Threadless
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- For threadless headsets, see headset (bicycle part).
| URL | http://www.threadless.com/<tr><th>Commercial?</th><td>Yes</td></tr> |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Online T-shirt store |
| Owner | SkinnyCorp |
| Created by | SkinnyCorp<tr><th>Launched</th><td>2000</td></tr> |
Threadless is a community-centered online t-shirt store run by skinnyCorp out of Chicago, Illinois, USA since 2000.
Users (professional illustrators and amateurs alike) may submit t-shirt designs online, which are then put to a public vote. A small percentage of submissions are selected to be printed and sold through the online store. Creators of the winning designs receive a cash prize.
There are virtually no limits to the variety of designs seen at Threadless; however, the Threadless community favours artistically provocative and humorous designs. Designs can range from political and personal opinions to abstract or surrealistic. Controversy in t-shirt designs sparks debate in the blog forum and on the comment wall of submission. Vulgar designs are usually deemed "tasteless" and often get low scores from voters.
The success of this concept has led to several spin-off projects by the same company, including ongoing design competitions for t-shirt slogans at OMG Clothing and neckties at Naked and Angry. However, they later integrated the competition from OMG Clothing into the main website. Multiple other companies have adopted the community model created at Threadless (such as [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]...). Nevertheless, in mid-2006 Threadless expanded in a more traditional direction, adding shirts designed by selected artists to their store, which are not subject to the voting process.
In the media, the Threadless concept is sometimes called "open source". However, since the designer and the company retain all rights to the chosen t-shirt designs and the "source" of a design, its vector graphics file is not available for download, the term "crowdsourcing" is a more accurate description.
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