Upholstery makers going green
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, August 31, 2008
HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT — Upholstery covered with eco-friendly fabrics is finding its way onto more and more retail floors, and is expected to be a significant factor in seating lineups as the rush to protect the earth grows larger.
The list of green upholstery sources is growing with companies whose products include everything from organic wool batting to frames made of wood from sustainable forests. But fabrics — organic, renewable and recycled — are the first feature that draws the interest of the environmentally conscious.
“I think consumer awareness is really growing,” said Alice Stegall, director of merchandising for C. R. Laine, which produces a green line called down2earth. “We've had retailers ask if we provide it (green products) because they're being asked by their customers.
“A year ago, I thought it was all smoke and mirrors,” she added, “and that it was going to pass through the night. But I don't think that way any more. There's just too much out there speaking directly to consumers about green in general.”
She cited the growing popularity of organic groceries, which include products that range from fresh produce to organic alphabet pasta for kids. And every brand from Amana to Whirlpool is pushing green in a not-to-be-ignored drumbeat.
Jennifer McConnell, director of design for Pearson Co., said the upper-end upholstery source offers an abundance of green materials, including organic and natural fabrics.
“Our customers don't like the hand of recycled milk cartons,” she said, referring to the use of recycled materials to make fibers. “They'd much rather have nice cottons, linens and silks, so that's the approach we take.”
Pearson is seeing growing sales in green on its contract side, but not quite as much action in residential.
“I think it's a really nice option to offer it to clients so they can have it both ways,” she said. “We're going to see more and more of it, and we want to be ahead of the curve.”
Likewise for La-Z-Boy. “We're not doing a ton of it but we do have it available for those consumers who want or need that kind of fabric,” said Paula Hoyas, vice president of upholstery merchandising.
La-Z-Boy introduced 23 green fabrics at the April High Point Market and will add another 25 in October “because we feel very strongly about it,” Hoyas said.
“We feel our line needs to have a nice representation of eco-friendly fabrics. My gut is that it will continue to grow over the years and that we want to be in a good position to offer the customer a nice selection.”
Hoyas said it's no problem to get green fabrics from the mills. “They have a nice variety out there. This market was better than last market for selecting and I think it's only going to get better.”
Green fabrics used by La-Z-Boy have undergone testing by the Oeko-Tex Assn., an international organization that certifies fabrics displaying its seal have no substances that are harmful either to the people who buy them or employees who make them.
Precedent, a division of Sherrill, tracks sales weekly in its e-collection and “every week it becomes a greater and greater percentage of our overall sales,” said CEO Woody Williams. “That's what tells me (the green movement) is gaining traction.”
Williams said that education will pay a significant part in green growth, at both retail and manufacturing.
At retail, salespeople need to present green products as an option, and also must be able to tell consumers what makes them different, he said.
“I think the green consumer is mindful that there is a lot of 'greenwashing' going on. Unless you can back up your claim, I'm not sure (consumers) are totally convinced that what they're buying is really green.”
While a number of companies, particularly in the middle to upper end, have been offering green options for the last two or three years, others are holding off.
Highland House, for instance, isn't doing anything in green at the moment because of a high SKU count in the line as a whole, said Ron Curlee, director of visual merchandising. “I feel that if we went to something in that category, we would have to devote enough to it to make a story.”
Curlee added, “I think there is interest (in green) and it is growing. It's going to be a valid category. But at the moment we haven't tapped into it.”
Rowe sees the movement to eco-friendly products as “very important” and now has 147 natural fiber fabrics in its Eco Rowe line. In addition, the company will be introducing 100%-certified organic cottons in the Robin Bruce collection at the market here in October.
“We have always had natural fabrics in our line because we recognized the importance of offering this product,” said Stefanie Lucas, president and CEO. “Consumer interest has increased, so we have increased our offerings.”
Lucas indicated that it's easy for retailers to promote the green nature of Rowe's line “by just stating the facts.”
“This type of product does not need a lot of bells and whistles to make it stand out from the crowd,” she said. “Simply stating '100%-certified organic cotton' raises the profile immediately because of the consumer's awareness and sensitivity to finding these products.”
Retailers also are embracing the appeal that these products have with consumers, said Lucas. “We are encouraging our retailers to incorporate more eco-friendly environments in their stores. In April, we offered an Eco-Friendly Environmental Packet to our retailers — full of information and resources.”
But going green also can have a downside.
“I can buy organic cottons all day long and they're beautiful and have a wonderful hand,” said Pearson's McConnell. “But a lot of fabrics, if you're a good tailor, you can't run them unless you spray-back them. A stitch will pull out with the pressure you put on it to pull it nice and tight to make beautiful.
“Another problem is that a lot of our customers want their fabric Teflon-coated. But as soon as you do that, it's no longer green.”
Price also is a factor. As fabrics become purer, costs go up, as processes such as environmentally friendly bleaching and dyeing involve more expense. Precedent's Williams said that the price of organic cotton can run about twice that of regular cotton. Likewise for other components.
Are consumers ready to foot a bigger bill for green?
To an extent, the answer is “yes.” The research group Frank About Women surveyed 1,084 consumers and found that 32% said they are willing to pay more for green products.
“Some consumers are very willing to spend the money; some consumers make the determination once they get into the store; and some consumers have to stick with a known budget,” said La-Z-Boy's Hoyas.
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