It's Easy Being Green
Vantage Apparel began incorporating the garments into its line in 1977. “The company’s first product offering had golf-appropriate knit placket shirts. The offering was somewhat limited, but included a basic pique and a basic interlock style,” explained Gina Barreca, director of marketing.
Basic golf shirts are still a stable promotional category, but those stocked with performance features make the items more attractive to end-users, and can imply the luxury generally associated with a golfing lifestyle. Barreca stated, “Performance fabrics are still the biggest story in apparel and make for some of the most interesting and value-added garments.” Anderson also contended that industry growth is in performance shirts. Both River’s End Trading and Vantage Apparel have added performance features to their apparel offerings. “We added an entire line of UV-protective sportswear last spring called SOLAR Shield,” said Anderson. “This line offers several golf shirts for both men and women with UPF sun protection, moisture-wicking and easy-care fabric.”