Sustainable Furniture Council sets Vegas events
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, July 30, 2007
Las Vegas — The Sustainable Furniture Council, a non-profit group that promotes the use of furniture made with environmentally friendly and/or sustainable materials, is hosting several membership and educational events at the summer market here.
On Tuesday, July 31, it will hold its SFC Market meeting for members and potential members in the World Market Center, space B-210. The 8–9 a.m. event will provide an update of SFC activities, plus various committee reports.
The event also seeks to recruit new SFC members. Currently the group has 90 members, and its leaders hope to reach at least 100 during this market.
Speakers at the meeting will include Gerry Cooklin, SFC board president and CEO of case goods manufacturer South Cone Inds.; Susan Inglis, SFC executive director and From the Mountain principal; and Jeff Hiller, co-chair of the SFC education committee and vice president of marketing for case goods importer Four Hands.
At 3 p.m. the same day, a panel discussion on Sustainable Retail Practices will take place in Room 104 of the Sands Convention and Expo Center, addressing how retailers can promote and sell sustainable furniture.
The event will be moderated by Washington environmental lawyer Mike Italiano and will include a panel of three retailers, who had not been named at press time.
"They will talk about why they are concerned with sustainability in their stores, their catalogs and their operations," Inglis said. "They will tell what their customers are saying to them, what their customers are buying and how much they are willing to pay."
Italiano also works with the Washington-based Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability, an agency that promotes the use of sustainable products in the marketplace. On Wednesday, Aug. 1, he also will help lead a workshop called Sustainability 101, which will be held at 10 a.m. in the World View Room on the 16th floor of the WMC's Building B.
The event is geared toward helping industry professionals learn about the legal definitions of sustainable, and why that's important in relation to truth-in-advertising laws.
"To adhere to truth-in-advertising laws, the product must be a product that does not harm the environment from the time a tree is cut down to the time that product is no longer used," Inglis said.
The last event is a party set for 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Living Green Pavilion/Greenhouse Gallery at the Sands. The area will feature exhibits by SFC members and others promoting sustainable products.
As part of the event, officials will announce the winners of a contest based on product design and sustainability.
