The New Zealand Rugby Union is fearful of a boycott of the 2015 World Cup, and it’s partly down to branded clothing.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has controls over the way national sponsors can be included in international tournaments which means that national teams lose money – according to New Zealand, $13 million in a world cup year. How so?

Rugby and football are very different: at a FIFA World Cup the teams are allowed to continue to promote their individual sponsors by having them appear on clothing worn at the team hotels and at press conferences up to two days before every match. But the IRB imposes a complete ban all sponsors (except their own) at the Rugby World Cup. This means that photo opportunities, interviews and other publicity activities that usually allow a team to parade in branded clothing before a big match are denied to the rugby teams.

And in South Africa the team jerseys being sold to the Springboks fans have caused ructions. One MP has said that he will boycott the national shirts, because they were made in China instead of South Africa – and that this denied the country’s struggling clothing industry a chance to benefit from the Springbok phenomenon.

The South African Rugby Union has been lambasted by the national Trade Union Congress for ignoring national job-creation policy, causing a national and international flurry.

Neither national team has achieved the kind of publicity it hoped with its branded clothing initiatives, and while neither of them are likely to be thrilled by the way their promotional clothing initiatives have worked out, neither issue is likely to cause a long term problem for the national team.  The unanticipated outcomes might have been avoided by operating a better sourcing policy, having regard for fair trade and organic products in relation to national pride, and understanding and considering the constraints of sponsorship agreements in advance of investing in them.

With the popularity of T.V. shows like The Big Bang Theory and Doctor Who, there is no doubt that geek has come full circle and is now cool. This is being shown more and more on the catwalks and in the T-shirt world. So I thought I’d bring you my top 5 geek sheek T-shirts:

1)  S e x = f u n: Mathematical equations are bringing sexy back! If you were ever any doubt that ‘a roll around in the hay’ is time well spent, then here is your proof. This T-shirt is not only clever on close inspection, but from afar it’s simple black and white design gives it an innocent sheek. It goes to prove that even geeks can have some cheeky fun!

2) Rofl copter: Never heard of a Roflcopter?! Then you obviously have never been ‘Rolling On Floor Laughing, Can’t Operate Properly Till Eyes Refocus’. This T-shirt takes text language to a whole new level with a more literal rofl copter design. It looks great with a cool print and is bound to get book worms laughing out loud in the library.

3) Video games ruined my life: This homage to video game lovers definitely has the chuckle factor! The coupling of the pixelated design (harking back to Super-Mario on the Nintendo) and the witty catchphrase, make this T-shirt one that will make your wardrobe go up a level.

4) Live long a prosper: I think trekky fans all over the world will boldly go and buy this hoody straight away! The inspired use of Spock’s greeting (or was it farewell?!) hand gesture matching with the zip of the hoody is one that even non-space lovers will appreciate.

5) Rock-out: My favourite T-shirt by miles! This interactive t-shirt is one that you can actually play! So, all there is left to do is to back-comb your hair and whip on a pair of skinny fit jeans, and you are a portable rocker. The clever technology behind this t-shirt is geek-tastic and one that I think would make most people jump up and down with excitement.

One of my aims for this blog is to give you a bit of inspirations for your own designs. To do this I’ve been keeping my finger on the pulse of T-shirt trends to bring you the latest. This means you can incorporate them into your own designs and stay up-to-date in the fast moving fashion world. Having read an article from 2008 about the top 5 designer trends, I thought I’d write my own version for 2010.

1) Joke’s on you!: It seems the joke is on you, or rather it should be! Simple printed T-shirts with a side of irony seem to be the way to go. The key is to be original like these three designers have:

2) Feeling simple: Keeping it simple and keeping it geometric is a big trend this year. Whether it be block colours or a more pattern focussed T-shirts, one branch of designers are keeping it simple to make an impact:

3) Going Green: Nature is a massive focus in the T-shirt world and it seems that the greener it is, the better. Leaf patterns, animal prints and landscapes are becoming a hot theme for designers. Check out these prints by these green fingered designers:

4) The final frontier: Designers are boldly going where no one has gone before by their space inspired designs. Space travel, futuristic robots and planets are definitely starting to become more and more popular with designers and from these designs you can see why:

5) More is More: The new way to make people take that second glace at your t-shirt is to focus on detail. Complex and intricate designs that look good from near and afar are guaranteed to make people stop and stare. Here are a few designs to give you a flavour:

These are all themes that I have picked out as being popular at the moment, but I’m open to suggestion. Do you think there are others that should be in the top 5? What trends are ‘in’ for you this year?

