If you’ve ever had that feeling of guilt and shame when you pick up a chocolate bar or a pair of sneakers and worry that you heard something or read something about that product being produced in an unfair way, these T-shirts are for you.

It’s tough to be constantly aware of the debates on everything from indentured labor to child education in Africa but none of us want to contribute to somebody else’s misery (or I don’t think we do, anyway) so when a friend took me to a Speak Against Injustice meeting this week I decided to blog post about their T-shirts. Okay, they are not the prettiest T-shirts in the world (surely one of the great designers out there could donate a little creative capital to this project?) but it’s a good cause and I knew if I waited until I got back from vacation all the really cool T-shirts waiting for me in the office would distract me from this. So … buy one – even better, if you’re a designer, get them some creative juice into the product so they might sell more!

Post by Kay who’s feeling a bit of pre-jet-lag before her weekend flight …

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Okay, this is my chance to get a little obsessive on you all, as my esteemed colleague has gone home for a few weeks and will only be posting intermittently, so I get to hog the picks and for me, this week, it’s Sherlock all the way.

Not the Robert Downey Jr version either. Acceptable although that is, the real thing is the Benedict Cumberbatch. And this T-shirt is a fitting homage to this season’s wrap episode. Am I the only person who thinks Moriarty will turn out to be a creature cloned from the DNA of Ant & Dec? That would make a great T-shirt …

So, exceptionally cheap at £7.50 plus postage, available for just two more days over at Othertees, and definitely a keeper, this simple design by Hoborobo is a brilliant blend of current affairs, fandom and genius use of colour.

Be quick, be clever and be ready for season 3

Post by Mikey who is worryingly fascinated by Mrs Hudson’s legs …

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It was over at Design By Humans on 22 December, by roncarbz and I never even saw it – maybe it was the festive season or maybe I was just coasting a little too randomly but I swear I didn’t see it at the time.

So it’s called Ink Fisher – even the name is cool! And while DBH seems to be having some kind of bear fetish going on, and I don’t know what that’s about and I really don’t care to ask, this is the kind of elegance that occasionally emerges on votable T-shirt sites, where often the average seems to win out. Maybe that’s because average Joes have a lot of friends, I don’t know and I try not to judge. Well that’s not true – I judge a lot but I try to be fair.

Anyway, the DBH101 is an excellent read for all T-shirt designers, should be something they have to go and review pretty well annually in my opinion. Not that I agree with everything said there, but it’s solid and sometimes thought-provoking. And despite the plethora of bears, the sometimes derivative robot tees and the often overly-coloured fantasy pieces like Three Wolf Moon meets Fantasia, this is still a site that has some gems for $20.

Post by ‘Judge’ Mikey. . .

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Fly and I is one of those T-shirt brands with an almost meaningless statement that ‘you can’t always judge something based on its appearance’ – well I really think that is what you do when you buy a T-shirt (I mean, what else could I judge it on?)

Anyway, I am getting increasingly enamored of their style. The other T-shirt design I was very smitten with is called ‘Cables’ and it’s is really cool, although I’m not so sure I like it on red, but the Feathers tee is perfect: intricate but bold, rich but clear, a decisive image without being flat or simplistic. Need I say that it flatters the female form too?

30 euros is quite expensive, but Fly and I offer free shipping and handling (never understood that phrase – wtf is handling? Do I even want my clothing handled? Sounds a bit gross) worldwide so it’s actually not as steep as it sounds.

Post by Kay who isn’t even very clear about shipping …

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I’d forgotten just how good Graniph can be. Glad to have been reminded this week though.

This T-shirt is exactly what a good tee should be: simple, stylish, smart. Okay, the price is high end – it’s about £21 plus postage, but if you think that’s bad, it’s 2,500 Japanese Yen which immediately makes the sterling rate sound like a bargain.

What I love about Graniph is that they give the size the model is wearing AND the height of the model. Yes. This chap is wearing a medium and 6 feet 1 1/4 inches tall and from that I can totally extrapolate his build and what size of T-shirt would therefore work for me. I’m a little shorter and a little broader than this guy, to be honest. New Year’s Resolution coming up!

The only thing that isn’t utterly amazing about Graniph is their postage which does take a while from Japan, but it’s worth it in the long run.

