com/ Say hi to Louie Goldstein for me next time you see him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajBob Posted October 13, 2005 Author Share Posted October 13, 2005 Thanks to all of you who have provided valuable advice. I will present a summary of your ideas to the commetee when it meets next Tuesday. I continue to marvel at the incredible value of this forum, as well as the willingness of so many 'seasoned' members to share ideas with us 'greenhorns'. Thanks again. Cheers! Bob Hendry Troop 908 Southern Maryland (Zekiah District) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami the Mom Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 I have my B shirt from classb.com on right now. We loved ordering from them- so easy, and they were very helpful. We chose a stock design, put our pack number and town on it, and then just took orders from our families. We got short and long sleeve t-shirts, crew and hoody sweatshirts. Our troop has their own design as well. I love the class B's. We can support our pack whenever we want to wear them, and don't worry about ruining a $35 shirt. We're actually putting together a new order next week with a different design, just for the change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchist Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 MajBob, (I am not a legal beagle nor do I play one on the Boob-tube) keep in mind if you have 'i' dotters and 'T' crossers in your committee, there ARE copyright issues...if you use scouting signatures or logos... TO whit: "The trademarks and logos of the Boy Scouts of America are protected by a 1916 act of Congress (36 U.S.C. 27) as well as by a variety of registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The 1916 act specifically gives the Boy Scouts of America the sole and exclusive right to use its "emblems, badges, descriptive and designating marks" in connection with carrying out its purposes. These and all art or logotypes obtained from the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, are the exclusive property of the Boy Scouts of America and must be used and displayed as shown in this manual or official artwork unless otherwise stated in writing from an authorized officer of the Boy Scouts of America. In other words, they must appear with any ownership symbols exactly as received, and no additional symbols are to appear in connection with them. If the manual or official artwork indicates that the artwork or logotype is the subject of a U.S. Trademark Registration Certificate, then it should appear with the symbol. It is customary that the symbol is used once in the headline of an advertisement (if it is used in an ad or a poster) and then the first time it is used in the text. The symbol is placed on the upper right-hand shoulder of the last letter of the trademark (if it is a word mark) or on the upper right-hand shoulder of the symbol (if it is a design mark) and in a size that is approximately one-third the size of the largest letter or element in the trademark (but never so small that it can't be read). It is also desirable, but not as critical, to place a statement at the bottom of any advertisement or poster that clearly identifies trademarks or design marks of the Boy Scouts of America. This might read as follows: "BE PREPARED is a registered trademark of the Boy Scouts of America." If you have any questions concerning correct trademark usage, please contact the Custom Communication Division at the national office for further guidance." straight from the national home pages... check with your council before you finalize your 'deal' getting the art work approved took us about four weeks.......two trips through the BSA "The trademarks and logos of the Boy Scouts of America are protected by a 1916 act of Congress (36 U.S.C. 27) as well as by a variety of registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The 1916 act specifically gives the Boy Scouts of America the sole and exclusive right to use its "emblems, badges, descriptive and designating marks" in connection with carrying out its purposes. These and all art or logotypes obtained from the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, are the exclusive property of the Boy Scouts of America and must be used and displayed as shown in this manual or official artwork unless otherwise stated in writing from an authorized officer of the Boy Scouts of America. In other words, they must appear with any ownership symbols exactly as received, and no additional symbols are to appear in connection with them. If the manual or official artwork indicates that the artwork or logotype is the subject of a U.S. Trademark Registration Certificate, then it should appear with the symbol. It is customary that the symbol is used once in the headline of an advertisement (if it is used in an ad or a poster) and then the first time it is used in the text. The symbol is placed on the upper right-hand shoulder of the last letter of the trademark (if it is a word mark) or on the upper right-hand shoulder of the symbol (if it is a design mark) and in a size that is approximately one-third the size of the largest letter or element in the trademark (but never so small that it can't be read). It is also desirable, but not as critical, to place a statement at the bottom of any advertisement or poster that clearly identifies trademarks or design marks of the Boy Scouts of America. This might read as follows: "BE PREPARED is a registered trademark of the Boy Scouts of America." If you have any questions concerning correct trademark usage, please contact the Custom Communication Division at the national office for further guidance." Several years ago, it took us about four weeks to get through the BSA "obstacle course"...just front BSA logo with troop number and Scout law on the back...with TM's anarchist P.S. first set was bright color shirts...took several years to sell out (bought enough for about 2 per scout)..second "printing" was olive drab...guess what?... boys scarfed up the O.D.s had to do third set...(This message has been edited by anarchist) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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