International Sleep Products Assn. creating green task force
Seeks to clarify claims about environmental qualities of mattresses
David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 19, 2009
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — The International Sleep Products Assn. is tackling a green challenge.The bedding industry's trade association, meeting here at its fall Industry Conference and Exhibition, discussed a number of green topics during its educational program and the group's board approved establishment of a task force to bring clarity to green mattress issues.
The board said that a main objective of the new task force will be to recommend how the industry should address consumer and market confusion about various claims made regarding the environmental qualities of mattresses.
ISPA said the task force will work closely with the Specialty Sleep Assn., which held a green summit earlier this year and pledged to tackle the issue of defining terms such as "green" and "natural." SSA members said at the summit that they wanted to address that issue on a voluntary, industry-wide basis rather than be forced into action by governmental agencies.
In announcing its plans to establish a task force, to consist of a cross-section of small, medium and large mattress producers, in addition to other industry members, ISPA said that the SSA expects to announce early next year the results of its initiative to define key environmental terms and identify existing green standards that may apply to mattresses.
ISPA said its task force would consider a number of issues, including:
• What terms should be defined, and how should they be defined?
• What are the pros and cons of developing a standard scoring system for green products? Who should develop such a standard?
• What are the pros and cons of existing label and seal programs? Who would administer such programs?
• How much would these different approaches cost individual companies, and how much would they cost ISPA?
ISPA addressed a number of other topics at its conference, including how the current recession has altered the American consumer's spending patterns, how to market with social media, and how to better meet consumer expectations in order to boost sales. The attendees also shared their thoughts on the future of ISPA.
ISPA Chairman Don Wright, chief marketing officer at supplier Wright of Thomasville, announced that ISPA trustee Bryan Smith, president of Southerland Inc., will chair an executive search committee that will recommend who should fill the vacant position of ISPA's president.
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