Screen Printing - June/July 2017 - 6

PRESSING ISSUES

SGP VISUAL IMPACT EVENT DRAWS 15 RETAIL BRANDS
On March 29, the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership
(SGP) hosted an event for retail brands to discuss the role of
sustainable printing solutions in visual merchandising and
store design. The Visual Impact event was hosted by retailer
Ann Inc. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and was attended
by 15 retail brands including REI, JCPenney, Macy's, Gap,
Coca-Cola, and Under Armour.
The event was timed to coincide with the Globalshop
retail design exposition and demonstrated renewed interest
among retailers to support sustainable business initiatives.
"Due to consumer demands, brands are under constant pressure to become sustainable and have set ambitious goals that
are nearly impossible to reach without participation from
within their supply chain," says Brittany Sutphin, executive

director of SGP. "The most common theme I saw was the
importance of community and transparency when it comes
to sustainability."
Sutphin also observes that retailers are looking for ways
to get around price concerns that have derailed past inquiries
into sustainable printing practices, citing a project by Ann Inc.
in which the company worked with its printer and suppliers
of fabric and yarn to create an affordable, recyclable material:
"Price tends to be king for many buyers, but once a brand establishes sustainability at the core of their business, they seek
like-minded businesses to overcome obstacles like price."
The Visual Impact event was sponsored by SGP, SGIA, 3M,
Ecor, Drytac, Catalina Graphic Films, Mohawk Fine Papers,
and Piedmont Plastics.

EPA UPDATES HAZARDOUS WASTE
GENERATOR STANDARDS
The US EPA has released regulatory changes to
the Hazardous Waste Generator Standards for the
first time in 30 years. The rules have been reorganized to make them more user-friendly, thus
enabling improved compliance by the regulated
community. There are several changes that will
impact our industry.
First, the category of Conditionally Exempt
Small Quantity Generator into which many
specialty printers are classified has been renamed
Very Small Quantity Generator, or VSQG. All other
previous requirements still apply as this change
only represents a renaming of this category of
companies that generate no more than 25 gallons
of hazardous waste per month.
The regulatory changes provide greater
flexibility for hazardous waste generators to
manage waste in a cost-effective manner. One
major change is allowing both VSQG and Small
Quantity Generators to maintain their existing
category provided they comply with a streamlined
set of requirements for episodic events. For
example, facilities that wish to remove all old ink
from their location now have the ability to do so
once a year without bumping up to the next
generator category.
Finally, the new regulations provide clarification
and address ambiguities to foster improved
compliance. Businesses are encouraged to check
with their state environmental agencies to determine when these new requirements will be
adopted and implemented locally.
-Marcia Y. Kinter, SGIA
6

SCREENPRINTING

Source: Drupa's Global Trends Report, 2017. Courtesy of Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann.

FESPA ANNOUNCES 2018 EXPO DATES,
NEW PRESIDENT
FESPA has announced
the date and location
for its 2018 expo, to be
held May 15-18 in Berlin.
FESPA 2018 is expected
to encompass nine halls
of the Berlin Messe with
exhibitors from the
screen, digital, and textile
printing industries.
Additionally, FESPA
has named Christian
Duyckaerts as the association's new president. An inauguration
took place in May at the FESPA 2017 global print expo's Gala
Night in Hamburg, Germany. Duyckaerts, managing director of
Retail Communicators, has represented Belgian printing trade
association Febelgra on the FESPA board since 2002. Christophe Aussenac will serve alongside Duyckaerts as FESPA VP
for the two-year term.

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