June brings orders from employee resource groups, parade contingents, universities, healthcare systems and companies with a booth at a Pride event. It also brings more public scrutiny than any other cause on this list — rainbow merchandise from an organization with nothing else to point to is a well-documented failure mode, and the audience is fluent in spotting it.

Have an answer ready

Before you order, know what you’d say if someone at the booth asks what your company does the other eleven months. A donation, a policy, an ERG with a budget, benefits that cover the people you’re marketing to — any of those make the merchandise land. None of them, and the product becomes the story.

If you are donating, print where. “A portion of proceeds supports [named organization]” is worth more than any amount of rainbow.

Rainbow is a printing problem

Six clean stripes sounds simple and isn’t. Screen printing six colors means six screens and six setup charges; full-color print, sublimation and DTG handle it in one pass and usually cost less at these quantities. Watch the color accuracy — the flag’s colors are recognisable, and a muddy purple or a green that’s drifted toward teal reads as careless.

Progress Pride and other variant flags have specific proportions. If you’re using one, supply proper artwork rather than letting anyone rebuild it by eye.

Parade logistics

If you’re marching, everything is carried by hand for a couple of hours in June heat. Light, small and giveable is the brief: sunglasses, can coolers, fans, wristbands, stickers. Many Pride organisations restrict what can be thrown or handed out along a route — check with the organisers before you buy several thousand of anything.