Post by Mikey who is turning Japanese, or into a doughnut, or both …

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This one took me a while to track down, believe me. I saw it on New Year’s in London and grabbed a picture on my mobile, but it was a really crowded party and I never actually got across the room to talk to the girl who was wearing it, and she had a scarf that covered to top of the image so I could only see the bottom of the lettering which made it a task and a half to decipher. But I got there, with the help of a grunge rocker gal who’s the friend of a friend and who took one look at the picture I texted her and texted back one word: Paramore. Then she texted another word: emo.

So … I don’t know. Is it emo? Whatever.

$25.00 is really really cheap for such an excellent T-shirt. It seems labelist to call it emo, but maybe that’s my own judgement. Either way, it’s a T-shirt that I’d be happy to wear.

Post by Kay who is wondering why labels matter …

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This is just gorgeous – if I’d seen it in time, I’d have been wearing it for New Year’s. I like Remuse – this $18 tee has all the impact of much more expensive designs, and yet holds to its skate/street origins. The clothing is sweat-shop free, so you can give it as a gift without worrying that you’d offend an ethically-focused friend (like me, hint hint?)

So this is called Fall From Grace and the tagline says ‘We have all fallen from grace at some point in life. Whether it be from peer pressure, loss of faith, or personal gain. The true test is restoring that grace.’ I think there’s a lot to that … and I love this girl’s hair, butterflies and general lushness. I mean the girl on the T-shirt, obviously, although the model has good hair and great tats!

The Philly based collective is young, and quirky. Their art is thought-provoking without being exclusive and I really think it’s going to grow … maybe 2012 will be their year.

Post by Kay who is having not such a good hair day …

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I do like to leave everybody with a little less goodwill than they started with, at this time of year. Over at CBR there’s an ill-tempered set of responses to what was meant to be a snappy little preview of the 2012 Free Comic Book Day T-shirt designs.

Okay, that may mean little to you. Let’s put it this way. It’s like Cheryl Cole being seen sporting an engagement ring. Or Peter Andre in women’s underwear … okay, now try to get that idea out of your head!

Anyway, FCBD is in May, but the preview of the T-shirt design is usually a big event, drawing pre-orders and debate. And this year is no exception as far as the debate is concerned, but it’s been pretty well a negativity zone.

Jim Lee, who is no slouch, produced an homage design based on an original by José Luis García-López who is a god of comic illustration. And it has not gone down well at all.

The comments below the CBR article are grouchy and pretty unanimous that Lee missed target. Personally, apart from the slipshod foot placement that makes it look like one member of the Justice League is standing on another’s foot, and the faint suggestion that Wonder Woman has gone in for body modification by means of Zulu neck rings, I think it’s great.

No. Really. I do.

Okay … maybe I don’t

Merry Christmas!

Post by Mikey who knows his Aquaman from his Swamp Thing.

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Rapanui is an Isle of Wight clothing company. That’s where I grew up, people. And it’s partnered with Britain’s most trusted/hated/established/relied on organisation – the Meteorological Office. This superb Cloud Cutter design is Raglan cut, 100% organic cotton, made with wind power and phthalate-free.

It is the one thing I want for Christmas…

Post by Mikey … who has a very short Christmas list!

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I have to say that this may not be the most salubrious name for a Norwegian T-shirt brand, right now, and also that (as usual) Mikey and I are not in entire agreement about their work.

I like the Killer Brigade T-shirt that looks like a leather jacket with the jawbone of a skull under it – I think it’s cool and clever. Mikey (predicatably) hates it.

We agree on this one though, the ‘black is back’ is a nice T-shirt with a balance of grim humor and strong design. I thought it would be great to wear this along with my boyfriend in the ‘disco is dead’ T-shirt which would make a really clever statement about being a couple and also be a great riff on ‘his and hers clothing’ but Mikey though that was crass and ‘typically American’.

I have no idea what 150 Kroner is in any kind of other money – but I’ve added this T-shirt to my Christmas list and hope that my honey will buy it for me, so I can buy the ‘disco is dead’ one for him. Mikey is now pretending to spew into the wastebasket…

Season of peace and goodwill in the teejunkie office? I don’t think so!

Post by Kay who thinks her colleague is a horse’s ass!

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