Let's go green! We'll help you can Industry going eco-friendly
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, March 11, 2007
If you keep your ear to the ground, you often hear things that give you a heads up. Lately, I've been hearing a lot about the growing interest in green, aka eco-friendly, sustainable-source products. Furniture/Today has had stories about the important work being done by the Sustainable Furniture Council, an industry group led by Gerry Cooklin, founder and CEO of South Cone.
The SFC's priorities include educating our industry on all issues regarding sustainable practices in furniture, creating an ongoing forum for discussing critical sustainability issues, formulating effective standards so an SFC label has real meaning, and providing co-op advertising and marketing to help spread the group's mission and message.
You can experience the greening of the home furnishings industry first hand during the upcoming market at the GreenStyle Party, set for Thursday, March 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Century courtyard. The event will be presented by Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., the High Point Market Authority, the SFC and sponsored by Furniture/Today.
The timing for a major green initiative couldn't be better. As Cooklin points out, the need for sustainable products is being driven by consumers and the demand is growing every day.
The market isn't small. Some $230 billion a year is spent on what's considered sustainable products and services, according to MarketResearch.com. Research shows 36 million consumers, or 12% of the population, embrace green, although 21% aren't interested.
Another research firm, Mintel International Group, says the green market could be as large as $500 billion and should dramatically increase — if we educate potential customers about the benefits of buying green.
Furniture/Today is rolling up its sleeves to help. In the second quarter, we're launching our first all-digital publication. Aptly called Green, this electronic magazine will be full of the vital information you expect from us.
Each issue will have statistics about the market for green home furnishings, profiles of green retailers, a look at green products in all categories, and much more.
And being a digital product, trees won't come down to help us raise the green banner. I'm excited about this new initiative. I hope you will be too.
