PORTLAND, ORE.—Provenance Hotels, a hotel company passionate about conspiring with likeminded independent companies, has teamed up with LATHER, a modern apothecary that develops natural body and skincare products infused with essential oils, to create a line of soaps crafted in collaboration with some of Portland’s most respected culinary artisans. Provenance Hotels has long featured delicious products from these companies in their hotels—from hand-harvested sea salt from Jacobsen Salt Co. to blended teas from Smith Teamaker to honey harvested on the rooftops of Hotel Lucia, Sentinel and Hotel deLuxe by Bee Local. Now, Provenance Hotels is working with LATHER to turn...

JASPER, IND.—Indiana Furniture reaffirmed their commitment to the environment, and to the community, last month with a comprehensive audit, recertifying all Indiana Furniture products with level®, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association’s sustainability certification program for furniture. Based on the ANSI/BIFMA e-3 Furniture Sustainability Standard, level recognizes products that maintain the highest standards for materials, energy usage, health and social impact—and show continuous improvement. Indiana Furniture first certified product lines with level in 2010, shortly after the program launched, and all casegoods, tables and seating have achieved level 2, third-party certified by Intertek, since 2012. “Our achievement with level is...

BENTON HARBOR, MICH.—Whirlpool Corp. has earned WorldatWork’s Seal of Distinction for 2017. The seal is a unique mark of excellence designed to identify organizational success in Total Rewards effectiveness and is given by WorldatWork, a nonprofit HR association and compensation authority. Whirlpool Corp. is one of 160 U.S. organizations to be honored, sharing the distinction with companies such as Herman Miller, MasterCard and KPMG. Whirlpool offers a wide range of competitive employee benefits programs, accessible to both hourly and salaried employees. Examples of programs Whirlpool is particularly proud of are the aggressive 401k employer contribution, automatic enrollment and their on-site wellness...

WEYBRIDGE, ENGLAND—The Procter & Gamble Company announced that Head & Shoulders (H&S), the world’s #1 shampoo brand, will produce the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic. In partnership with recycling experts TerraCycle and SUEZ, this innovation will come to France this summer as a limited-edition H&S bottle available to consumers in Carrefour, one of the world’s leading retailers. This will be the world’s largest production run of recyclable bottles made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) beach plastic, and a first major step in establishing a unique supply chain that involves the support of...

OTTAWA, ON.—Green Key Global announced that Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown, a Green Key Global member since 2013, has received a 4 Key rating with the new GSTC Recognized Green Key Eco-Rating Program. “We commend the Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown for their dedication to sustainable operations,” said Susie Grynol, Managing Director of Green Key Global. “A 4 Key rating in our Green Key program not only recognizes their impressive efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of their daily operations, it also allows them to highlight these achievements to potential guests.” A 4 Green Key rating demonstrates that the Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown is...

WOODRIDGE, Ill.—Gerber, a maker of high performing plumbing fixtures, has added a collection of decorative products to its vitreous china product mix. The Hinsdale suite features a modern traditional styling. With its blend of contemporary design elements, the products within the family bring a more updated and relevant look to today’s market who still prefer traditional aspects to their décor. Hinsdale styling is offered in several products: a two-piece high efficiency toilet operating at 1.28 gallons per flush/4.8 liters, a 25” pedestal sink and a 21” petite pedestal sink. The sink basins are also available with a shroud if users...

MARKHAM, ON.—HiGarden Inc. introduces its initial models of Living Furniture, a furniture line incorporating both living plants and fish cohabitating in self-sustaining indoor eco-systems. After years of research and development, HiGarden Inc. will launch its unique VIGA Vertical Indoor Gardening and Aquaculture system at Toronto’s Interior Design Show 2017. VIGA is a new technology incorporating the principles of Regenerative Design, or Living Design. Regenerative Design is derived from the philosophy of biomimicry, human developed technologies which attempt to emulate natural living systems. At IDS2017, HiGarden will be exhibiting two pieces of Living Furniture—its VIGA Desktop and VIGA Bookcase. Both models incorporate...

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO—The “Beyond All-Inclusive, Beyond All Compare” Grand Velas Resorts in Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit have been named among Mexico’s most eco-conscious hotels, receiving the Distintivo “S” recognition from the Mexico Tourism Board. The Distintivo “S” award is based on a global criteria of sustainability by EarthCheck and the Rainforest Alliance and is promoted by the World Tourism Organization and The Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The AAA Five Diamond resorts received the award for their best practices involving environmental programs, eco-practices and self-sustainability. With an elite water treatment process and rigorous protection of its current environment, Grand Velas...

HAMILTON, OHIO—According to some estimates, we come into direct and indirect contact with floors as much as 50 times every day. If floors are contaminated, that contamination may now be on our fingers, and because we touch our faces about 16 times per day, the likelihood that these contaminants are now on our skin, in our nose, or in our eyes is high. We now know much more about the effectiveness of some traditional floor cleaning methods and technologies, especially as a result of Kaivac’s Stop The Mop Campaign. To clarify frequent concerns, the “Campaign” is releasing the five most common...

JOSEPH, MICH.—ADC EcoWash Washers are now available in 100G, 200G and 450G. “EcoWash Multi-Load Washers are built to cater to unique individual and facility needs,” said Nick Koukourakis, Product Line Manager, Multi-load Products at Whirlpool Corp. Commercial Laundry. “No matter the need—rigid- or soft-configurations, small- or large-pound capacity, tailored programmability and more—the enhancements on these machines offer the flexibility needed to excel in the OPL market.” Features of the industrial-grade EcoWash Washer include: Intuitive Micro Controls (IMC) with Program and Cycle Flexibility Options—The M2 Controller, standard on EcoWash Washers, offers 10 cycle options, flexible water level settings, selectable wash temperatures, four...