FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Our goal is to always Spark A Little Sunshine in your day, creating a ripple effect for all those around you.
If you, for any reason, have a problem, please contact us at customerservice@SparkALittleSunshine.com. Spark A Little Sunshine will try to respond to every email as quickly as possible, but as a one woman show running Spark A Little Sunshine ( except my manufacturing/fullfillment partners), I will always try to respond within 24 to 48 hours.
We are a small business with a big mission to to raise the positive vibration of the world through positive shared energy and charitable impact.
WHICH PRODUCTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE 50% NET PROFIT GIVEN?
All of our store's Spark A Little Sunshine branded merchandise products that are made print on demand (beanies/headwear, sweaters, hoodies, tees, t-shirts, aprons, glassware, footwear, journals, tech accessories, and under the "Shop" tab umbrella of items) will be what we calculate our 50% net profit given from.
WHAT CAUSES WILL YOU BE SUPPORTING WITH THE 50% NET PROFIT GIVEN?
Causes that we will be supporting under our umbrella include:Women & Children, Environmental Sustainability, Nature, Wildlife, Indigenous populations, Holistic Science & Healing, Education for youth, Displaced Persons (Refugees, Forced Migrants, Immigrants), Basic necessities (clothing, food, essential items) for homeless, orphanages, poverty.
CAN YOU EXPEDITE SHIPPING? WHY IS IT MADE-AT-ORDER?
Our products are made-at-order especially for YOU as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you and why we cannot expedite or overnight, speed up our production & shipping. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction and the environmental footprint, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions! To Spark A Little Sunshine on the Global Impact scale along with within requires a more mindful approach at all levels.
Every purchase, big or small, has a footprint. You choose the size of the mark to leave on the planet, and we want to help you choose wisely. One in every five garments reaches a landfill without being worn even once. By choosing print-on-demand, you choose apparel that's created only as the order is placed, creating less fabric waste than conventional manufacturing.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY ORDER?
All orders typically fulfilled within 3-10 business days (97.66% of our orders are shipped within 5 business days. More than 50% of our orders are shipped within 3 business days or fewer)after the order has been placed ( See our Shipping page and individual products for most accurate estimates).U.S. orders should arrive 3-5 business daysafteritems have been shipped, depending on the shipping carrier.International shipping may take anywhere from 1-12 weeks.You will receive a shipping notification after your order has shipped (check your spam folder if you do not receive one).Please make sure your shipping information is correct during check out. We will not refund or replace items, if they are sent to the wrong address. We are not responsible for loss, damage, or delay.
DO YOUR SHIRTS & SWEATSHIRTS FIT TRUE TO SIZE?
Most of our t-shirts and sweatshirts are unisex sizing, which means they run slightly larger than typical women's shirts and slightly smaller than typical men's shirts. We recommend ordering your normal size for a regular fit or sizing down for a more fitted look.There is a sizing guide with measurements for reference on each listing to help you find the perfect size. We also have some designs specifically catered towards women or men sizing.
ARE YOUR SHIRTS SCREEN PRINTED OR VINYL?
Our designs are actually printed directly onto the shirts in a process known as DTG (direct-to-garment) printing. Direct-to-garment printing not only allows us to offer the most design colors, it is also far more sustainable than traditional screen printing.
CAN AN ORDER BE CHANGED?
An addresscannotbe edited after it has already shipped. If you contact the shipping service, they may be able to help you alter the address depending on the stage of the shipping process. If you would like the items shipped to the correct address, place a new order. If you alert us atcustomeerservice@SparkALittleSunshine.com immediately after the order is placed and prior to printing & fulfillment, we may be able to help redirect the address or details of the order. The best way to avoid any order mistakes is to take your time at checkout, cross check your design details, sizing, address, and make sure it is the exact product and destination you design. Because our products are custom made just for you at order by our partnering manufactures and dropshippers, we have less flexibility to make any changes after an order is made.
PLEASE SEE OUR SHIPPING PAGE FOR OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE EMAIL FORMAT TO HELP ELICIT OUR FASTEST AND MOST PRODUCTIVE RESPONSE TO HELP.**If you need to edit your order after you have already placed it, we will do everything we can to edit it for you, but if your order has already gone into the fulfillment process, we cannot edit it. Please double check your items before placing your order.
**Please Format any Customer Service Emails as so, so we may most accurately and efficiently assess, address, and correct the issue in proper timing for you.
Email:customerservice@sparkalittlesunshine.com
Mark at “High Priority” so it flags in our email
Subject: Attn. Shipping -“First & Last Name” - “Order Number” - “Issue (Sizing, Color, etc)”
Body of Email:
- First & Last Name
- Order Number
- Issue (Sizing, Color, etc) and what change it is you would like to try to make it to
- Photo Attachment ( if already received and an error of size color shipped versus purchased, please attach photos of wrong size or wrong color, so we may properly dispute it on your behalf with our mfr. to ship you the proper garment)
CAN YOU APPLY A DISCOUNT CODE TO A PAST ORDER?
We are not able to do price adjustments at this time. All discounts must be applied at the time of checkout and cannot be retroactively applied. This includes sales and automatic discounts.
CAN AN ORDER BE CANCELLED?
If an order has not yet entered fulfillment and production, we are able to cancel your order. However, as all our products are printed at time of order, we are not able to cancel an order once production has begun.
DO YOU ACCEPT RETURNS OR EXCHANGES?
Since our products are custom made to order, we do not accept returns but in some cases can issue a store credit or resend. However, if you are unhappy with our order please contact us immediately at customerservice@SparkALittleSunshine.com and we will be happy to see if a way to help.
