2025 Impressions Industry Impact (III) Awards Resource Page

Welcome to the Impressions Magazine Industry Impact (III) Awards resource page, with all the information you and your company will need to compete in 2025 III Awards program at absolutely no cost. Now in its second year, Impressions Magazine’s III Awards highlight the best of the best from across today’s decorated-apparel industry, with 26 different categories including everything from the best decorating company with sales of more or less than $1 million to the best new embroidery, screen-printing, heat press and digital decorating tech; the most innovative marketing concept or initiative; the best new blank apparel; the best new T-shirt, screen-printing and embroidery designs; and a pair of environmental and social justice awards.

To see a complete list of categories, go to the bottom of this page. To see the results of the 2024 III Awards, click here. Winners of the 2025 awards will be featured both online and in the pages of Impressions Magazine’s April 2025 issue.

To enter simply e-mail the necessary materials and information to Adam Cort, content director of Impressions magazine at [email protected], by March 1, 2025. Again, doing so is completely free. Specific materials required for entry include:

• An indication of the category the product/service/company is being entered in
• A description of the product/service/company being entered and what makes it a winner (100 words minimum, but feel free to write as much as you want!)
• A high-res image (or images) of the product/service/company being entered (written permission authorizing editorial use of the image or images will also be necessary)
• Any brochures/spec sheets you might have providing as much additional information as possible on the product/service/company being entered
• Contact information for someone the Impressions editorial panel can talk to with any follow-up questions it might have.

The III Awards are open to U.S. residents and U.S. companies or companies with a major U.S. presence and/or distributor(s). To be eligible, a product/service/company must 1) have been introduced to the U.S. market no earlier than Feb. 1, 2024, and 2) be available to customers/the industry by no later than March 31, 2025 (though exceptions will, on occasion, be made on a case-by case basis to permit the entry of prototype systems, products or technologies.

All entries—besides those of the winners, of course!—will be kept strictly confidential. Impressions Magazine reserves the right to add or amend categories to accommodate any outstanding entries that don’t quite fit the 26 categories listed below. Impressions magazine also reserves the right to not select a winner in a particular category if none of the entries in that category are deemed sufficiently original or innovative. Impressions Magazine’s III Awards are strictly editorial in nature, and all decisions are strictly the opinion of Impressions Magazine. For the complete rules governing the 2025 III Awards click here. For any other questions, e-mail Adam Cort, content director of Impressions Magazine at [email protected]. 

CATEGORIES 2025 III AWARDS

Business:

1. Best decorating company with sales of $1 million or more annually
2. Best decorating company with sales of $1 million or less annually
3. Best screen-printing shop
4. Best digital-decorating/heat-pressing shop
5. Best embroidery shop

Equipment/technology:

1. Best new embroidery tech:
2. Best new screen-printing tech
3. Best new heat-pressing tech
4. Best new digital decorating tech
5. Best New Online Services/BMS system

Marketing:

1. Best E-Commerce Store/Platform
2. Social Media/Influencer Award
3. Most Innovative Marketing Initiative/Concept
4. Best Business or Shop Logo

Apparel:                               

1. Best New Casual Wear/T-shirt
2. Best New Headgear
3. Best New Athletic Apparel
4. Best New Placketwear
5. Best New Activewear

Innovation/Design:

1. T-Shirt of the Year
2. Screen Printing Design of the Year
3. Embroidery Design of the Year
4. Digital Decorating Design of the Year
5. Most creative decorating initiative/design

Community:                        

1. Green Award for Environmental Business Initiatives/Practices
2. Social Justice (Internal DEI efforts and worker empowerment)

To see the complete rules governing the 2025 III Awards click here.

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