Screen Printer Refuses to Use Inks Associated with Breast Cancer

Judy Mazzuca, owner of Ink Forest Eco-Friendly Screen Printing, Oak Forest, Ill., is supporting breast cancer awareness and prevention through T-shirts, but not by simply printing them. Ink Forest Eco-Friendly Screen Printing uses only water-based inks, avoiding chemicals, like PVC and phthalates, that can be associated with causing breast cancer and other diseases.

"Annually, thousands of women selflessly participate in charity walks," Mazzuca said in a press release. "To show unity for the cause, they receive and wear a T-shirt printed with plasitol inks, rather than water-based inks. This practice needs to change immediately."

Ink Forest Eco-Friendly Screen Printing prints custom designs on T-shirts, and has used only water-based inks since 2013.

The company is also the only Green America-certified green screen printer in the U.S. To meet Green America certification, the company must meet the following criteria, according to the organization's website:

• Actively using its business as a tool for positive social change
• Operating a "values-driven" enterprise according to principles of social justice and environmental sustainability
• Environmentally responsible in the way it sources, manufactures and markets its products and runs its operations and facilities.
• Socially equitable and committed to extraordinary practices that benefit workers, customers, communities and the environment
• Accountable for its work by continually improving and tracking its progress, and operating with radical transparency in every facet of its business

Water-based ink utilizes water as the main solvent, according to the Printers' National Environmental Assistance Center (PNEAC). The ink provides a "soft hand," where the ink film cannot be felt easily when touched. It's also used for towel printing, as water-based inks wick into the high nap fabric.

For more information on Ink Forest Eco-Friendly Screen Printing, visit www.inkforest.net.