SO YOU'VE GONE GREEN?

But are the custom uniforms, T- shirts, and promotional apparel you buy or sell as green as you?

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  Being Green
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  Eco Friendly
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  Organic Clothing
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  Recycling
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  Coming Soon
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  Sustainable

What being "GREEN" means to Sharprint

Being “green”, sustainable, socially responsible, and overall a great place to work has always been at the heart of the Sharprint family. When we started this company over 25 years ago, we didn’t realize how progressive our actions were. Good business practices and common sense have always been guidelines by which we conduct ourselves. When we discuss the things we can do to make Sharprint a stronger company we do not separate “green” initiatives from production and service efforts. We have developed a culture that incorporates environmental impact and social responsibility as key success factors in everything we do. From choosing the paint color on the walls (soy-based paint), to choosing the chemicals we use on the production floor (citrus-based, not solvents), we are always looking for alternate ways to do what we do better. We believe that it’s not enough to just understand the products we are using, but it is also important to know how responsible the company is that manufactures them and how those products will effect our staff and nature. We support many small start-up chemical and consumables companies with very innovative natural products.

Examples of Green or Eco-Friendly products Sharprint uses in production?

Cleaners and Chemicals:

In the printing industry, the primary chemicals that both employees and the environment are exposed to are traditional thinners and solvents used to clean up inks, tools, screens and even the floor. We have replaced any dangerous chemicals with a product that is citrus- based and completely safe for both bodily contact and disposal. And the shop smells like oranges!

Inks and Solid Waste:

As a screen printer, it is impossible to get around using plastics. That said, how to dispose of that solid waste is a huge area of concern for us. We have contracted with a company that picks up our plastic ink waste and sells it to a company that further refines the sludge to make roofing tar for homes instead of putting it into a landfill. This means NO LANDFILL for our sludge, making a hugely positive impact instead of a dramatically negative one. By avoiding landfills, we eliminate the drums of chemicals that sit in landfills for years and years have major seepage issues and end up contaminating the earth around them.

Organic / Sustainable Clothing and Fabrics?

Organic cotton apparel has been around for a while, but have you seen 60% soy? Or how about 60% bamboo, 40% organic cotton? These fabrics encourage fewer pesticides in the cotton industry and are incorporating sustainable, not just organic, components into the textile world. From jackets and polar fleece made of recycled water bottles to 100% bamboo t-shirts and polos that feel like the softest material you've ever touched, Sharprint stays in front of curve so you don't have to.

How does your company recycle?

Sharprint has been recycling for years but recently we have really stepped up our game. We implemented departmental goals with incentives to decrease landfill trash and came up with innovative recycling options... and it’s working! We have reduced our trash from 2 large containers emptied 3 times per week to only 1 container emptied once a week. Instead, we implemented 2 recycling containers which are emptied twice a week. Therefore, we have not only transitioned more to recycling than landfill use, but we have also decreased our overall waste in a time of increased production.

In the Pipe-line / Coming soon...

The second is the development of “fresh inks.” There are small companies out there making 100% organic plant-based inks for t-shirt printing. These inks, however, are so unstable that they cannot be shipped because they spoil so quickly. The only way to get an organic ink in the shop is to make it right here. We have just begun the development of natural ink chemistry and are excited to have samples to show soon. How would you like to buy a t-shirt made of soy and printed with inks made from vegetable oils?

How Sharprint is working towards becoming a more sustainable business?

Equipment: We have invested in new highly energy-efficient equipment that recycles up to 90% of the hot air needed to dry ink on shirts back into the dryer. This has reduced our consumption of electricity and lowered the overall temperature of our employees’ work environment. Process: We started a corrugated re-use program to cut 50% of our waste and reduced our new corrugated purchases by 70%. Products: We have developed custom packing solutions for regular customers which provide boxes strong enough to send product back and forth up to 10 times before the boxes have to be recycled.

Sharprint is 100% focused on creating a great place TODAY for each of its 125 employees in Chicago and an even better world TOMORROW for their children and grandchildren!