Elon entrepreneurship students visited TS Designs of Burlington, N.C., on April 29. The students participated in discussions with Eric Henry, president of TS Designs, on driving a sustainably focused venture.
TS Designs’ mission: “to build a sustainable company that simultaneously looks after the People, the Planet, and Profits” represents the triple bottom line focus of the company.
Started in 1977, the company began as a small, manual screen printing operation, eventually becoming a fully automated manufacturing company, printing shirts for brands like Nike, Tommy, Polo and GAP. After the 1993 implementation of NAFTA, the firm watched customers flood to Mexico for lower labor costs.
Today, TS Designs sells largely to the now-mainstream group of The Green Movement, but it also prints for organizations looking for a product with a better environmental and social impact.
“Operating a business with a triple bottom line resonates with my core beliefs,” said Elon student Jay Reno. “TS Designs is a role model of the structure and values of my future businesses.”
The visit was sponsored by the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
– Information submitted by Gary Palin, executive director of the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership