Green Scene

BY PHIL HAGEN

Promoting Green Furnishings

The Sustainable Furniture Council

Some 20 vendors took part in the Las Vegas Furniture Market's Living Green Pavilion this summer.

Of the nearly 4 million square feet of furniture display space at this summer's Las Vegas Furniture Market, a mere 6,000 were devoted to the Living Green Pavilion. And yet a sustainability statement finally had been made by the industry. This was partly because last year no major furniture market—in Las Vegas or in High Point, North Carolina—devoted a single square foot to the subject. But another reason was that, while the 20 or so venders within the bamboo-lined booths certainly stood out from the masses (1,300 total), it was apparent that this show of green was more about marketplace reality than tree-hugging fantasy.

"We are in a race," said Gerry Cooklin of South Cone Trading Company during a discussion by a panel of furniture retailers and manufacturers. "We need to reach the consumer."

While companies like South Cone were in the pavilion as a show of green solidarity, it was Cooklin's new nonprofit organization, the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC), that seemed to glue the idea together. This could prove to be an important bit of cohesion for both consumers and designers, given the gathering green-marketing storm on the horizon.

The SFC is on a mission to promote sustainable practices by becoming a LEED-type authority in the home furnishings industry. The association was launched with about 50 members in March and was on the verge of 100 as the Las Vegas Furniture Market got under way. Together with Channel Logic Inc. and Las Vegas' World Market Center, it organized the special pavilion to build the green momentum—and its list.

Manufacturers and retailers can become members for a fee that tops out at $1,500 per year (for large corporations), but only after being approved by the SFC. In other words, companies must be engaged in sustainable practices (from operations to supply chain), plus show a growing commitment to the cause, which is described as striking a "healthy balance between the environment, local economies and social equity."

A booth at the Living Green Pavilion.

What that means for members is more credibility and clarity amid the murky marketing tactics ("green washing") by companies unlawfully hitching a ride on the sustainability bandwagon. In addition to getting its wood certified through the Forest Stewardship Council, for example, a company can now get itself certified by the SFC.

Right now the questions on the four-page membership application are pretty basic, ranging from "Why are you interested in sustainability?" to "Do you source 50 percent or more of your raw materials within a 500-mile radius of your manufacturing or retail center?" But, says SFC executive director Susan Inglis, the eligibility process will intensify as the organization matures and gains more resources.

"This year our application is mostly about a company's stance on sustainability," says Inglis, owner of From The Mountain, a North Carolina–based business that connects global artisans with new markets. "Next year our questions will be more pointed."

By then there will be two types of certification: Basic and Exemplary. Someday the SFC may certify products, too, but for now it's all about building membership and awareness through marketing and also (coming soon) monthly events at member stores.

Basically, the SFC's purpose boils down to providing a credible answer to the increasingly frequent question, "Where can I find quality sustainable products?"

Rugs by Christian Rathbone, a member of the Sustainable Furniture Council.

"Interior designers were among the people most excited to know we're now a resource," Inglis says. "They need to know how to answer when a client asks this—and more are asking."

Veterans of sustainable manufacturing are glad for the unified voice, too. Members showing their colors at the pavilion included Eurasi Enterprises, whose Rainbow line consists of recycled wood from Brazil; Organo Natural Furnishings, which features bamboo, wheatboard or sustainably harvested woods in its high-end contemporary line of tables and frames; and Western Heritage Furniture, a manufacturer out of Jerome, Arizona, whose motto for 15 years has been "Our wood doesn't grow on trees."

"Joining the council was a natural progression for this company," says Stacey Champion of Champion Indoor Environmental Services, a "green" consultant for Western Heritage Furniture. "It will help give name recognition for consumers who are looking for a sustainability-conscious company." The SFC, she adds, "can become the LEED of the furniture industry if they play their cards right."

There was evidence that the little exposure at the Las Vegas market was a big first step, starting with the fact that 20,000 square feet were already committed for the second Living Green Pavilion in January, and ending with the rumor that U2 singer Bono's wife, designer Ali Hewson, just might show her new line of sustainable furniture there.

Imagine what kind of industry statement that could make.

Sustainable Furniture Council, Chapel Hill, NC; (919) 967-1762 or www.sustainablefurniturecouncil.com.