Free Produce Movement First Local Campaign Against Slave Labor
According to Quakers in the World, “The “free produce” movement was a boycott of any goods produced with slave labour. It was seen as a way of fighting slavery by having consumers buy only produce from non-slave labour. The movement was active in North America...Local Manufacturing and Living Wages
TS Designs President Eric Henry is not shy about advocating for living wages. In 2020, he had the opportunity to participate on a panel discussion at the Industrial Hemp Summit. The discussion on the demand for domestic hemp fiber turned to the importance of seeing...
Eric Henry on Building A Resilient Community
TS Designs President Eric Henry on Building A Resilient Community As we wake each day to headlines about the spread of the Coronavirus, this ominous situation is also a wake-up call about the weaknesses and cracks in the global economy. If our community is largely...
Challenges and Solutions for NC’s Farming Industry
Farmers and agriculture are the backbone of our state, but the farming industry is the most financially and emotionally challenged sector in North Carolina. Farm Bureau reported that in the 12 months leading up to September, 2019, 18 farms filed Chapter 12...
3 Reasons Community Engagement Matters
Community engagement became a top priority after the North American Free Trade Agreement nearly destroyed TS Designs in 1994. That’s when CEO Eric Henry realized there was more to a business than just the “bottom line.” By the late 90s, we’d shifted our focus to...
How Protecting the Environment Became Our Priority
By Eric Henry I’m a tree hugger. My dreams of protecting the environment started when I was growing up on West Front Street in Burlington. We had a vegetable garden in my parents’ backyard, and later my grandfather and I built a geodesic greenhouse. That’s where I...
The Journey to Becoming a Certified B Corporation
President and CEO Eric Henry was recently featured in an article on responsible business in Textile Insight. In it, he shares how TS Designs started on the journey to becoming the first certified B Corporation in North Carolina. “When Nicole Bassett envisioned how to...
Building a Domestic Hemp Supply Chain
In this Sourcing Journal article on US hemp production, TS Designs president and CEO Eric Henry talks about the challenges and hopes for a domestic hemp supply chain. TS Designs is pressing forward with Solid State Clothing, the company’s latest line that will feature...
Sustainable Business Stories with Eric Henry
The Storytelling Lab’s Rain Bennett hosted TS Designs president and CEO Eric Henry for a discussion on sustainable business practices, creative and interactive product stories, and the goal of making a positive impact both personally and professionally. With TS...
Hemp for Sustainable Apparel
Passage of the new Farm Bill in 2019 put hemp front and center again, and TS Designs is following developments closely, even putting together a hemp vision of our own. In this article by Sourcing Journal, president and CEO Eric Henry also contributes to the...
Industrial Hemp Fiber – A Sustainable Alternative
Eric Henry, Bear Fiber President Guy Carpenter, and Patrique Veille-formerly of American Hemp-tested industrial hemp fiber in TS Designs dye house. In this Burlington Times-News article, they talk about their efforts to add to the Carolinas’ textile portfolio by...
Sustainability in Supply Chains Creates Value
TS Designs Cotton of the Carolinas brand was in the spotlight in this Sourcing Journal article on sustainability in supply chains. The transparent and trackable brand uses REHANCE technology, our unique printing method that’s more environmentally-friendly and a higher...