From fraternities to women’s soccer, this under-the-radar T-shirt brand is popping up everywhere

When looking through Wyatt Cannon’s T-shirt collection, there’s a common theme: the Comfort Colors label.

Growing up, Cannon would often find Comfort Colors apparel when looking for souvenirs during family trips. In college, Cannon convinced his a cappella group to screen print on the company’s blank shirts. When the 24-year-old has made tie-dye T-shirts for himself, it’s with Comfort Colors product.

“I’ve loved this brand my whole life,” said Cannon, who estimates around half of his shirts are Comfort Colors. “This kind of material and texture and vibe of T-shirt should just be more of the standard.”

Cannon is part of a loyal and growing base of consumers driving demand for the half-century-old, Gildan-owned shirt brand. The label’s ballooning success in recent years can help explain Gildan’s stock outperformance and has led to plans for an expansion into additional product categories.

Gildan is tight-lipped about specific brand performance and declined to share Comfort Colors’ sales data with CNBC. But company executives have said Comfort Colors took off, especially over the last year, and has become a leading brand within Gildan, which also sells apparel under its namesake label and American Apparel.

“Comfort Colors is probably the fastest-growing fashion brand,” Glenn Chamandy, Gildan’s co-founder and CEO, said during a call with analysts earlier this year. “When you walk into a souvenir store today, you’ll see Comfort Colors on every single one of those tables where you used to see fashion brands before.”

Gildan acquired Comfort Colors for around $100 million in 2015 in hopes of expanding within the basics category of North America’s printwear market, according to a press release announcing the deal. At the time, Gildan called the Vermont-based apparel maker “one of the most recognized brands” in places like college bookstores and resorts.

The brand publicizes that its shirts are 100% cotton from the U.S. Its “pigment pure” dyeing system creates the shirts’ “signature faded look” and requires less energy and water use than other comparable processes, Gildan says.

Comfort Colors’ popularity exploded in 2024 with around 40% year-over-year growth, company executives have said on earnings calls. That helped drive sales in Gildan’s broader activewear category up 6% in the same period.

Chamandy told analysts in late July that Comfort Colors is “knocking it out of the box again this year” and helped drive the activewear category up 12% in the second quarter. The brand is planning to expand into hats, bags and women-specific clothing in 2026 as it rings in its 50th anniversary, Howard Upchurch, marketing and merchandise chief at Gildan, said in a statement to CNBC.

Gildan, which announced earlier this year it was acquiring Hanesbrands as it further builds out its basic apparel business, is expected to report earnings at the end of this month.

U.S.-listed shares of Gildan, which is a Canadian-based company, have surged more than 175% over the last five years. That’s almost double the widely followed S&P 500‘s return over the same period.

Though Gildan has touted Comfort Colors as a success story within its larger empire, consumers haven’t necessarily made the connection.

Cannon said he views Comfort Colors as “crunchy” and “granola,” while Gildan feels like the “peak of consumption capitalism.” The Connecticut-based marketing manager said Comfort Colors’ unique tag of woven fabric is one quality that makes the brand feel more “homey.”

On Etsy, printers hawk Comfort Colors shirts with various designs and some even allow shoppers to upload their own. The brand has also gotten a boost from TikTok, where content creators share videos of their Comfort Colors products that viewers can purchase via the platform’s shopping feature.

Relative search volume for Comfort Colors in the U.S. spiked to all-time highs on Google this year, underscoring the brand’s growing awareness among consumers. On the other hand, Gildan has tumbled in search popularity from a peak in 2023.

Comfort Colors has amassed a “very loyal” base made up particularly of Gen Z customers, according to Sheng Lu, an associate professor at the University of Delaware whose research focuses on the apparel industry.

These young shoppers value comfort and vintage flair, both of which align with Comfort Colors’ products, Lu said. Comfort Colors’ emphasis on sustainability can also bode well with a customer base that’s conscious of their environmental footprint.

“This brand definitely is in a very good spot,” Lu said.

Comfort Colors’ rise is particularly interesting given that the brand focuses more on selling in bulk than directly to consumers, unlike other T-shirt makers like Nike, Lu said. He explained that since Comfort Colors is mainly selling product via middlemen who can screen print on them, the shirts end up appearing more unique — which is another desirable quality for Gen Z shoppers.

Behind the scenes, Gildan is likely benefiting from Comfort Colors’ sourcing in the Western Hemisphere, Lu said. While countries in this region have been hit by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the levies have typically been less steep than those slapped on Asia, he said.

Because shoppers tend to view T-shirts as a staples, these items may show stability even when consumer sentiment falls, Lu said.

Plus, across the country, Comfort Colors shirts are outfitting social groups and sitting on merchandise stands at events. Musical acts including Maggie Rogers and Mumford & Sons printed tour merchandise on Comfort Colors shirts. Brands ranging from Coors Light to Star Trek sell its apparel, as do local bars and eateries. Women’s soccer team Gotham Football Club has several official Comfort Colors spirit wear shirts.

When Chelsea Green opened The Yard Milkshake Bar, she already knew of Comfort Colors from seeing the brand on college campuses. She said it’s the most popular type of merchandise for The Yard Milkshake Bar, particularly with younger shoppers who are familiar the brand and sometimes use the shirts for sleepwear or as beach coverups.

“I knew that I had Comfort Colors T-shirts already in my closet,” Green said. “I was like, ‘that’s what I want.’ I didn’t even research it.”

To be sure, Green acknowledged that the shirts can be pricier than some competitors’ and she at times ran into supply shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the color options and quality have made overcoming these obstacles worthwhile, she said.

Social organizations such as Cannon’s collegiate a cappella group have also turned to Comfort Colors. Similarly, fraternity Sigma Chi and sorority Pi Beta Phi each sell dozens of Comfort Colors shirts in their online shops.

On a fraternity-focused Reddit forum, a user asked what T-shirt brands people used for screen printing. One respondent said Comfort Colors is their “go-to.” Use Comfort Colors, another said, “or you’re at risk of getting tar and feathered.”