Hello investors! We wanted to update you on one piece of the terrific progress Buttonsmith has made in the last couple of months: we are now running the best, most environmentally friendly t-shirt printing line in the world.

When we were looking at the possible technologies for printing t-shirts, we asked ourselves the following questions:

• How will this impact the planet?
• How will this impact the customers who buy and wear the shirts?
• How will this impact our employees?
• How will this impact our community and the country we live in?

We wanted a solution which would be good for the world by every measure.

Good for the planet, sipping clean carbon neutral energy

The first challenge was changing how we used energy, both to use less of it and to ensure that what we do use is entirely clean energy. 

Typically, t-shirt printing involves high-temperature dryers to dry pretreat and cure inks. These dryers usually consume immense amounts of energy, usually from natural gas, and give off a significant amount of waste heat which has to be air conditioned away, using even more energy. 

We made a very different choice: our state-of-the-art t-shirt line employs US-made and designed dryers which use infrared bulbs with sensors that measure the surface temperatures of each shirt as the ink on it is being cured, adjusting the bulb power to provide exactly the correct amount of heat needed. This is dramatically more efficient than the old technologies.

In addition, these dryers are entirely electric, completely powered by clean wind and hydroelectric energy for carbon neutrality.

Good for people, using safe and sustainable inks

When we are printing shirts, there are two kinds of liquids which get applied to the shirts: a pretreat designed to help the ink bond with the cotton in the shirt, and the ink itself. We wanted to be certain that the inks and pretreats we use would not cause any harm to either employees who handle them or to customers who wear our shirts. We chose a pretreat and ink combination which is OEKO-TEX Eco-Passport certified, ensuring it doesn’t contain any substances which are harmful to humans, and CPSIA compliant, meeting the standards for children’s wear. This particular set of concerns is personal: our founder Henry has severe chemical sensitivities and can't even use normal hand soap without reacting. But he can comfortably wear our shirts and work on the t-shirt line — a testament to the safety of our materials.

Good for our unionized employees, allowing them to thrive

We are a proud union printer, and just signed our latest contract with IUPAT Local 1094, ensuring that our employees continue to have a full voice in the workplace and are recognized as the full partners in the business that they are. With the investment in our new printing line, we are the largest unionized printer of on-demand t-shirts in the world. For many of our customers, knowing that the workers who printed the t-shirts are unionized with good jobs is critical.

Good for our country, building a resilient and worker-friendly economy

The items we print on our line are also chosen to help build a resilient and thriving US economy. Our t-shirts are made using US-grown cotton, and our MerchBlue private label shirts are cut and sewn in the USA using US-made fabric, ensuring quality while supporting the American economy.

Investment in a Greener, Kinder Future

We've invested more than $1 million in creating a t-shirt production process that is both environmentally and human-friendly. It's a significant commitment, but one that we believe is necessary to pave the way for a more responsible approach to business and manufacturing.

We want to thank each of you for your continued support and investment in our vision. Together, we are setting a new standard, making strides in technology while respecting both our planet and its inhabitants.

Darcy