Sustainable T-shirts Just Got Sunnier

Artevist’s printer adds solar to its list of eco-friendly initiatives.

By: ArtAdmin | Oct 6, 2008 |  1

Categories: T-shirts Our Products, Artevist

Over a year ago, when we were looking for the most eco-friendly way to print T-shirts, we stumbled upon T.S. Designs of North Carolina through an article in the Grist. Their REHANCE water-based dye process, which you can read all about in About Our T-shirts, sold us on the idea that you could produce a T-shirt in a far more eco-friendly way and still turn out an amazingly high quality product.

What really convinced us that T.S. Designs was the way to go, however, was the company itself. They have an unwavering commitment to sustainability; from the way they print Tees to the way they run their business day-to-day. Their latest initiative is the installation of a large 8.6 kW solar array on the rooftop of their Burlington, NC factory at a cost of US $71,000.

T.S. Designs will sell the energy from the array to NC Greenpower, a renewable energy broker that purchases energy from people generating solar and wind power, and then sells that power directly to Duke Energy, the area electricity supplier. T.S. Designs then buys its energy from NC Greenpower through a program of renewable energy credits. You'll have to visit their website for a detailed cost analysis as it gets a little complicated.

Though buying renewable energy credits isn't as glamorous as having power come directly from an array on the roof, it's actually a more efficient use of the installed technology and more cost effective. Having the array deliver power directly to the factory would require the installation of expensive battery banks. It's also difficult to match the solar array's output to the needs of the factory, with the result that power might go unused. This way all of the power generated goes to the grid where it will be used.

We love T.S. Designs commitment to environmentally responsible T-shirt production as much as we love their REHANCE Tees. They really do live up to their motto: "Printing T-shirts for Good".

Please visit T.S. Designs' website for more information.

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Very cool!

By: Mike
posted: October 09, 2008 at 08:37 PM