• Thinking Green
• The Art of Sustainability
• Interview with The Organic Exchange’s Rebecca Calahan Klein
• Exhibitor News
• A Note From SURTEX

Artist Farida Zaman launched her Think Green & Live Green design series to spread a pro-environmental message. We spoke with her licensing agent, Chris Peterson of CP Licensing, about the program.

At last year’s SURTEX show, CP Licensing introduced a new series of Farida Zaman eco-friendly leaf designs meant to inspire consumers to protect, preserve, reuse and recycle. Avalanche Publishing liked the line and worked with Zaman to develop a series of Leaf Prints calendars printed on environmentally friendly paper. It also teamed up with American Forests to plant a tree for each Leaf Prints calendar purchased.

This gave Zaman and Chris Peterson, owner of CP Licensing, the idea to team up with The Conservation Fund and donate 10% of all royalties from Think Green & Live Green licensed products to that organization. Licensees are encouraged, but not required, to make their own donations to an environmental group of their choice, as well as to make the products as environmentally friendly as possible.

“We’re happy that the message is getting out there, just to get people thinking about using a little bit less,” says Peterson. But she acknowledges that, in the current economy, manufacturers’ margins are low and a donation may not be possible. “Manufacturers are all struggling. I’ve never seen them work harder for a dollar. So we’re going to [make a donation] and if they can do it too, that’s great.” One Think Green licensee that will donate to an environmental group is check manufacturer The Bradford Group.

Peterson believes the line’s environmental tie-in will appeal to consumers, manufacturers and retailers alike. “This is a business,” she says. “We all want to make money. We have a design that’s targeted into the concerns of an enormous consumer base, the design is on-trend, and we’ve added the message. I think it will make money for us and our manufacturers.”

The first Think Green & Live Green products will reach store shelves later this year.

Research shows that many consumers are looking for green products, big retailers are launching pro-environmental strategies, and manufacturers are taking steps to meet consumer and retail demand. Artists need to consider designing for green products, too.

A just-released study by market researcher Mintel showed that 36% of U.S. adults say they “regularly” purchase green products. That is a threefold increase from 12% just 16 months ago. Several other studies show that about half of consumers think green when they consider what products to buy and where to shop.

Meanwhile, 66% of retailers have begun a transition to green practices, according to BDO Seidman’s Retail Compass Survey. Of the top 100 retailers, 83% are involved in green practices and 62% of those have increased their investment in green strategies over the last two years.

“Retailers are on very different paths along that journey,” says Jim Dion, president of retail consultancy Dionco. “Some are taking the first steps and some have been doing this for 25 years. In the last two years, Wal-mart has gone from just about nowhere to a leader.”

One step retailers are taking is to carry more green products. Some of the eco-friendly areas of interest include items containing recycled or recyclable materials; products made of alternative materials such as bamboo, hemp or seaweed; merchandise from organic fibers; products constructed from seeded paper that can be planted to grow wildflowers; reusable products such as canvas shopping bags and reusable gift wrap; and items containing other eco-friendly ingredients such as soy inks.

While artists need to keep up with demand by considering eco-friendly products for their imagery, Dion cautions against overpromoting their greenness. “There’s a danger of too much green halo,” he says. “If you’re ever caught being even slightly not green, it can be very damaging. Consumers will punish companies who are at the forefront and then take shortcuts. But if you’re honestly and ethically trying to take steps internally, where you can, consumers will applaud it and cut you an awful lot of slack.”

Home textiles and apparel made of organic cotton represent a key growth area at retail. We talked to Rebecca Calahan Klein of the Organic Exchange, author of The Organic Cotton Market Report, to find out why.



In 2007, retail sales of organic cotton apparel, home textiles and personal care products were projected to reach $2 billion, up 83% from $1.1 billion in 2006, according to the latest Organic Cotton Market Report published by the Organic Exchange, an organization that promotes organic agriculture. Similar increases are expected to continue for the next several years; these kinds of growth rates should make surface designers take note.

Current areas of interest for organic cotton, according to Rebecca Calahan Klein, OE’s director of program development and author of the report, include infants’ and kids’ clothing, fashion-forward apparel for men and women, and home textiles including sheets and towels. Apparel currently accounts for 85% of the market, home textiles 10%, and personal care 5%.

