SHEFFIELD, MASS.—Cypress Bath & Bed, a leading designer and manufacturer of luxurious bathrobes, towels, slippers, and sheets for the hospitality and spa industry, is experiencing a steady and increased adoption of their recently introduced Green Earth towels by California hoteliers. Due in part to the rising energy and water costs associated with laundering standard hotel and spa towels, California hotels have found a way to provide luxury linens, while reducing their operational costs.
For these environmentally conscious hoteliers, the definition of product quality involves addressing and mitigating the energy and water costs it takes to launder, while not sacrificing the product’s comfort, life cycle and ROI. Hotels throughout the state are implementing long-term bath linen programs that utilize new sustainable technologies designed to be better for the guest, for the property and for their bottom lines.
“Our new Green Earth towels appeal to everyone,” says Bill Mangold,
v.p. of Cypress West Coast sales. “For the guest, it is the softest and most absorbent towel available; for the housekeeper, it takes less time, labor and resources; and for the property manager or owner, it saves them money and also minimizes the lint in the drying cycle, greatly reducing the possibility of a lint fire flare-up.”
“I was a bit skeptical when Bill first showed me the potential savings, using Cypress’ proprietary energy savings calculator which factors in the number of rooms, towel prices, weight of the towels, number of towels used, and the frequency of towel washings per week,” says Janice Alpeche, general manager of Gaia Napa Valley Resort & Spa, the world’s first LEED Gold-certified hotel. “I thought, ‘No way it could save us 20 percent.’ After thoroughly testing the product in our in-house laundry facility and monitoring our energy consumption over several months, I can say that it has exceeded our expectations.”
Energy Savings Calculator
In addition to estimating the potential savings in operational costs, Cypress’ energy savings calculator also gives hoteliers valuable information on the environmental impact of using Green Earth towels, such as the number of acres of forest saved annually and the reduction in water and energy consumption that will be achieved by the property.
Although many hotels have now implemented towel reuse programs designed to minimize washing and drive down related laundry expenses and water use, some have found that such programs have not been as effective as they hoped.
“I encourage hoteliers to do whatever they can to reduce expenses without sacrificing guest satisfaction,” says Gene Faul, Cypress founder and CEO. “Unfortunately, recent studies show that while 83 percent of hotels have a reuse program in place, guest participation is mediocre at best. So we listened and addressed a way to meet the needs of everyone throughout the product’s life cycle. The result was to create a better towel, and the reception has been fantastic.”
Green Earth towels are made from super-fine, Extra-Long Staple (ELS) cotton, which is known for contributing to the sustainable consumption of cotton. ELS cotton is also recognized worldwide for its superior softness, absorbency, durability, lack of lint accumulation and luxurious feel. Green Earth towels are 160 percent bulkier than traditional combed cotton towels of the same weight, while having much less mass than traditional combed towels. Due to the higher ratio of surface area to towel weight, they absorb more water. Due to their lower mass, however, Green Earth towels cost significantly less to launder, saving up to 30 percent in water consumption, using less detergent and taking 10 to 20 percent less drying time. This reduces hotel operational costs, while also reducing environmental impact.
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