Leading Finisher Enters the Public Eye with Green Technology and New Marketing Strategy
August 27, 2008
HIGH POINT, North Carolina – TSG Incorporated, a fabric finisher specializing in chemical applications and mechanical finishing techniques, officially launched its Balance™ program at Showtime this June. TSG has named Balance™ as the first of its kind to offer "green" finishing options. The program includes several finishes, which, through the partnership of TSG and G3 Technology Innovations (G3i), utilize GreenShield nanotechnology.
"Balance™ is an umbrella program," said Brian Rosenstein, director of operations at TSG in late June. "To the best of my knowledge there's nobody else out there who offers a comprehensive line of eco-friendly finishes like TSG does. We've got back-coatings, non-halogenated fire retardant finishes, stain repellents and abrasion enhancers. Nobody else has the capabilities to do what we do."
"GreenShield is the backbone for the Balance™ program," continued Rosenstein. "TSG has been working with GreenShield for over a year now and we have just gone to production with this in the last two months." GreenShield is a nanotechnology provided by G3i to TSG that "enables surface functionalization of nanoparticles… thereby reducing the overall chemistry necessary to perform a specific function," read a release by G3i.
"GreenShield technology can revolutionize the textile industry by allowing multiple chemical properties to be applied in the same pass," added Rosenstein. "I am not aware of any other technology that allows the application of a stain repellent, flame retardant and abrasion enhancer in one pass using one chemical. That is currently a three step process for us."
Third-party testing companies such as the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) and Air Quality Services have positively assessed several of the Balance™ processes. In fact, MBDC assessed TSG with a GOLD level of Cradle to Cradle Certification for its abrasion enhancer and upholstery and wall covering back-coatings. Ll three processes, indicated Rosenstein, are recyclable, polyester-based and made from 24 percent post-consumer recycled product.
Rosenstein also indicated in July that TSG has achieved Cradle to Cradle certification on both Balance™EF stain repellent that uses low amounts of fluorocarbons and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Balance™LC35, which is a high-performance finish protective treatment with a moisture barrier that is antimicrobial and fire-retardant. Balance™LC35 uses non-halogenated fire retardant that contains no bromines. Instead, it is a phosphorous-based treatment, which Rosenstein indicated has no negative effects.
Additionally, Air Quality Services, Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 registered IAQ company for product testing, estimated in April of 2007 that TSG's product would possibly meet GREENGUARD criteria. Rosenstein indicated that the only factor hindering TSG from attaining the GREENGUARD certification was the cost of the test.
"The reason we're getting MBDC certification is not for fun," said Rosenstein. "It costs a lot of money [from $10,000-$20,000], but we're being told that we won't get business unless we get that certification. Fabric companies are being told that by their customers, the manufacturers. A lot of it is hospitality-driven."
According to Paul Bennotti, vice president of marketing and business development of G3 Technology Innovations, "Up until now, the chemicals used for finishing textiles have not been under the intense scrutiny for their environmental and human health impacts. Now the complete fabric can be evaluated for how green it really is."
"The finishing process is not just a second thought to textiles," Bennotti continued. "But rather, it plays a major role in making fabrics meet the performance characteristics required by many end-uses of the contract market: Hospitality, Healthcare, Educational, Institutional and Corporate."
TSG developed its Balance™ technology to cater to these customers. "We started really working with it a year ago because the requests came through for environmentally friendly technology," said Rosenstein. "Because we have our own in-house research and development resources, we were able to respond to that very quickly."
The demand for an eco-friendlier finish among manufacturers is also the drive behind TSG's new marketing strategy. "Going green is obviously something that is good for the environment. You want your company to be sustainable and we're going through doing what everybody else is doing," said Rosenstein. "We're getting rid of Styrofoam cups and putting in special light bulbs, but what it ultimately boils down to is staying in business. Going green won't keep us in business but responding to the needs of the industry is the main basis for the launch of Balance™. It has been officially launched at Showtime ... We weren't calling it Balance™ until Showtime but we were using Balance™ processes before then."
"We are a technology company," continued Rosenstein. "In the past we've been the guy behind the guy behind the guy. Nobody wanted to admit they used a finisher; they would come up and call us up and say they wanted a back-coating and then sell it as their product. They took care of all the marketing and we didn't care about playing low man on the totem pole as long as we got the business. Now everyone is asking us to participate in the selling and marketing of products. It's very recent. We're now being put in the position to get our name out there."
