Sustainable Green Printing Partnership announces the addition of PolyOne Wilflex, Avon Lake, Ohio, USA, as their newest SGP Patron. "We are excited that PolyOne has chosen to share their expertise within our community. Their water-based Non PVC inks and their own "PolyOne Sustainable Solutions" product and solutions certification exemplifies their commitment and sustainability leadership to the graphic communication industry," says Martine Padilla, Executive Director, Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP).

"PolyOne Wilflex is known for leading the industry in protecting the environment and this goal is at the forefront of our development and marketing efforts," says Marcel Dartee, Global Marketing Director Sustainable Solutions and Biomaterials, PolyOne. "Utilization of "green" raw materials, designing for reduced energy consumption and providing leadership to the industry on sustainability and compliance issues are key elements of our message. Customers want to be rest assured that they are using products and inks that are safe for the environment. PolyOne has established the "PolyOne Sustainable Solutions" certification to denote products or services that meet defined standards for sustainability in areas such as renew-ability, recycle-ability, reusability, eco-conscious composition, or resource efficiency.

When engaging in sustainability-driven conversations, PolyOne embraces 5 basic principles towards developing sustainable solutions: 1) Renewable: Solutions that are based on, or support the use of, renewable, compostable or biodegradable resources. 2) Reusable: Packaging and other logistics-related systems that are easily returned or reused. 3) Recyclable: Solutions that incorporate post-consumer or post-industrial recycle content or which lend themselves to recycling. 4) Eco-conscious composition: Solutions that respond to ever-changing market needs by offering alternatives to traditional materials such as lead and phthalates. 5) Resource efficient: Solutions that help conserve the earth's resources such as those that enable more efficient production, reduce part weight or material consumption, enable faster cycle times or lower energy consumption or provide better insulating properties.

When asked, why become involved with the SGP Partnership by becoming a Patron? "PolyOne Wilflex wanted to "get on the bus" with the green initiative. SGP is viewed as setting the frontier with sustainability initiatives and Wilflex wanted to be a part of a forum that helped to spread the word. Wilflex is already green and compliant we wanted to leverage a forum, such as SGP, to make our sustainability statement clear," said Kevin Shikoluk, Director of Marketing and Technology, PolyOne.

"Our Wilflex Oasis inks represent a complete line of high solids water-based Non PVC inks designed to meet the needs of textile screen printers around the world," noted Shikoluk. "Engineered to meet regulatory, quality, and design specifications, Oasis inks deliver superior on-press performance optimizing production and producing exceptional print results. Our high solids Non PVC inks meet performance on the press (production ease), performance on garment (graphic durability) needs while meetings the brands stringent requirements for hand/feel and regulatory."

PolyOne's global leadership in screen printing is embodied in its Wilflex™ brand inks. Using a worldwide network of distributors, Wilflex provides a variety of solutions for textile printing, including athletic, bases and additives, color mixing, non-PVC, transfer, and white inks. Wilflex inks are made with quality, safety, and the environment in mind. Wilflex™ products are formulated to meet compliance standards supported by an effective system of management controls. PolyOne maintains comprehensive procedures for raw material review and utilizes third party test data to support our compliance programs and leads the industry with CPSIA, Eco Passport and RSL compliance.

"Our focus at PolyOne is total Ink-room management," said Neil Gerrity, PolyOne Director of Sales. "We want to help printers set up the most efficient, cost-effective ink room possible to help them win in a competitive marketplace. We also offer a wide variety of screen printing inks related services, including Ink-Room Management Software, Automated Dispensing Solutions, Color Management, Color Set Downloads, and On-Line Literature."