Two years ago, Rachel DeCavage committed to turning her Middletown, CT-based screen-printing shop and retail store Cinder + Salt into a zero-waste facility. “We haven’t had to empty our trash can since 2017,” DeCavage says.

Rachel DeCavage purchased her father’s Middletown, CT screen-printing business in 2014, rebranding it as a sustainably focused fashion line.

Screen printing is a notoriously messy decorating technique, but DeCavage says she’s taken a number of steps to clean up her shop and put out a more sustainable and earth-friendly product. The shop uses water-based and soy-based chemicals to clean its screens. Rather than purchasing new ink, DeCavage buys used inks from places like Craigslist, adapting her designs to work with the colors of ink she has available. “We’re committed to not buying any new materials,” she says.

DeCavage has also found ways to reuse trash generated during the printing process. She and her co-workers transform tape and other sticky residues into art – like the coral reef sculpture they put in a window display as a commentary on ocean waste. Shop rags are used 10 times then sent to a recycling facility where they live a second life as housing insulation. “We try to upcycle all the waste we create into something more permanent,” DeCavage says.

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“But those trees! Those trees! Those Truffula Trees! All my life I’d been searching for trees such as these.” ..... that’s right! WE MADE TRUFFULA TREES!!! And they’re amazing & crafted from 95% UPCYCLED materials. Truffula trees need to be treated with care, fed fresh water & given fresh air, and unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not! A PORTION OF PROCEEDS FROM TRUFFULA TREES WILL BENEFIT @rainforestactionnetwork who works to protect Earths own ‘Truffulas’ every day against deforestation & wildfires. Only ten available, though we can be persuaded to make more) at just $40 each! #truffula #truffulaforest #truffulatrees #thelorax #lorax #gift #giftgiving #yes #yas

A post shared by cinder + salt (@cinderandsalt) on Nov 26, 2019 at 12:18pm PST

In addition, DeCavage prints her original clothing line on sustainable apparel – including organic cotton, organic hemp and recycled materials.

A hoodie design from Cinder + Salt.

To help community members develop more sustainable practices, Cinder + Salt offers collection bins in the store for hard-to-recycle items. And the shop has hosted a number of beach cleanups on weekends, removing about 900 pounds of garbage from the sand.

DeCavage has been screen printing since she was a child, learning the craft from her father (who started Shirt Man Uniform Company in 1983). DeCavage later bought her father’s commercial printing business, rebranding it and starting her Cinder + Salt clothing line. “I’m still printing on the same press I learned on,” DeCavage says.

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