Sustainability has become a necessity in today's society. At Design By Humans, we are doing our part to help preserve the natural environment and reduce our ecological footprint. Nobody can change the world in one day, but by printing locally and using environmentally friendly inks, we are taking a small step in helping to improve the condition of the planet. The inks used to print on our T Shirt blanks are mostly water-based, phthalate free, and metal-free and starting last month all screen printed tees will be mostly water-based, phthalate free, and metal-free. Water-based eco-friendly inks produce a lighter print that becomes a part of the shirt rather than sitting on top of the material. The eco-friendly inks that we print with allow for a more breathable T Shirt. Other inks tend to produce a less breathable image and sit on top of the T Shirt, making it feel less authentic.
Watch out for graphic shirts with Phthalate or Metal Inks
When T Shirt designs are printed with inks containing phthalates, as the T Shirt wears over time or if the inks are not cleaned or disposed of properly, phthalates are released into the environment as a pollutant. Design By Humans uses an eco-friendly alternative to phthalate printing ink and water-based inks containing only water and pigment. Water-based inks render vibrant colors, and are much less harmful towards the environment. By using phthalate-free, water-based inks, the image printed on your T Shirt will last just as long as the shirt itself with the ink's ability to hinder cracking and fading. The Design By Humans Premium T Shirt blanks that we print on are guaranteed to be sweatshop-free.
Taking the Turn Toward Sustainability and Eco Friendly Shirts
A Quote from the Synthesis, written by Sara, perfectly paints a picture of the sustainable practices that we stand by in the Design By Humans warehouse.
'The Design By Humans shirts are printed in the USA using eco-friendly inks, and they're guaranteed to be 100% sweatshop and child labor free. I have a strong appreciation for a business that builds this kind of accountability into their business model. I'm hoping that, as the consuming public becomes more demanding of transparency, and more morally aware of injustices ' both human and environmental ' that budding, local entrepreneurs will follow this example.' - Sara
Recycling and Repurposing in our Office
We make it our intent to exercise many sustainable practices in the recycling of our products. When we receive shipments of T-shirt blanks, the cardboard boxes are all recycled, off to become a cardboard box somewhere else in the world. The building, or repurposing of the Design By Humans warehouse is the definition of sustainability. We have taken something old and made it new, preserving as much of the original structure as possible rather then creating a new building. Expensive flooring material and excessive embellishments or decorations are not of importance in our work environment. Here in the Design By Humans Headquarters, an enjoyable and inspiring work environment is more important than the material that our office doors are made of.
Many of the parts used in the original construction of the warehouse, as well as removed from the original space were kept and repurposed as well. Piping from the original structure of the building has been set aside, and we have some very interesting plans for them. To take something old and use it to create something new is a sustainable and entertaining process. Most of our old piping will be used to construct Design By Humans robots to model T Shirts in our entryway, and the rest of the piping will be used to build desks for office use. The wooden pallets used in the refurbishing of the warehouse were reused rather than thrown away. We hand-built a pop-up shop out of the old recycled pallets, a mini portable store that can be erected in any location, completely sustainably built. Any T Shirts that are printed at a quality unfit to be sold on the website are first sold locally, and ultimately donated to those in need.
You are the change that the world needs, no matter how small that change may be. Choosing an eco-friendly shirt from Design By Humans, you are taking a stand against the production of clothing that is harmful to the environment. You are just one person, but one person can take one small step towards a big change. Be alive, be a change, be human.