"This is so new we have not even begun to figure out whether the new need for marketing will help us financially or not," Rosenstein added. "From the shows we've been going to we've found out that people are very happy about what we're doing. We created Balance™ to attract the designers and salesmen and our customers' customers. So far we've met vast amounts of praise, but not only praise, we're getting 'thank you.'"
"Balance™ is an umbrella program," said Brian Rosenstein, director of operations at TSG in late June. "To the best of my knowledge there's nobody else out there who offers a comprehensive line of eco-friendly finishes like TSG does. We've got back-coatings, non-halogenated fire retardant finishes, stain repellents and abrasion enhancers. Nobody else has the capabilities to do what we do."
"GreenShield is the backbone for the Balance™ program," continued Rosenstein. "TSG has been working with GreenShield for over a year now and we have just gone to production with this in the last two months." GreenShield is a nanotechnology provided by G3i to TSG that "enables surface functionalization of nanoparticles… thereby reducing the overall chemistry necessary to perform a specific function," read a release by G3i.
"GreenShield technology can revolutionize the textile industry by allowing multiple chemical properties to be applied in the same pass," added Rosenstein. "I am not aware of any other technology that allows the application of a stain repellent, flame retardant and abrasion enhancer in one pass using one chemical. That is currently a three step process for us."
Third-party testing companies such as the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) and Air Quality Services have positively assessed several of the Balance™ processes. In fact, MBDC assessed TSG with a GOLD level of Cradle to Cradle Certification for its abrasion enhancer and upholstery and wall covering back-coatings. Ll three processes, indicated Rosenstein, are recyclable, polyester-based and made from 24 percent post-consumer recycled product.
Rosenstein also indicated in July that TSG has achieved Cradle to Cradle certification on both Balance™EF stain repellent that uses low amounts of fluorocarbons and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Balance™LC35, which is a high-performance finish protective treatment with a moisture barrier that is antimicrobial and fire-retardant. Balance™LC35 uses non-halogenated fire retardant that contains no bromines. Instead, it is a phosphorous-based treatment, which Rosenstein indicated has no negative effects.
Additionally, Air Quality Services, Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 registered IAQ company for product testing, estimated in April of 2007 that TSG's product would possibly meet GREENGUARD criteria. Rosenstein indicated that the only factor hindering TSG from attaining the GREENGUARD certification was the cost of the test.
"The reason we're getting MBDC certification is not for fun," said Rosenstein. "It costs a lot of money [from $10,000-$20,000], but we're being told that we won't get business unless we get that certification. Fabric companies are being told that by their customers, the manufacturers. A lot of it is hospitality-driven."
According to Paul Bennotti, vice president of marketing and business development of G3 Technology Innovations, "Up until now, the chemicals used for finishing textiles have not been under the intense scrutiny for their environmental and human health impacts. Now the complete fabric can be evaluated for how green it really is."
"The finishing process is not just a second thought to textiles," Bennotti continued. "But rather, it plays a major role in making fabrics meet the performance characteristics required by many end-uses of the contract market: Hospitality, Healthcare, Educational, Institutional and Corporate."
TSG developed its Balance™ technology to cater to these customers. "We started really working with it a year ago because the requests came through for environmentally friendly technology," said Rosenstein. "Because we have our own in-house research and development resources, we were able to respond to that very quickly."
The demand for an eco-friendlier finish among manufacturers is also the drive behind TSG's new marketing strategy. "Going green is obviously something that is good for the environment. You want your company to be sustainable and we're going through doing what everybody else is doing," said Rosenstein. "We're getting rid of Styrofoam cups and putting in special light bulbs, but what it ultimately boils down to is staying in business. Going green won't keep us in business but responding to the needs of the industry is the main basis for the launch of Balance™. It has been officially launched at Showtime ... We weren't calling it Balance™ until Showtime but we were using Balance™ processes before then."
"We are a technology company," continued Rosenstein. "In the past we've been the guy behind the guy behind the guy. Nobody wanted to admit they used a finisher; they would come up and call us up and say they wanted a back-coating and then sell it as their product. They took care of all the marketing and we didn't care about playing low man on the totem pole as long as we got the business. Now everyone is asking us to participate in the selling and marketing of products. It's very recent. We're now being put in the position to get our name out there."
"This is so new we have not even begun to figure out whether the new need for marketing will help us financially or not," Rosenstein added. "From the shows we've been going to we've found out that people are very happy about what we're doing. We created Balance™ to attract the designers and salesmen and our customers' customers. So far we've met vast amounts of praise, but not only praise, we're getting 'thank you.'"
