TS Designs, The Journey to be a Sustainable Company. Presented by Eric Henry

1. Our MISSION is to build a
sustainable company that
simultaneously looks after PEOPLE,
the PLANET and PROFITS.
Eric Henry, T.S.Designs, Inc.

2. Sustainability, a journey not a destination
• 1977 incorporated TS Designs
• NAFTA 1994
• Mid 90s development of our REHANCE technology
• Late 90s changed our company mission to a triple bottom line
• 2004 started manufacturing t-shirts in North Carolina
• 2008 launched Cotton of the Carolinas
• 2011 grew the first certified organic cotton in the NC
Today, over 90% of our t-shirts are domestically
made and over 70% are made in North Carolina

3. Got a
design?
We’ll print it
for you!

6. Case for Cotton of the Carolinas
• More and more of our organic cotton yarn is coming from
oversea sources like Pakistan, India and Turkey
• 32,000 Jobs Lost in North Carolina since NAFTA
• North Carolina is the 3rd largest grower of cotton in US most of
which is exported
• Today a t-shirt can travel 17,000 miles
• Shift back to LOCAL

7. Objectives
• Low Transportation Footprint
• Support NC Jobs
• Complete Product Transparency

8. Dirt to Shirt in 600 Miles
Google map of CotC

10. Complete Product Transparency
Go to http://goo.gl/maps/RrpsE
Farm
Gin
Spin
Knit
Finish
Cut
Sew
Print
Ronnie
Wes
Mark
Kenny
Brian
Eric & Tom
(farmer)
(ginner)
(spinner)
(finisher)
(knitter/cutter/sewer)
(printer/dyer)

11. 5 years later,
The first certified organic cotton is grown and
harvest in North Carolina

12. Continuing the journey
• Passing industrial hemp legislation at both the state and federal level
• Developing natural dyes from agricultural products grown in the
south
• Using the Cotton of the Carolinas supply chain model to develop
apparel beyond just t-shirts, i.e.
• Selling yarn and fabric based on the Cotton of the Carolinas supply
chain

13. “sustainability is a journey,
not a destination”
Eric Henry
336.675.6266 eric@tsdesigns.com
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