ATLANTA—Interface, Inc., the global flooring solutions company where everything is certified carbon neutral, launched several new flooring collections in the first and second quarter, designed to meet performance and aesthetic goals with a lower carbon footprint. With these latest resilient and carpet tile introductions, Interface continues to enhance its flooring portfolio with innovative designs that help customers meet their unique design objectives and solve challenges. The latest launches from Interface include: Third Space: Designed to support today’s workplace design trend of creating alternative spaces where people gather, converse, collaborate, and reenergize, this carpet tile collection combines the classic feel of...

MAUMEE, OHIO—Underscoring Fiberon’s commitment to sustainability, the company’s Wildwood composite cladding has earned a GREEN GOOD DESIGN Award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards recognize products and projects that “are leading the global way to a design that is fully sustainable and compatible with the highest standards of good environment.” Because the composite cladding is made from 94 percent mixed recycled plastic and wood fiber content, Wildwood is a key component in Fiberon’s ability to save more than 1 million trees and repurpose an average of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic each year. “While the...

LOS ANGELES—Blair Block has begun commercial production of the world’s first ultra-low carbon concrete blocks at its concrete masonry production facility in Childersburg, Alabama. The new blocks leverage CarbonBuilt’s proprietary technology that reduces embodied carbon by 70-100+ percent compared to traditional concrete blocks. The blocks, which cost no more to produce than traditional concrete, will be used by C&C Masonry in the construction of several municipal projects across the state of Alabama. “This is not only a milestone for CarbonBuilt and Blair Block, but also for the broader concrete and building materials industries,” said Rahul Shendure, CEO of CarbonBuilt. “We’ve shown that it’s possible...

NATIONAL REPORT—The uncertainty and instability of the past several years have increased the level of stress in employees. In correlation to this, the health and wellness tourism market is growing. Indeed, the Global Wellness Institute expects that wellness tourism expenditures will likely hit $1.3 trillion by 2025. For this year, wellness packages, i.e., trips that focus on holistic well-being such as yoga retreats, are forecast to reach $29.3 billion, almost attaining the pre-pandemic level. This growing interest in health and wellness is not a surprise. The Covid-19 outbreak has shone a light on the importance of physical and mental health issues. As a result,...

SOLON, OHIO—Demonstrative of its commitment to sustainability, Tarkett, a leader in innovative and sustainable flooring solutions, has received two GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards for its Inspired Nature and LinoFloor xf2 & LinoWall xf2 collections. Organized by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, GREEN GOOD DESIGN is an international program that recognizes new products, buildings, and construction and planning projects that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a healthier and more sustainable universe. One of Tarkett’s award-winning collections, Inspired Nature, is a carbon-neutral collection of modular carpet...

PUNTA MITA, MEXICO—Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico was named one of the Best New Nature Resorts and one of the Best New Hotels in the world in Travel + Leisure’s 2023 It List. The distinguished annual It List recognizes the 100 best new and renovated hotels and resorts around the world that have made the biggest impression on the magazine’s editors and contributors. As a recognized property, Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico will be featured in the May 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure and online at travelandleisure.com. “We are excited to be spotlighted on the Travel + Leisure 2023 It List as a...

ARLINGTON, VA.—Organizers of Coverings, the preeminent and largest international ceramic tile and natural stone event in North America, have announced that Coverings 2023 exceeded expectations with a vigorous 50 percent year-over-year increase in attendance, totaling nearly 27,000 eventgoers who gathered April 18 to 21, 2023, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla. The event rivaled pre-pandemic levels and was one of the most dynamic expositions and conferences in Coverings’ renowned 34-year position as the leading event in the tile and stone industry. Coverings 2023 was an action-packed, four-day event laid out to span 450,000 net square feet of...

DENKENDORF, GERMANY—OBJECT CARPET, a company known for cutting-edge research and innovation, has developed a completely new yarn for its very first outdoor carpet. The pile material is 100 percent recycled polyester from industrial and consumer waste. The traditional craft of delicately spinning different yarns transforms the materials in MEDITERRANEO into a contemporary texture. This special treatment and production process gives the carpet collection its unexpected note: Despite its robust and natural appearance that is reminiscent of rattan, the carpet is surprisingly smooth. It becomes distinctly soft with a sensual feel, conveying the lightness of the Mediterranean. The MEDITERRANEO collection includes a variety of 12...

As mentioned previously on Green Lodging News, I attended HD Expo in Las Vegas from May 2-4. Thanks to Covid-19, it had been four years since I last attended this event focused on hospitality design. What was clear immediately to me this time was that the show and conference was as strong as ever and the number of sustainability stories was at a record level. In my article this past week I listed many of the companies in attendance that jumped out at me in one way or another as having something new, unique, or showing evidence of the continuation...

LAS VEGAS—More than 600 exhibitors displayed their goods and services at last week’s HD Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. More than 80 of those exhibitors identified themselves as sustainable in one way or another. It would be impossible to mention all those companies in this article but below are many examples of what this author considered especially creative and unique. Elkay Manufacturing Co. introduced its ezH2O Liv Pro Filtered Water Dispenser. Unlike other Elkay dispensers, this one features a low-profile design and a more upscale look with its either black or white frame. It fits within 16” OC...