Undershirt Recon at Walmart

It didn’t occur to me until I actually went there, but it’s been a really long time since I’ve  been to Walmart.

Although it may surprise you, there really aren’t that many Walmart’s in/around the Los Angeles area – at least not in close proximity to where Mrs. Tug and I reside.

The closest Walmart is nearly 12 miles away, and here in SoCal, that equates to about 45 minutes in the car (on a good day).  The second closest is 20 miles away.  But, in the spirit of doing some undershirt recon, I sucked it up, headed out, and in addition to the standard selection of Hanes and Fruit of the Loom undershirts, this is what I found:

Faded Glory Brand Undershirts

  • Walmart’s primary private-label clothing line brand
  • Styles: Crew Neck, V-Neck (115FG), Tank Tops (018FG)
  • Colors: White, Heather Grey
  • Fabric: 100% Cotton (white), 88% Cotton/12% Polyester (Grey Heather)
  • Prices: $6.50 per 3-pack ($2.16 per) – Wow, now that’s cheap
  • RN#: 129726 (rn.ftc.gov).  Legal Name: Pico Imports, NY, NY. Wholesaler. 212-947 8969 Ext: 244
  • Made in India
  • Faded Glory Trademark registered to Walmart and Appendagez, Inc in 1973. Then, in 1992, there is a secondary application for trademark in Walmart’s name and Faded Glory, Ltd. located at 1411 Broadway New York, Ny 10018 US (the address of the Jones Group (was jonesgroupinc.com) apparel manufacturer). In looking for “Faded Glory” in NYC, I see that they are currently located at 1400 Broadway (awfully close to 1411 Broadway), so I’m guessing there is still an affiliation.
  • Initial impression: Nothing specific really jumps out at me when looking at these undershirts other than them feeling/looking more on the cheap side. The fabric does seem to stretch and recover fairly well when trying to stretch it by hand. We’ll have to see what happens after many wears and washings.

Starter Brand Undershirts

  • Brand founded by David Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University. Brand was acquired by Iconix in 2009. Interestingly, Iconix was founded by Neil Cole, Kenneth Cole’s brother. It also looks like Starter was once Nike’s brand as well, but it was poor performing and it looks like Nike agreed to sell Starter to Iconix in 2007.
  • Styles: Crew Neck (90388)
  • Colors: White, Blue, Heather Grey
  • Fabric: 100% Cotton on solid colors, 90% Cotton/10% Polyester on Heathered colors
  • Prices: $7 for a 3-pack of assorted colors, or $7 for a 4-pack of all white
  • RN#: 93846 (rn.ftc.gov). Legal Name: Gilden Activewear, Eden, NC. Distributor. 336-623 9555 Ext: 6114
  • Made in Nicaragua
  • Comments: The packaging shows Anti-Microbial odor elimination and Dri-Star moisture wicking properties, which mean they have been treated with one or more applications that give the cotton those characteristics. Interesting that Gildan makess these shirts, but then again, they also make the undershirts from Costco.
  • Initial impression: Like the Faded Glory v-neck tee, the fabric on these seems to stretch and recover fairly well. We’ll have to see what happens after many wears and washings.

Starter Brand Active-Pro Performance Muscle Tee

  • Style: Muscle Crew
  • Colors: Black
  • Fabric (Body): 86% Polyester/14% Spandex. (Mesh Panel): 85% Polyester/15% Spandex
  • Price: $9.50 per
  • RN#: 93987 (rn.ftc.gov). Legal Name: Lamour Hosiery. Importer/Wholesaler. Hackensack, NJ. 800-724 5985
  • Made in China
  • Comments:  Dri-Star, Anti-Microbial, Stretch, Zoned Venting, Anti-Chafing
  • Initial impression: I wore this to the gym one day and discovered this muscle tee either runs about one size too big (for me) or is design to be looser fitting. I bought a medium, but could easily fit into a size small. Overall, a decent looking performance shirt considering the price,  but I can’t quite comment on how durable it will be until I’ve been able to wear it to the gym more often. If you decide to buy one and want it to fit tight, buy one size smaller.

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2 thoughts on “Undershirt Recon at Walmart”

    • hey larry. i don’t know about that one. walmart makes changes to it’s line-up pretty often, so it’s possible they are either discontinuing those, or maybe they are just out of stock for now.

      best to call your local walmart, tell them what you’re looking for, and they’ll tell you whether or not:
      1) they are on clearance
      2) they are getting additional inventory
      3) if any other local walmart has stock of the item you’re looking for

      good luck and please let me know what you find out so we can let other people know!!

      Reply

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