Polo vs T-Shirt Fabric: Piqué, Jersey & GSM

When a buyer compares quotes for 'a navy polo,' the cheapest line almost always wins on price because the spec did not pin down what the fabric actually is. Read the knit and the weight first, and the price differences usually explain themselves.

Three knits, three behaviours

Almost every polo and tee is built on one of three knits. Single jersey is the lightweight, smooth knit of a classic T-shirt — soft, breathable, drapey, but prone to curling at the edges and less structured. Piqué is the textured, slightly waffled knit of the classic polo — more structured, more durable, hides creases and holds a collar shape well. Interlock is a smoother, heavier double-knit — premium hand, stable, no curl, used for upmarket polos and performance tees. Knowing which you are buying tells you more than the fibre content does.

Knit	Feel	Typical GSM	Best for
Single jersey	Soft, light, drapey	140-180	T-shirts, events, giveaways
Piqué	Textured, structured	180-220	Classic corporate polos
Interlock	Smooth, dense, premium	200-240	Premium polos, performance

GSM: what the weight number actually tells you

GSM (grams per square metre) is the fabric weight, and it is the single best proxy for quality and durability in a knit. Lighter fabric (140-160 GSM) is cheaper, cooler and fine for promotional tees worn a few times. Mid-weight (180-200 GSM) is the corporate sweet spot — substantial enough to look professional and survive regular laundry without being hot. Heavy (210-240 GSM) reads premium and lasts longest but costs more and wears warmer. Beware a quote that is cheap because the GSM is low: a 150 GSM 'polo' will look tired far faster than a 200 GSM one.

Fibre content: cotton, polyester or blend

Once you have the knit and weight, fibre content decides comfort and care:

• 100% cotton — softest and most breathable, but shrinks, wrinkles and fades faster; best for premium retail-feel tees
• 100% polyester — colour-stable, quick-dry, snag- and shrink-resistant, ideal for performance and sublimation, but can feel synthetic without treatment
• Poly-cotton blend (e.g. 65/35) — the practical default: cheaper than cotton, more comfortable than pure polyester, and resists pilling and shrinkage better than either alone
• Cotton-rich with elastane — adds stretch and recovery for fitted cuts

Match the knit to the decoration

The knit also constrains how you brand it. Embroidery needs a stable, denser fabric — piqué and interlock take a logo crisply, while thin single jersey can pucker without backing. Screen printing sits best on smoother surfaces, so jersey tees print cleanly while heavy piqué texture can break fine detail. Sublimation requires polyester and is the route for all-over or photographic prints. Decide the decoration method and the knit together, not in sequence — a logo that looks sharp on a sample interlock polo can distort on a cheaper jersey substitute.

Speccing it so reorders match

For a program that has to look consistent across reorders, write the knit, the GSM, the fibre ratio and the Pantone colours into the spec, and approve a physical sample — not a screen image. Confirm post-wash behaviour: shrinkage tolerance, colour-fastness (ISO 105) and pilling resistance (ISO 12945 Martindale) so the second order matches the first. Those few lines of spec separate a wardrobe that ages well from one that looks two years old after one season.