I foolishly decided to play football up in Edinburgh this weekend and if the 10 hour return journey wasn’t bad enough, we also lost! However this morning while on the bus, it was the very same city that put a smile on my face. Today the Edinburgh festival announced what the funniest jokes of the festival had been as well as naming and shaming those comedians who had flopped with jokes that were more suited to Christmas crackers. With it being Monday, I thought we could all do with a chuckle to lighten up our blues, so here are just a few of the highly praised one-liners:

1) Tim Vine “I’ve just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I’ll tell you what, never again.”

2) David Gibson “I’m currently dating a couple of anorexics. Two birds, one stone.”

3) Emo Philips “I picked up a hitch hiker. You’ve got to when you hit them.”

4) Jack Whitehall “I bought one of those anti-bullying wristbands when they first came out. I say ‘bought’, I actually stole it off a short, fat ginger kid.”

5) Gary Delaney “As a kid I was made to walk the plank. We couldn’t afford a dog.”

It seems a shame for such great gags to not be shared, so why not choose your favourite and help spread some Monday cheer for once!  I’ve done a couple of example T-shirts for you below, see which one is your favourite or make your own via the website. 

From the largest to the smallest, companies are having to tell their employees that there won’t be any pay rises this year. The pay freeze isn’t popular, even where people understand that it’s necessary, and as ‘jollies’ like big conferences, away-days and big incentive rewards all fade into the distant horizon of ‘when the recession is over’, staff can feel unvalued and put upon.

Here’s a cost-effective way to offer them some recognition for their services even when you can’t give them a bonus or pay rise to reflect their contribution to your company. Have a Workplace Award ceremony.

Holding an event at work is cheaper than hiring a venue, and people don’t have to dress up in formal clothes, so you’re not adding to their expenditure for new shirts and ties, or dresses for the women, or even dry cleaning costs.

To plan your event:

•    Pick a date far enough in the future that everyone can make it
•    Decide which ‘awards’ you will make: most efficient, most fun to work with, most conscientious, best dressed, funniest, most productive, Ms or Mr Congeniality, Mr or Ms Customer Service Hero etc
•    Send out requests to nominate colleagues at least a month before
•    List the nominations a fortnight before and set up a ballot box and voting slips
•    A week before, organise catering. Make it food everybody can eat easily like pizza and sandwiches and be careful about alcohol. A glass of wine each is fine, more than that can cause problems
•    3 days before the awards, remind nominees to prepare acceptance speeches and that partners are welcome to attend
•    48 hours before the award, tally the votes and get cheap plaques or cups engraved and T-shirts with the appropriate slogans printed
•    Set the scene – use your largest space to hold the event, be ready with your microphone and, if possible, get key customers or even minor celebrities to come along and make some of the presentations, to add some ‘Hollywood Glamour’ to the occasion – your customers will love to be invited and will think even more of you for organising such a clever, cost-effective event for your employees
•    Make a real fuss: as each winner is announced, whip up the crowd to applaud, clap wildly during the acceptance speech and make each person pull on their ‘Most Whatever’ T-shirt and be photographed holding their trophy or engraved plaque.
•    Put all the photos up in a prominent place so that next year’s award ceremony will be even more exciting and hotly contested.

For the price of a few T-shirts and some simple trophies, you will have motivated your workforce and given recognition to your outstanding staff.

it’s official:  Stella McCartney is the Designer Of The Year, according to the British Fashion Awards.  She beat both Luella Bartley and Anya Hindmarch to pick up the award and it’s a vindication of what has been something of a contested career, during which her famous name and father have brought her the kind of attention nobody wants, and some disapproval from other big names in the fashion world.

Right at the beginning, there were complaints that her graduation show was catwalked by Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss – models who are somewhat out of the price range of the average student!

Then in 1997, when she followed Karl Lagerfeld as creative director at Chloé, the man himself said, ‘They should have taken a big name. They did – but in music, not fashion.’ 

But she’s outlived the doubts and her own label, backed by Gucci has been a huge success.  In 2005 she designed for H&M, and her clothes sold out again and again in High Street shops,  and this year, the McCartney label turned a profit for the first time – it’s worth noting that despite her backer, Gucci, using fur and leather, McCartney uses no animal products in her collections.

Kate Moss photograph by Tauben, used under a creative commons attribution licence