Two brothers from Malappuram, Kerala, have started creating personalized T-shirts with vaccine information on them, hoping to make quick cash during the Covid-19 outbreak.
When the state government made vaccination certificates essential for shopping, visitors, and others last week, the brothers, U Irshad and U Faizal, came up with the idea. Customers can have immunization certificates printed on the sleeve, chest, or back of T-shirts.
“Initially we started making vaccination e-cards like ATM and other cards. Then we thought of giving a larger imprint and it turned out to be a big hit among youngsters. We have got orders for more than 2,000 shirts now. We charge each shirt ₹250,” said Irshad who is running a modern printing press with his brother.
Their family business
For the past 30 years, the family has been in the printing business. Irshad’s father created Imperial Press 60 years ago, and it now has two branches in Malappuram’s Kottappadi and Alathurpadi.
“We are flooded with inquiries. We get enough requests on social media also. We can courier the shirts if customers are ready to pay the charges. Many are sending us vax certificates on WhatsApp. Now we are printing maximum certificates on white shirts but color options are also there,” said Faizal.
Many of their customers were drivers at first, but soon they were inundated with orders from older folks who wanted to avoid having to carry their certificates around with them. They were also asked to print T-shirts for NRIs’ parents in India.
Variety of choice of colors
The certificates are printed on light-colored T-shirts purchased in bulk from Tirupur. Customers can get the immunizations printed on the front, back, or sleeve of a T-shirt in white, pale yellow, blue, orange, or green.
Atul Khatri was the first one to do so
They aren’t the first to do so; on August 9, comedian Atul Khatri posted a photo on social media of himself wearing a T-shirt with his vaccination certificate written on it. ‘Since work and travel have resumed, and I was growing bored of showing my Covid Certificate at airports, hotels, and other locations – conceived this concept,’ he wrote on Twitter.
