Green trends make headway in Las Vegas

Heath E. Combs — Furniture Today

ecycling, reclaimed products take stage
LAS VEGAS — The furniture industry’s green wave kept rolling at this summer’s Las Vegas Market with product introductions and smaller, more nuanced moves.

Some of the more subtle touches included round metal trash cans in the World Market Center’s three buildings that greeted attendees with large “Relax, We Recycle” stickers on their side.

“It’s a simple, effective message. It kind of had a ‘rest assured, don’t think about it’ connotation,” said Dana Andrew, vice president of marketing and public relations for the WMC. “They can be confident that what goes into cans can be filtered and recycled on site.”
Andrew said more than 100 cans were labeled with the “Relax” message. WMC can recycle up to 80% of items disposed on campus through its recycling center.

Exhibitors carried the green theme into their show spaces. Youth, dining and occasional table supplier Powell, for example, used low-VOC — volatile organic compound — paints and flooring made from recycled tires as part of its new Powell Kids gallery program.

Broyhill will cut its Reclamations collection, a four-piece occasional table group made with reclaimed solid pine tops. Emerald Home Furnishings released a green story in its Oslo dining group, featuring reduced-emission particleboard, bamboo veneer and water-based finishes.

The market’s Living Green Pavilion, whose last location was at the offsite MGM Grand exhibition space, debuted as an onsite exhibitor here with an impressive space taking up most of the Building C’s fifth floor.

With ample space to show their product, Sustainable Furniture Council members did well in the Living Green Pavilion, said Susan Inglis, the council’s executive director.

“That property has been tremendously committed to plugging green,” Inglis said.

Inglis said the market’s contacts have been helpful. For instance, she cited a WMC-sponsored seminar, “Let’s Go Green! But How Green and at What Pace?” by Charlotte Matthews, vice president of sustainability for The Related Cos., the exhibition’s developer.

The council also began released details about its green market research study for sale through the organization, she said.

Inglis said one of the highlights of the market was the inaugural One Good Chair contest, which received 300 entries.

“The designers really had a grasp of what sustainability means. It was about form and about beauty but it was very much a matter of course that they were applying sustainable practices,” Inglis said.

Anthony Majewski, general manager of monkey pod, farmed teak and mango wood furnishings source Natural Fine Furnishings, said that in a tough economy, eco-friendly product may suffer somewhat because retailers are looking for sure sellers. But presenting a consistent message to retailers at markets should help when a recovery occurs, he said.

“Overall we hit a couple home runs and made some money,” Majewski said. “At market because you’re dealing with the wholesale retail customers, you have to be present to keep your name in front of those major consumers.”

Also, he said many buyers flew in for short visits with strict schedules on who they would visit before leaving. He said that underscored the importance of pre-market work, like e-commerce marketing, scheduling appointments and getting retailers’ attention before the event.

Taken From www.furnituretoday.com.