I just returned from the annual HD Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. For those of you not familiar with the event, it is primarily a trade show but with many educational opportunities as well. I had an opportunity to walk the entire trade show floor. More than 850 manufacturers and service providers were present. Many of those exhibiting offered products with some type of sustainability component. In lighting everything is LED these days and that was clear in what was offered by the many lighting-related suppliers. If I ever see a compact fluorescent at a trade show again, I would be shocked. LED pricing has come down, color quality has improved, and you can find an LED for just about every application imaginable.
Incorporating recycled content in product is certainly a growing trend—in products ranging from insulation to carpet padding to furniture to artwork to wallcoverings. MDC, for example, featured wallcoverings with bamboo, shells, banana tree bark and even newspaper incorporated into the product. Blue Ridge Fiberboard offered sound deadening fiberboard that includes 97 percent organic materials including recovered wood fibers. WoodTrac introduced its new decorative wooden ceiling system. The system is an alternative to the standard drop ceiling systems. The system has Forest Stewardship Council Chain-of-Custody Certification and includes recycled wood content. WoodTrac is a division of Sauder Woodworking. Sauder’s cogeneration plant in Ohio is fueled by sawdust from its manufacturing operations.
Several suppliers were on hand offering product made from reclaimed wood or bottles. Bottles & Wood, for example, featured lighting fixtures that include recycled wine bottles. Vintage Industrial displayed some of its furniture made from used industrial equipment and reclaimed boxcar wood. Simmons Hospitality Bedding announced that it has added TENCEL fiber to the first layer of it mattresses. Simmons says the botanic fiber helps to absorb and wick away moisture. Leggett & Platt Smart Products introduced LPSense Illuminate. It is a lighting system that senses a guest’s presence. It can be integrated into furniture, including beds, night stands and dressers. The product was developed to help guests navigate dark rooms. Leggett & Platt Smart Products also introduced Helios Time, a bedside alarm clock that offers Qi wireless charging technology, Bluetooth streaming, Wi-Fi connectivity and a carbon monoxide detector.
New Company in Hand Dryers Category
US Polymers Inc. offered recyclable window shutters that help control room temperature. Greenington LLC displayed some of its bamboo furniture. Mattress Helper introduced its under mattress support system that addresses sagging mattresses and extends their useful life. A company called ffuuss introduced its line of hand dryers that feature “air hugs technology.” The sharply designed hand dryers come in a variety of colors and even include a telemetry system that sends information to the distributer about the state of the equipment remotely by Bluetooth.
Along with its other water-efficient toilets, American Standard displayed its Studio ActiVate toilet that offers a no-touch flush. One need only to pass one’s hand across the sensor to flush the toilet. Among its new products, MTS Seating introduced its Strom Series Restaurant Dining Chairs. The company developed and adopted the SynerGreen philosophy to make continuous environmental improvements in its processes and products. Grohe America featured its enhanced GROHE Blue Chilled + Sparkling faucet that offers users the option of dispensing filtered still, medium sparkling or full sparkling water. The system eliminates the need for plastic bottled water. Through five layers of filtration, the five-stage filter removes all unwanted substances that will affect the taste and smell of water. Finally, EarthTronics introduced a new 17.5-watt T8 LED to replace 32-watt T8 fluorescent lamps by providing greater than 40 percent energy savings and longer performance life. The design of the T8 LED illuminates nearly identically to the T8 fluorescent. It produces 2200 lumens and works directly on existing instant start electronic ballasts for easy “plug and play” installation.
There were many other companies at HD Expo with products in some shade of “green”—in categories including floor covering, mattresses, furniture, showerheads, linens and towels, fabrics and more. There was a time when it was a struggle to identify green suppliers at HD Expo. Today it is an almost overwhelming experience to walk the show floor because there are so many vendors with so many green stories to talk about. It is great to see.
Who is Your Sustainability Champion?
Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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