Eco-friendlier t-shirt printing

Working on a write-up for the new garment printer we are bringing in. It is a direct-to-garment printer that is more eco-friendly that traditional screen printing.

Mostly, it uses fewer chemicals and wastes a whole lot less water than the traditional screen process.

We are excited by the bright vibrant prints we will be able to add, especially by doing it in a more environmentally sensitive manner than traditional printing.

This will allow us to print designs or corporate logos on these goods in the most environmentally sound method available at a reasonable price.

Stay tuned for details as delivery of the printer is later this month.

Origin of the recycle symbol

The original recycling symbol was designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson, a senior at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

It was submitted as part of a nationwide contest for high school and college students sponsored by the Container Corporation of America. The contest was a result of the continued growth of consumer awareness in response to the first Earth Day.

The recycling symbol consists of three-chasing-arrows in the shape of a triangle having rounded vertices. This represents a Mobius strip, discovered in 1858 by August Ferdinand Möbius (1790-1868), a German mathematician and astronomer. Each arrow twists and turns itself, and all three arrows chase each other. It is a consummate representation of recycling. The mobius loop itself was , and has been a mathematical marvel of simplicity, singularity, and continuity ever since.

Each of the three arrows represents a step in a three step process that forms a closed loop; the recycling loop. The first step is collection of materials to be recycled. The re-manufacturing process is the second arrow in the recycling symbol. The third step is the purchase and use of the products made from the recycled materials.

Just a little bit of history....

MAGIC - Ecollection

Just got back from the MAGIC (not Houdini type of magic) Men's Apparel trade show. They had an "eco" area. We were looking for some new products to offer. We found a few interesting one's and a few that were simply trying to appear to be something they were not.

One vendor had taken the Anvil organic t-shirt, cut the tag out, sewn their own tag in and claimed it was their shirt. They had screen-printed a tree on it. I spotted what they did within seconds having used the Anvil T's for screen printing and Tie-Dyeing on our TieDyeMania site.

When I inquired about the product, they were bold enough to tell me about all their certifications, and how hard they worked to have the cotton grown for them and on and on...

When I asked why the label looked funny, they said it was due to the fair trade labor and some other reasons. Every question I asked was answered with another lie.

It is amazing the length that some will go to. I'd respect them if they told the truth about what they were doing and tried to sell their screen print designs rather than claiming the shirt to be theirs.

More on some of the finds at the show later. This company just bothered me and I had to blog it... I feel better now :-)

Econscious - soda bottle recycling

Just got this nice graphic from one of the brands we carry, Econscious. It captures the process of recycling a plastic bottle through the steps really well.

Our company - going greener

Busy working on the list of how to be a greener company. We already do the basics like recycling our cardboard, office paper, plastic and aluminum.

It's easy to recycle the cardboard here as there is a large compactor in our facility to collect it. For all the others, I bundle up the paper, and have a large barrel for the plastic and aluminum and bring it home myself for pick-up. Our town has residential collection, but no commercial collection. They don't make it easy to be green...

We worked with our corrugated box manufacturer to ensure they use recycled content in their boxes. They indicated that just about all boxes these days contain some recycled content. The market is steady, producing a good reliable supply. We also switched all our paper stock over to 100% recycled content. It's amazing how much more recycled copy paper costs compared to traditional stock.

We are looking at some of the little things we can do as well. Like recycling the cardboard rolls from our tape along with the corrugated cardboard. We use rechargeable batteries in our digital cameras and make sure the sleep settings on all the computers reduce their power consumption when not in use. Every little bit helps - if everybody turned off one light bulb for 30 minutes in a room they just left, the overall savings would be huge, while the impact on one person is small.

We continue to lean on our suppliers to be greener. Some of their packaging methods are extremely wasteful. We are getting tag-on productions of what is going to the big companies and it's amazing how much packaging is used to get these products to market. At least we make sure to recycle what we can.

Sometimes it feels like an uphill battle as not everyone feels the same way about recycling.

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Bamboo for clothing - isn't that panda food?

Bamboo clothing makes for both comfortable and versatile designs. It performs well in hot and cool climates. Bamboo clothing offers built-in temperature control. Its breathable nature and moisture wicking properties keep you comfortable in hot weather and the structure of the fibers helps trap warm air to keep you warmer in the winter.

Bamboo can have the look and feel of silk or very soft cotton, but it is a durable fabric due to the long fibers produced during manufacturing. Bamboo clothing is also great for athletes because it doesn't hold odor like synthetic fibers during exercise or after laundering.

Bamboo is an eco-friendly fiber. Maturing in only two years, it doesn't require fertilizer or pesticides or even additional water to grow. Bamboo is a beneficial plant for the planet with most of it growing organically because of the nature of the plant. Technically speaking, it is categorized as a grass and might be the world’s most sustainable resource. It is one of the fastest growing grasses and some varieties can grow up to several feet a day. Bamboo reaches maturity quickly. After harvesting, bamboo does not require replanting because of its vast root network. Cut-off at the base, it sprouts new shoots which grow quickly, pulling in sunlight and greenhouse gases, converting them to new green growth and releasing oxygen at the same time.

The down-side, if there is one, is in the conversion of the pulp into a usable fiber. Most bamboo fabric is chemically manufactured by “cooking” the bamboo leaves and woody shoots in chemical solvents such as sodium hydroxide (also known as caustic soda or lye) in a process also known as hydrolysis alkalizing. Chemicals are also applied to the fibers to bleach them.

There are arguments for both sides about how the processing affects the "greenness" and "sustainability" of bamboo. While it greatly reduces the needs for pesticides, fertilizer and even watering, the chemicals used to process it are harsh. The chemicals is does use are able to be centralized, controlled and cleaned up before any disposal. Comparing that to the run-off of fertilizers and pesticides does seem to make it a better choice.