Welcome to GreenSpeak, HomeFashion's eco blog.

There’s No “Me Too” In Green

— by JEFF HILLER, PROaction
Marketing Group, and Founding Board Member and Marketing Chair of the
Sustainable Furnishings Council.

posted: Friday, October 1o, 2008

You’d have to be living under a rock on some remote island not to be aware of the attention being paid to the subject of Green these days, and rightfully so. As was disturbingly made clear in the report issued in November 2007 by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an apolitical body founded to review all of the scientific evidence and make policy recommendations to governments around the world, there is a significant and accelerating problem with rising global temperatures that requires equally significant and immediate action. The good news is this has provoked companies in all categories to start producing eco-friendly options. The bad news is that “green” has become a catch-all term for a wide variety of environmental concerns with no clear governance or standard across categories, leading to confusion and in many cases misleading product claims by “me too” companies jumping on the Green bandwagon without providing clear reasons why.

The Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) is a non-profit coalition of materials suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and interior designers formed to clear up at least some of the confusion in the home furnishings industry. Its founding board includes key members of World Wildlife Fund, Rainforest Alliance, and the U.S. Green Building Council, which published a standard for residential furnishings in October 2007 and concluded a broad-based consumer study in July 2008 to explore awareness, attitudes, and behavior of the people who ultimately do the buying. The survey revealed a lot about what has been happening — and even more about what needs to happen.

In general, consumers were found to be reasonably interested and motivated to do the right thing. About half of those surveyed described themselves as very interested in the subject of global warming and have started doing what they can a very healthy proportion and significantly higher than what would have been found even five years ago. Even more importantly, about 40% of people say they would be definitely or very interested in buying Green home furnishing if they liked the style and it cost about the same as other options. According to standard new product testing, this would translate to about a 30% trial rate, the threshold for successful introductions. And yet only about 5% of them say they’ve purchased Green home furnishings, though 80% have purchased Green products in other categories. The natural question then is “why not?”

The answer is simply that in the consumer’s mind, they do not exist or they do not understand the benefits well enough. There are so many products claiming so many different things in so many categories — from general claims like eco-friendly and environmentally safe to specific claims like hybrid fuel technology, certified organic, and 100% recyclable — that consumers are understandably confused. This is compounded by a general lack of availability of products on the floor at many retail stores or offered by designers or specifiers. While more and more companies are offering Green options in wood choices, cushioning, textiles and the like, these products are now commonly stocked or showcased. The commercial furniture industry is well ahead, and residential needs to do some catching up.

As this happens, it will be critical to provide detailed descriptions as to exactly what it is that makes a particular product sustainable. It is not enough simply to say that something is Green or eco-friendly. While these are useful general terms to get you to the right neighborhood, you and your clients or customers need to find the right house, and for that they need more information. Does it use recycled materials, or is it merely recyclable ... done it versus can do it? What percentage of the product’s materials are recycled or certified sustainable or rapidly renewable? Where is the product sourced, and how much transport does it involve, from getting raw materials to the manufacturing to getting finished goods to the consumer? These are the important issues, and it is these that consumers will be asking more and smarter questions about as they become ever more educated.

The smoking gun in global warming, accounting for virtually all of the problem, is carbon dioxide and the largest contributors to emissions are burning fossil fuels for electricity production, transportation and deforestation, in that order. Anything that reduces the use of energy, unnecessary transport, or unsustainable forestry practices is a good thing, and these are the issues that the residential furniture market must address, particularly with so much of the industry made up of imports from Asia where coal-burning power plants are still the norm, distances are vast, and deforestation most prevalent in the tropics.

Sourcing wood independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a great step, as is concentrating on rapidly renewable resources such as Bamboo or Mango. Specifying foam choices that use hybrids of bio-based materials such as soy with polyurethane is another, as are certified organic textiles. And anything that is recycled, not just recyclable (what isn’t?) is huge, whether it’s using antiques, finding products that repurpose other reclaimed elements, or genuinely recycled materials such as aluminum or glass.

Most important is to familiarize yourself enough to guide the process. By no means are you required to become an expert in any one area, but a general understanding of the factual basis for climate change, the related materials issues in furniture, and resources for sourcing legitimately sustainable products is essential so that the next time you hear “me too” you will know exactly what questions to ask. It’s also vital for the progress of the Green Movement overall. As in all markets, price and availability are dictated by demand. If retailers and designers seek more sustainable products to satisfy the interests of their customers, manufacturers will source more sustainable materials and implement more sustainable practices, all of which will work to bring better and more affordable options to the world.

Learn more about the SFC at www.
sustainablefurnishings.org. The Green Marketing Study is available for a nominal underwriting fee through the contacts provided there.

The Green Movement

— by WALLY STRYK, founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and co-owner of Asian Art Imports, a wholesaler of cutting-edge contemporary designs made with recovered and sustainable materials.

posted: Friday, October 1o, 2008

Ask me a year ago about the future of Green and I’d have said something to the effect, “Companies will have no choice but be Green because of consumer demands.” I still believe that but I think the timetable has been set back.

The reason for this is that the economy has had retailers more concerned with keeping the lights on than making socially responsible moves and the ambiguity of what is Green has had a negative effect on consumers.

I’ve participated in the Living Green area of the Las Vegas Market over the last couple of years. I find that the large majority of retailers that we meet are not that concerned with the fact that we’re Green. They’re interested in our design concept. They like the product and the fact that it’s Green is an added bonus ... but just that. Their primary concern is that they like the line, it speaks to them, and it provides them with something fresh that they can sell. Unless a line is vibrant, exciting, possesses quality and has a suitable price point for its target audience, Green or not, it will be a tough sell in today’s market.

The separate issue of clarity as to what is Green is one that will take time to address. The matter is complicated. Even certification programs often do not address such important issues as work conditions, double shipping, and V.O.C.s in adhesives and finishes. Customers will need to know what to ask and make their assessments based on what is acceptable to them.

We are on our way to a Green consumer consciousness ... it’s just a bit further down the road than I initially expected.