CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Most hotel electronic door lock systems utilize plastic keycards made primarily of polyvinyl chloride—also known as PVC. The vast majority of these cards eventually find their way into our landfills where they take thousands of years to degrade. Believing that this situation was environmentally unacceptable, Cadmus Whitehall Group has created a new keycard alternative known as Green-Key. Green-Key is an environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional plastic hotel keycard. The cards are compatible with existing key lock systems but unlike plastic keycards, Green-Key cards are biodegradable and produced from paperboard, a renewable resource. In addition, the new cards are...

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—Watt Stopper/Legrand announced a companywide initiative to make all aspects of the organization more environmentally friendly. President Jerry Mix kicked off Watt Stopper Green during a nationwide conference call, outlining ambitious goals that go well beyond the company’s long-time tradition of putting a stop to energy waste. As a leading manufacturer of energy saving products, he believes it is important that the company minimize its own environmental impact. Mix announced the Watt Stopper Green initiative with the following goals: • Manufacture products using environmentally sensitive techniques; • Continue to develop products that help customers save energy; • Improve resource conservation within all company...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Roos International Ltd. as a Green Product Directory partner. Roos is the maker of EnVision, a wallcovering that performs like vinyl and looks like vinyl, but is an alternative to vinyl. With no VOCs, it is printed with water-based inks, includes recycled and renewable content, and can be recycled. It is affordable, easy to install/remove, dimensionally stable, and highly breathable. Envision meets Type I and Type II Wallcovering Durability Characteristics and is available in a variety of textures and patterns. Go to Roos International Ltd., write to...

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—Go Green Planters, Inc., St. Petersburg Fla., recently announced the nationwide launch of its “Go Green For FREE” initiative for hotels and motels. It involves the placement of lush live plants in guestrooms at no charge to hoteliers. This program is made possible by the company’s patented technology of growing live plants in an eco-friendly soil substitute so that plants don’t require watering for two to three months, and the costs associated with the plants are covered by “Go Green Vendor Sponsorships” and advertisements that appear in the upscale Plexiglas planter vessels. The company has also announced the...

HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.—Hotels looking to go “green” have typically been at a loss to find attractive recycling containers for their high profile areas. According the Steve Tilkin, principal of T2 Site Amenities, “hospitality distributors have not offered attractive recycling containers and manufacturers of aesthetic recycling containers have not targeted hospitality.” T2 Site Amenities is bridging that gap by introducing a wide array of upscale recycling solutions from an assortment of top manufacturers. Hotel guests who recycle at home expect to recycle while traveling. Moreover, surveys have shown that the majority of hotel guests will use recycling containers if given the...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—One hotel is located in the heart of Manhattan. Another caters to steel workers in northwest Indiana. One in Toronto gets guests from all over the world. Despite the different cultures and geography, all three hotels have one big thing in common: They are all completely smoke free. As members of FreshStay, the online hotel directory with integrated booking, all three hotels have pledged a 100 percent smokeless experience to their guests. Guestrooms, hotel lobbies, and meeting rooms are clean and free of the lingering odor and health risks of smoke, making it easier for guests to...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Harris Pillow as a sponsor. Harris Pillow Supply is a family-owned business that has specialized in manufacturing high-end pillows for quality conscious customers in the hotel and motel industry since 1958. Harris also manufactures the Pillow-Vac©, a machine used to renovate pillows in hotels and motels, eliminating much of the pillow replacement cost for a minimum investment. To learn more, go to www.harrispillow.com, call (800) 845-8240, or e-mail harrispillow@charter.net.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Simmons Bedding Co. as a sponsor. Simmons is the maker of the EverNU™ Top. The EverNU™ removable top, available on select Beautyrest® and Beautyrest Black™ mattresses, allows hotels to maintain the original comfort of a bed for the life of the mattress by replacing the top upholstery layers. This design guarantees guests the comfort and cleanliness of a fresh mattress, and also makes economic and environmental sense—by keeping mattresses out of landfills. The EverNU™ top can be replaced at a fraction of the cost of a new...

NEW YORK—Standard Textile, a leader in textile manufacturing and distribution, recently launched two new lines of sheeting developed and manufactured using its patented Centium Core Technology. Based on the success of its ComforTwill sheeting—the first line of bed linens available using Centium Core Technology—the company expanded the range of the Centium Core Technology products to include Centima and Centium Satin. According to Gary Heiman, president and CEO of Standard Textile, the new products broaden the choices and ensure that there is an appropriate Centium Core Technology sheeting option for virtually all hotels, regardless of market segment. “Standard Textile is always looking...

LOS ANGELES—Staron Surfaces, a division of worldwide technology leader Samsung, has announced an expansion of its Tempest product line by adding 10 new colors, bringing the entire Tempest palate to 20 color options. The new colors series, branded Tempest Stylist, exudes rich, natural color tones. The series provides an upscale, designer-grade product to professionals and homeowners who are seeking a unique surface for any project. “Like the existing Tempest colors, those in the Stylist series include larger, translucent particulates, which create a look that rivals quartz and natural stone,” said Dale Mandell, Staron’s national sales manager. “In several of the...