At Screen Gems, we know you want to be environmentally conscious and have a low impact on our precious earth. By purchasing 100% organic shirts you will not only help the environment but you will also help to spread the word that organic farming is the way of the future. By purchasing organic products you are helping the organic farmers survive in a world that ignores safe and sustainable farming practices. To find out more about organic cotton please go to our featured suppliers web sites and see how they are making a difference .

Screen Gems offers several eco-friendly printing choices. The reason there are several choices is because not every problem can be solved with just one printing technique. You have started out right by purchasing 100% organic cotton tees so no matter which ink you choose to print with you are already ahead. So here are four ways to an even greener tee.

Waterbased Ink. This by far is the best way to go. It is bright and colorful, has literally no hand (rough feel). It washes well and there’s no PVC resins used in the manufacturing of it. Its only problem is that it should only be printed on white or light colored shirts as it is a transparent ink. White can be added to the colors to make them less transparent but the colors will shift to pastels if you go too far. Adding white will give the ink a rougher hand.

Waterbased Discharge Ink. Discharge ink is named because it has a chemical agent added to it that will remove the dyes in the shirt and replace it with a waterbased color. Like waterbase inks it has a soft hand . The colors are bright and wash fast. The problem with this ink is that it doesn’t discharge the same on every type shirt and it has a “CHEMICAL”. The chemical is formaldehyde and although it sounds bad, it isn’t as harmful as you may think. It is used in such small quantities that it is hardly there and it washes out of the shirt in the first washing. In the past, many people were scared away because of the formaldehyde but much progress has been made to make this ink a safe product and many organic printers use it.

PVC Free Inks. This ink is relatively new. It is a plastisol ink which means it is made from oil based products. However, it is made using no harmful PVC (poly vinyl chloride) resins. It is good for printing on dark fabrics when waterbased discharge inks do not work. The problem with this type of ink is that it lacks PVC resins so it has a rough hand to it. PVC resins are what make plastisol inks so supple and soft. This ink is VERY EXPENSIVE and will be priced higher. Stay away from large area prints with this ink.

Plastisol inks. This is the standard of the t-shirt industry. It is not as eco-friendly as the previous inks but in some cases it may be just what you are looking for. It has PVC resins but manufacturers of plastisol will argue until their dying day that they are not the harmful monster they are made out to be and that their inks are no more harmful than some waterbased inks. You have seen these inks on all your favorite shirts so you know what to expect. If you absolutely must stay completely green then stay away from this ink. However, many environmentally conscious companies are still using this ink because there is no substitution for the quality print you can get from plastisol.