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Representatives from North Carolina’s traditional industries — tobacco, furniture and textiles — say they won’t be left out of the green movement unfolding in the Triad.“The textile industry is making strides,” said Peter Hauser , a professor in the college of textiles at N.C. State . “We are better than we used to be.

We are aware of all the energy and water (used) and the pollution generated. We are working to reduce all of that.”

Other manufacturers tell a similar story.

Throughout the tobacco, textile and furniture industries, which once constituted the backbone of the state’s economy, examples can be found of companies taking steps to become more environmentally friendly.

In High Point , there’s Red Egg , a wholesale furniture company that has bucked a trend that has beset the industry for more than a decade: It’s bringing furniture jobs back to the Triad .

The company no longer ships wood to China , where it had been turned into colorful accent pieces and then shipped back to the U.S. for sale.

“That felt very wrong,” said owner Carol Gregg . “The first big step we took to reduce our carbon footprint was to move our manufacturing to North Carolina.”

Now, small shops in Pleasant Garden , Trinity , Archdale , Thomasville and Hickory make the furniture, which saves the company shipping costs and allows for more quality control.

“There’s more attention paid to the details all along the way,” Gregg said .

“(The furniture) will last longer and not wind up in the landfill. In the long run, it is more economical and the correct direction to move in.”
In Winston-Salem, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. says that between 2005 and 2008 it has reduced gas emissions by more than half.

Two years ago, the company, whose brands include Camel and Winston , discontinued the use of coal-fired burners that had produced steam and electricity at its Winston-Salem plant since the turn of the 20th century. Currently, the company is recycling the material in its old tobacco storage sheds in the city.

“Those buildings could have been mowed down and thrown into landfills,” said Seth Moskowitz , a spokesman for Reynolds American Inc. , R.J. Reynolds’ parent company. “They are going to be dismantled and reused. ... We don’t lag behind those other industries.”

In Burlington, there’s TS Designs, a small T-shirt company that uses mostly organic cotton that’s sewn in the U.S. and printed with environmentally friendly inks.

“In the early days, we felt like a Lone Ranger,” said Tom Sineath , the company’s CEO. “(The movement) is very small, but I am seeing growth there.”

Most companies in the textile industry want to make products as cheaply as possible, Sineath said.

“We’re the opposite of that,” he said. “We didn’t just all of a sudden become green. It’s been a journey. ... Sustainability is good, sound business.”

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com