NATIONAL REPORT—When it comes to wallcoverings, designers, hotel owners, purchasing agents and others have not always had the most environmentally friendly choices. Vinyl—polyvinyl chloride or PVC—years ago included heavy metals and solvent inks. Today, however, it is a different world and 90 percent of heavy metals have been eliminated and water-based inks are used. Some wallcovering makers still tout vinyl’s durability and value, and one has even started recycling it, but others are now offering non-PVC alternatives. One company that has made a big splash at trade shows in the past year with its recycling initiative is LSI Wallcovering, Louisville,...

DES PLAINES, ILL.—Luxury bedding manufacturer United Feather & Down will introduce SilverFill with X-STATIC: a patent-pending new fill made with X-STATIC silver fibers, during the 2007 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York, from November 10-13, 2007, booth number 3546. United Feather & Down is the sole manufacturer of pillows, comforters, and mattress pads with X-STATIC, a patented fiber with pure silver permanently bonded to it, delivering natural, permanent protection from odor and bacteria. During the show, considered to be the world’s largest showcase and exchange of industry products, trends and developments, United Feather & Down will...

LAS VEGAS, LOS ANGELES—The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP (JMBM) announced cosponsorship of the only hotel summit designed to provide senior executives with a comprehensive program that examines both the compelling economic benefits and some of the daunting practical challenges of green hotel development. The annual summit will focus on bringing together the hotel industry’s top leaders and its most experienced developers. The upcoming conference will emphasize economics, current case studies, costly mistakes, brilliant successes, financing and valuation issues, consumer trends and offer a “how to” (or “how not to”) approach...

NEW YORK—Maxon Holdings LLC (Maxon), a leading energy and environmental development company, announced a partnership with Earthpark, North America’s first center for science literacy and the environment. Maxon will provide $10 million of in-kind financial and technical support toward the completion and opening of Earthpark, scheduled to open on Earth Day, 2011. Maxon will give this support through its infrastructure asset financing operations, part of the company’s asset optimization business. Maxon’s contribution will facilitate ongoing support and involvement with educational and research efforts in the areas of global sustainability and restorative living practices. Earthpark also announced at the 2007 Clinton...

PITTSFORD, N.Y.—Care-free products, those that resist staining, are easily cleaned, stand up to the hustle and bustle of life and look great right out of the wash, have become part of our lives. Consumers want to spend less time maintaining the products they buy and more time enjoying them. Fluorochemicals are the invisible magic coating that makes all this possible, from non-stick pans to stain resistant carpets, upholstered furniture and stain resistant clothing. The incredible strength of fluorochemicals, however, may also be their greatest weakness. Fluorochemicals stay in the environment and don’t break down for decades or even centuries...

FORT LAUDERDALE—Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. debuted its second FRESH collection at the Hospitality Design Boutique Exposition & Conference in Miami last month. The two new FRESH collections were created by New York designer Celerie Kemble and Palm Beach designers Mimi McMakin and Brooke Huttig. FRESH is an acronym for Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards (for) Hospitality and represents the first environmentally friendly comprehensive fabric program designed specifically and only for the hospitality industry. With these new collections, the FRESH line now spans six volumes and more thant 550 skus of patterns with vibrant colors. “This collection is innovative and beautiful,” says Cliff...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Starwood Capital Group and Perseus Realty, L.L.C. (Perseus Realty) announced that they have signed an agreement to build an eco-friendly luxury hotel at 22nd and M Streets, N.W. in the heart of the Washington, D.C.’s West End neighborhood. The hotel will be one of the world’s first 1 Hotels, Starwood Capital’s recently launched five-star, eco-friendly international hotel brand that will combine the best of environmentally sustainable architecture and design properties with first-class service and luxurious comfort. The 180-key hotel, which will be developed by Starwood Development and Perseus Realty, is expected to break ground in mid-2008 and deliver...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—The East Avenue Investment Group LP and Global Hyatt Corp. announced plans to develop a hotel under Hyatt’s new luxury brand, Andaz, as part of a mixed-use development in Austin’s central core. The 210-room hotel will open in 2010. The announcement comes on the heels of Hyatt’s unveiling of its new brand in April 2007, and announcements for Andaz hotels in London and Manhattan. The landmark Great Eastern Hotel in the City of London will convert to Andaz in mid-October, followed by properties at 75 Wall Street and 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, in 2009. In addition to operating...

TUALATIN, ORE.—Hartmann & Forbes, a fabricator of sustainable handcrafted window coverings, has converted its signature ColourWeave Collection to use exclusively Low and No VOC paints (Volatile Organic Compounds). ColourWeave is now one of the most environmentally friendly painted matchstick collections of its kind in the industry. “The mission of Project Green is to do our best to minimize the environmental impact across our business,” says Michael Jones, Hartmann & Forbes’ founder and CEO. “The recent strides that paint companies have made in environmentally friendly paints have allowed us, in turn, to provide our clients a more environmentally responsible shade.” Each weave...

ATLANTA—Simmons Hospitality Group’s new ComforPedic by Simmons next-generation memory foam bedding line received the Hospitality Design Best of Boutique Award at the HD Boutique 2007 Exposition & Conference. The honor, which recognizes unique product introductions exhibited at HD Boutique, was awarded to just 11 of the more than 80 Best of Boutique entries. “We are thrilled that Hospitality Design named the ComforPedic by Simmons line one of the best new product introductions at HD Boutique,” says Steve Tipton, vice president of Simmons Hospitality Group. “The Best of Boutique distinction reinforces that our ComforPedic NxG Advanced Memory Foam is truly innovative...