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Ancient Forest Alliance is excited to launch our first-ever T-Shirt Design Contest! The winning design will be printed on our next t-shirt for our merchandise, with all proceeds supporting the protection of endangered ancient forests.

Whether you’re a painter, illustrator, graphic designer, doodler, or nature-loving creative, we hope you will consider creating art inspired by ancient forests in BC!

What we’re looking for:

We’re looking for a shirt design that is visually strong and reflects the beauty and grandeur of old-growth forests.

• Designs should be bold, graphic, and suitable for one-colour printing (e.g. line-based or high-contrast styles rather than detailed paintings).
• Must include only flora and fauna native to BC. We especially encourage iconic old-growth species such as western redcedar, Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, and other plants found in coastal temperate rainforests.
• Themes like big trees, famous trees, grand scale, biodiversity, human scale/connection with nature, and the value of standing forests are welcome.
• If you feel inclined to include text, you may include simply “Ancient Forest Alliance” or other inspired text. We do, however, have specific language we use in our campaigns, and we reserve the right to edit/change/remove text if it doesn’t fit AFA’s style/tone.

Looking for inspiration?

Explore our design resources, including AFA logos, a moodboard, past merchandise designs, and imagery of old-growth. Our Old-Growth 101 and Educational pages are also great resources!

What you’ll win:

• Your design printed on the next shirt to be added to AFA’s merchandise collection
• Artist credit on the product page and relevant posts or newsletters
• A thank you feature in our newsletter and social media
• A free shirt and AFA merchandise bundle

Timeline

• May 15, 2026: Submissions open
• June 15, 2026 at 11:59 pm: Submissions closed
• July 6–10, 2026: Winning design announced

Submission Requirements

• Vector file (AI or SVG) required for final selection
• No AI-generated designs
• Max one colour, submitted with a black vector and a white one
• Transparent background
• Include a short (150-word max) artist statement
• Confirm design is original work

Contest Terms & Conditions

By submitting a design, you confirm that:

• The artwork is your original creation and does not infringe on any copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights.
• The artwork was not generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
• You are 18 years or older (or have parental/guardian consent).
• You grant Ancient Forest Alliance permission to display your submission for promotional purposes related to this contest & future merchandise.
• Ancient Forest Alliance reserves the right to adapt artwork for print production (size, colour adjustments, minor formatting changes).

If selected as the winning design, you agree to:

• Grant Ancient Forest Alliance exclusive, perpetual rights to reproduce, distribute, and sell the design on AFA products for fundraising for the campaign.
• Provide a high-resolution production-ready file.
• Allow your name to be used for artist credit (unless anonymity is requested).

Submissions are open from May 15, 2026 and close on June 15, 2026 at 11:59pm. The winner will be messaged directly and announced the week of June 30, 2026.

Email your final design to the AFA team at info@ancientforestalliance.org with the subject: [Name] – T-Shirt Design 2026. Our team will shortlist top designs, with a potential public vote to help select the winner.