Big retailers such as Wal-mart—the world’s largest purchaser of organic cotton—and Target in the U.S., as well as C&A, H&M and Marks & Spencer in Europe, are leading the way with significant programs. “They really anticipated what consumers wanted before consumers said they wanted it,” Klein says, noting that shoppers may not seek out organic cotton yet, but are interested when they see items in stores. Fifty large manufacturers, including Nike and Patagonia, currently account for about 70% of the market, but the remaining 30% consists of 1,500 small to medium companies such as surface designers tend to work with.

A product made from organic cotton is not necessarily environmentally friendly all along the manufacturing chain. Artists thinking of working with manufacturers should check the labeling on their products to see if they meet other environmental standards, such as using low-impact dyes and finishes.

MHS Licensing To Introduce Four New Properties at SURTEX® - New York, New York -- MHS Licensing will be debuting four new properties including James Meger, Victoria Schultz, Ann Tristani, and The Adventures of Molly & Macy™ at SURTEX, booth #2422-2424…(more)

Little Star Soup Serves Up Seven New Paper Tableware Sets - NEW YORK, NEW YORK (February 2008) -  Little Star Soup, a Brooklyn Heights based Illustration & Design Studio is happy to announce that they’ve licensed seven new paper tableware collections with Creative Converting…(more)

Finkstrom Strikes New Deals from SURTEX® Show! - Finkstrom Licensing International’s decision to exhibit its “Annoyingly Honest” cartoon art for the first time at the 2007 SURTEX Show has paid off…(more)

Contemporary Wildflowers Will Bloom At SURTEX®: Linda Calvert Jacobson Returns To New York To Spread Some Texas Color - NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS - Texas-based contemporary wildflower artist Linda Calvert Jacobson will exhibit her series of colorful floral art for the first time at the SURTEX trade show this May…(more)

Hollyberry Park Creations Makes Debut at SURTEX®! - New York, New York, March 20, 2008-Hollyberry Park Creations, the newest line of whimsical designs by artist SM Violano, will be making a debut May 18th-20th at the 2008 SURTEX…(more)

C.R. Gibson Introduces Sheri Berry Collections - Sheri Berry Designs of Merriam, Kansas, announces new licensing deals with Lyndhurst/Northcott Silk and C.R. Gibson…(more)

Happy Spring! The days are getting brighter and a sense of renewal is all around us. And preparations for the SURTEX Show are well underway! Are you ready? Have you booked your hotel and travel plans? Have you registered to attend the Conference Program, “The Business of Art…Fundamental Strategies for Success?” Have you purchased your tickets for the Opening Night Party: “Cruise and Connect?” There is still time! Visit www.surtex.com today for more information on these and many other Show-related details to ensure you have the most productive and successful Show ever.

Verbeek & Van den Broek, booth #206, is known for its unique and elegant combination of design, color and style. Founded almost 20 years ago, the studio has become an institution in the international world of surface designing.

New to SURTEX, TJM Artistic Designs will give away an original landscape painting similar to the one shown here-- signed and awarded on-site by artist Tracey J. Marshall. Stop by booth #1102 & 1104 to enter your name for the 5/20 drawing and give-away!

Looking for something fresh and unusual? Visit Sara Henry, booth #602, to experience a fabulous mix of colorful, trend savvy designs incorporating a plethora of techniques.


Petite Frite is a new licensing studio offering a fresh, contemporary and fun approach to imagery targeted to babies, children and young teenagers. Visit us at booth #804!


Jane Shasky looks forward to her fourth year at SURTEX and will unveil new collections including “Blueberry Hill”, “Daisy Garden” and “Old World Rose” in booth #2004, hall 1E.


Textile design studio TLV Art & Design debuts at SURTEX booth #224 in the Galleria.

Darcel Phillips of FreeBird Studio returns for a third year in booth #2219, Hall 1E, showing new collections featuring Christmas, Pet, Floral, Geometric and 60's-Inspired themes.

Caleb Gray Studio will serve up a variety of art at SURTEX, booth #505.  Whether your appetite is for traditional or contemporary illustration, you are sure to find it on the menu of Everyday, Holiday, Wedding, Baby & Kids’ designs.

Jenn Playford designs vibrant patterns for Furochic™ cloth gift wrap, an environmentally friendly alternative to paper gift wrap; 100% reusable!

HAY! Studios will exhibit new designs in the Bouncing Monkeys line. These colorful, fun designs allow customers to place a personalized photo into the product or HAY! Studios can supply a professional photo.

Lilla Rogers Studio

LW Associates

Studio 139 Designs,

Foto4u

Galaxy of Graphics Licensing, LLC

Bentley Licensing Group

Ferreira Morrissey Design Studios

Ms. Moffatt Studio

Andrea Brooks Studio