Informative, earth-friendly blog

Recently one of our suppliers started a Wiki entry with information on a variety of eco-friendly fabrics and materials.

It is a pretty good cross section of what is available and the pro's and con's associated with each.

The one gem of wisdom I gleaned from this thing was the recycled PET (ie- the same fabric as a zillion so called eco shopping bags) is not bio-degradable.

http://wiki.aztex.com/index.php/Aztex_Green_Handbook#Cocona.C2.AE

  We live in a bike crazy community called Squamish. It boasts some of the best mountain biking in the world. There are hundreds of miles of amazing municipal trails, single track and brand new commuter bike lanes.

As regular cyclists we were quite enthusiastic to support Squamish's first Bike to Work week! This provincial initiative  encourages people to try cycle commuting and leave the car at home.

Companies can submit teams and can register thier particiaption daily while grabbing a coffee, a smoothie or a muffin. BIke to Work week was spearheaded by Kimberly Armour(shown in red hat) and Brooke Carere.

We provided the t-shirts for the event. We also offered some nice cycling jerseys and socks for prizing. One of our side projects provides merchandise for the Test of Metal mountain bike race. Check out "the shop" on the Test web site to see what we can create for your sport event. We have over 7 years experience in creating sport event merchandise.

 There are two ways to silkscreen a garment. Traditional methods use "Plastisol" which is somewhat toxic to apply and dispose of. The manufacturers of this material have made huge advances in this product during the past few years and apparently the clean up process breaks the toxins down to very miniscule amounts of toxic material going down the drain.

Some industry types claim that its just as "green" as water based "dye-discharge" screening. The clean up process is way less toxic to municipal water ways than say 5 years ago. Depending who you talk too, the screen reclamaiton process is where the enviromental concerns arise in both processes.

We offer both imprint methods to our customers. The one you choose depends a lot how sensitive you are to colour accuracy and how open minded you are to a different looking garment. You can't really compare them. Each has a very different look and feel.

Water based screening

• dye "discharged" from garment
• natural colored fabric is re-dyed with new color
• color becomes part of fabric
• has "worn in" look
• hard to match exact pantone colors
• Color changes slighty after washing
• requires long cure time in energy hungry dryers
• ink has really short shelf life. Constant mixing, throwing out of old ink and re-mixing new ink

Plastisol Screening

• paint like substance coats fabric
• renders colors with intensity
• leaves color of fabric in tact
• color sits on top of fabric
• requires less dryer and cure time
• ink has long shelf life and extra can be re-used

 To read a very detailed and more technical explanation, download this document from the Printers National Enviromental Assistance Centre

The chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) is once again in the news, following the release of a draft report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 15th. The FDA report says BPA is safe at typical exposure levels – a finding welcomed by the food packaging industry and condemned by watchdog groups. The opinion mirrors the findings of a European Food Safety Authority panel, which reviewed the research done on BPA and concluded it passes through the human body much faster than in rodents (the animals used for testing the chemical’s effects) posing little opportunity for harm to human fetuses or newborns.

Critics of the report however, say the FDA is relying on studies funded by the chemical industry and ignoring the research (and warnings) of independent scientists. They claim the FDA is suffering from undue influence and there may be no safe level of exposure to the chemical.

For consumers, the biggest question is whether or not BPA is a health risk. Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer. Here are four things we know for sure:

-    BPA has been in use in the food industry for over 50 years and is used in everything from polycarbonate plastic water and baby bottles to the inner lining for canned foods.
-    Studies have shown the chemical can act as an ‘endocrine disruptor’ affecting sexual development.
-    A national health survey in 2004 found nearly 93% of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their urine. The finding was based upon on testing of 2,500 subjects aged 6 years or older.
-    The amounts were below toxic levels, according to current regulations.

Our advice? If you have children, especially infants, it’s probably not a good idea to heat up milk or formula in plastic baby bottles, as the heating process increases the amount of BPA leaching from the plastic. It’s a simple precaution and one worth taking for the peace of mind it brings.

For the rest of us, it comes down to a personal decision. That’s why we won’t be following the lead of some companies that have unilaterally pulled polycarbonate bottles from their product offerings. Our products have been approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies and we believe consumers should be allowed to make their own choices. We will continue to sell polycarbonate bottles to customers that want them, as well as offering a variety of stainless steel and aluminum models for those who desire the option.
 

You can see our most popular drinkware by clicking on this link: www.earthimprints.com/drinkware
 

Trees Matter is a BC based company that rescues trees from job sites and residential renovations. Trees up to 150 feet are now being moved aside during development and rescued.

They needed a unique way to show the public what they were doing and in turn create some positive PR for them. We helped create a "tree scarf" so that people can see that a certain tree was headed for a happier home, instead of the chopping block or landfill.

IKEA Canada was looking for a unique way to launch thier "IKEA OUR WAY" Campaign. This massive internal procurement and ethics overhaul, is the start of a multi year journey to make IKEA's operations sustainable and create educational and healthy environments for it's workers in worldwide factories.

The project required a lapel pin for all 8000 of IKEA's in-store associates. However the traditional metal lapel pin, made in China, was not in line with the ethos of the campaign. Earth Imprints sourced a BC manufacturer of beetle kill wooden coins and re-purposed the product as a pin. These round wood discs feature the unique "blue stain" of the mountain pine beetle infestation. Currently there are millions of acres of standing pine that requires harvesting or burning. Utilizing this wood creates a new industry for BC's decimated forest economy and a new purpose for this lumber.

In order to assist our client understand the Pine Beetle issue, Earth Imprints went one step further and commisioned a writer to prepare a background package on the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. By 2015 over 80% of BC's pine forests will be decimated by this insect.

A cup of change may not seem like a lot, but Jessica Arbour and three of her fellow students at Capilano College believe the reusable corn-based cups they sourced from Earth Imprints are going to add up to a big change in the hospitality and tourism industry.

The idea behind the project – reduce the enormous amount of waste generated by the use of paper cups at places like hotels and campuses. The way the students demonstrated just how many disposable cups their college uses in a year – a 15 by 8 foot “waterfall” art display visually demonstrating how the switch to reusable cups would reduce the amount of garbage headed to a landfill.

“The College loves the mugs,” says Arbour. “We’ve had a really positive response.”

The display attracted a huge audience at the college according to Arbour and opened more than a few eyes to both the amount of waste we generate and the simple alternatives that are available.

“People like to learn about these eco-friendly products,” says Jessica, adding, “They’re surprised to find out about the range of products that are available.”

The successful first run of the corn cups led to a $200 cash donation to Offsetters, a non-profit society dedicated to reducing CO2 emissions and another run of the reusable cups, to be distributed to a tourism educators conference in Whistler, B.C.

The Cup of Change team is now planning to expand their project into the hospitality industry. They believe the cups are an ideal match for hotels and resorts where guests can use the cups during their stay and perhaps even purchase them as an eco-friendly memento of their stay.