The Steps towards a Green Product
Since Reflexology is related to the feet, why not improve the carbon footprint of our Reflexologists?
Eco friendly products are very important to me. I’ve tried various solutions to make my charts as green as possible, so here’s a bit of information about the specifics of those choices.
Local Production
One of the ways that I can make green products is by keeping production local. I understand that if I get my products printed overseas, I will save on costs and increase profits, but this doesn’t make sense to me to waste so many resources over each chart. So it is important for me to print, and finish all of the products I create locally. Whenever possible I want to print on a product that is going to last. Here’s a bit about what I’ve come up with.
Lamination
Laminating gives the charts a beautiful protective layer with improved protection against tearing, scratching, fading, and smudging.
Having a Polyester 3 mil gloss layer gives the chart a nice thick durable feeling.
Unlike other finishes, laminating is a safe, waste-free process that doesn’t emit anything harmful into the environment.
The Products that are laminated:
Synaps
Synaps paper is Extremely durable & Waterproof I spilled some tea on it and nothing happened.
Synaps is a synthetic paper of a new generation, based on a high grade polyester substrate with a high performance printable topcoat. It combines the physical qualities of a polyester film with the ‘look and feel’ of a luxury paper.
Synaps qualities:
- Polyester-based synthetic paper
- Superior alternative to lamination
- Extremely durable
- Waterproof, tear proof, and weather resistant
- Resists chemicals and grease
- Lays perfectly flat, even if shipped in a tube
- Look and feel of a luxury paper
- Tree-free
Let’s Test this Synaps Paper out – Video
Here is a list of my products that are printed on Synaps Paper
Tyvek (First Generation Products)
This paper is so beautiful with it’s organic fibrous look.
At first, I was using a product called Tyvek which was durable, allowed non-toxic inks, was made with 25% Post-consumer material, was itself 100% recyclable and didn’t require lamination. I’ve had a few issues. Some clients went ahead and laminated the charts themselves, which destroyed the material and that creates waste. Mounting was also a challenge, as Tyvek would slowly wrinkle in reaction to tape or glue. Plus, the production costs were almost triple which makes the charts less accessible to clients.
If you purchased products between 2010 and Dec 2017, you would have received a chart printed on Tyvek. I’m no longer using this material but still stand behind it as a viable green solution.
Tyvek is a strong microfiber material where thousands of super fine plastic fibers are fused together to give this product incredible strength and durability not to mention it’s amazing organic look since you can see these fine fibers in the finished printed product (see image on left). Eco-friendly, Tyvek is made with 25% Post-consumer material and is itself 100% recyclable.
Tyveks qualities:
- Tear-resistant
- water-resistant
- Tree-free