If you receive a damaged, defective or incorrect product at the fault of Spark A Little Sunshine, please contact us at customerservice@SparkALittleSunshine.com, provide your order number, a photo of the item as well as the description of the issue with the item (see email format under Shipping page). We will get these issues taken care of as soon as possible.
Please Format any Customer Service Emails as so, so we may most accurately and efficiently assess, address, and correct the issue in proper timing for you.
Email:customerservice@sparkalittlesunshine.com
Mark at “High Priority” so it flags in our email
Subject: Attn. Shipping -“First & Last Name” - “Order Number” - “Issue (Sizing, Color, etc)”
Body of Email:
- First & Last Name
- Order Number
- Issue (Sizing, Color, etc) and what change it is you would like to try to make it to
- Photo Attachment ( if already received and an error of size color shipped versus purchased, please attach photos of wrong size or wrong color, so we may properly dispute it on your behalf with our mfr. to ship you the proper garment)
WHERE ARE YOU BASED?
My home base is Houston, TX but I often work remote due to my additional artistic passions (acting, art, film). While I create the designs and run the day to day business operations, marketing, design on the front end, all of our products are custom made and fulfilled by my print-on-demand & manufacturing partners which have locations across the globe.
WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDED CARE INSTRUCTIONS?
It depends on the item. We encourage you to address each individual item by the individual product care instructions. Some basics:For t-shirts and printed items: Machine wash cold, with item turned inside out. Dry on low or hang to try to prevent any cracking of the image.For stickers: Be sure to clean the application surface before placing your sticker and start pressing the sticker in place and swiping outward to avoid bubbles.For hats: Embroidered hats can be wiped clean with a damp cloth in the spots where it's needed. If necessary, hats can be hand-washed cold. Do not machine wash.
IS YOUR BRAND ECO-FRIENDLY/SUSTAINABLE?
Part of the Print on Demand Custom design set-up with Spark A Little Sunshine is aimed at creating a less wasteful approach to production. The fashion industry needs to make fundamental changes to protect the climate from harm and we should hold ourselves accountable as best we can as well..
Made to Order - Every purchase, big or small, has a footprint. You choose the size of the mark to leave on the planet, and we want to help you choose wisely. One in every five garments reaches a landfill without being worn even once. By choosing print-on-demand, you choose apparel that's created only as the order is placed, creating less fabric waste than conventional manufacturing.
- Products - Reducing fashion waste is going to be an ongoing process for manufacturers as well as consumers. By choosing products that are made on-demand, you help reduce overproduction waste.
- Reliable Quality - Our partner does durability tests to make sure they’ll stand the test of time. We work with suppliers that produce high-quality products that last many washes, keeping print colors vibrant and the fabric soft.
- Eco-Friendly - Currently, we are providing out customers organic cotton apparel, but aim to incorporate a range of materials like organic cotton, recycled cotton, recycled polyester, recycled nylon, as well as organic and recycled fabric blends that our partner is able to provide over time.
- Efficient Production - Many of our products are printed with the direct-to-garment (DTG) technique. With DTG, ink is sprayed onto the garment, which helps it soak into the fabric better and makes the print less prone to fading. Embroidery is also a popular option for eco-friendly products, providing unique, durable designs
Limiting Waste
- Packaging Waste - As of May 2021, our fulfillment partner started using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic packaging for all apparel orders shipped from our in-house facilities. They took this step to minimize our environmental impact as recycled materials save virgin resources and require less energy to produce. Now they are increasing the recycled content and gradually switching to 90%–100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic packaging all over North America. They have also reduced the use of packaging altogether and introduced triangular cardboard boxes for poster orders to replace tubes with plastic end caps.
- Fabric Waste - To reduce our fabric waste, we will be incorporating—All-Over Print (AOP) Scrunchies and the AOP Headband for our designs that have all over print on our fabrics. They are small enough to be created from fabric scraps that would otherwise have gone to waste.
- Efficient Shipping - Around 81% of orders shipped out from out fulfillment partner are delivered in the same region they’re fulfilled. Having fulfillment centers close to our customers is good both for the business and the planet. Strategically located fulfillment centers allow for faster shipping times and lower shipping costs, and it also helps with reducing the CO₂ emissions produced when transporting orders.
Partnering in Alignment: Our manufacturing and fulfillment on-demand partner is dedicated to exploring new and environmentally conscious ways of doing things. They're continuously working on improving our internal recycling system and keeping coworkers informed about best practices of sustainability.
WHERE AND HOW ARE YOUR PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED?
Our base shirts used are Bella + Canvas brand sourced and they are manufactured in the United States. You can read more about where the shirts are manufactured and the process here.Some of our sewing and printing processes take place outside of the United States and at different fulfillment locations around the globe, supporting different communities in job creation. However, Bella + Canvas only works with factories that have the same high ethical and environmental standards as their Platinum WRAP Certified U.S. factory and they work to ensure everything is sweatshop-free and above board – meaning fair wages and pleasant working conditions.Our shirts are printed with the direct-to-garment (DTG) printing method. The printing tech we use is made with sustainability in mind, and our DTG printers use almost zero wastewater and less energy.All our products are created with ethical sourcing and minimized waste in mind, some United States based and some overseas in high quality, ethical production facilities..
WHAT IF THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE ITEM I RECEIVED?
If your item is damaged or the incorrect item was sent, please contact us ( see email template above) immediately and we will resolve your problem as soon as possible.
WHAT IF MY ORDER WAS LOST/DELIVERED TO THE WRONG ADDRESS/ETC?
Unfortunately, we do not have any control over packages once they leave our fulfillment center. If you have any questions about your order after it has shipped, please contact your local post office or complete a help request form with the USPS.
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