MIAMI BEACH—While May’s HD 2007 Expo & Conference featured a Green Room for exhibitors selling environmentally friendly products, and booth signs designating vendors as green, last week’s HD Boutique 2007 Expo & Conference did not. Even though this made finding green products more difficult, an eagle-eyed attendee who asked enough questions could do so. In fact, as it turns out, there were many vendors in attendance eager to talk about their green offerings. The following is just a sample.
Valley Forge Fabrics Inc. was on hand to introduce two new FRESH (Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards (for) Hospitality) lines: The Celerie Collection and The Palm Beach Collection. The two lines complement the four previously released FRESH fabric lines. FRESH fabrics are made with synthetic yarns derived from post-industrial and post-consumer recycled products that are made at a low impact manufacturing platform. Because of their unique construction, FRESH fabrics are recyclable. Valley Forge offers customers a pickup and delivery service that will deliver FRESH fabrics to a recycling facility at the end of their life cycle.
InterfaceFABRIC was also at HD Boutique. The company’s Terratex family of fabrics is made in conjunction with its goal of eliminating any negative impact the company has on the environment by the year 2020.
Simmons Hospitality Group featured its new Comforpedic by Simmons next-generation memory foam bedding line. It includes four beds and various pillow styles. The new line was included with the company’s Beautyrest and Beautyrest Black models that feature a replaceable EverNU mattress top. Simmons’ new products help extend the average life of guestroom mattresses, keeping them out of the waste stream.
Energy-Saving Technology
Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. displayed its new Stanza lighting control system for hotel guestrooms. The standard five-button master keypad includes the following buttons: All On, Reading, Night Light, Desk, All Off. It provides stand-alone lighting control for each room and can be upgraded to integrate with other guestroom systems, including automated window treatments, key cards, occupancy and property management systems. Stanza incorporates radio frequency wireless technology and helps reduce energy costs.
Healthier Choice Flooring LLC featured its Greenguard-certified Longlife and Foundation carpet cushion. It includes antimicrobial protection and can be recycled back into new padding at the end of its life.
JLF/lone meadow was on hand to introduce 14 new furniture creations that included pieces ranging from modern lounge chairs to sofas. JLF/lone meadow’s commitment to clean manufacturing includes adherence to 100 percent recycled, no virgin foam, which eliminates high levels of volatile organic compounds. The company also uses sustainable hardwoods recognized by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
In addition to JLF/lone meadow, a few of the other green furniture companies on hand included Northland Furniture Company and American Atelier Inc., which heats its manufacturing facility entirely from scrap wood left over from the furniture manufacturing process.
Canopy LLC featured its surfacing materials that qualify for LEED points. Its Wahkeena line, for example, is composed of 80 percent recycled Forest Stewardship Council-certified large wood strands that are infused with acrylic for hardness and color. Its textures are the result of mixing 25 species of highly-mineralized wood grown in sustainable U.S. forests.
Indika Organics offered a wide range of natural and organic products including organic cotton hand-loomed towels, organic cotton sheets, duvets and shams made of hemp and hemp/silk combinations. The company also introduced a natural bed bug elimination product.
Sustainable Flooring Options
Attendees looking for sustainable flooring and floor covering material had numerous companies to choose from. Aged Woods, Pioneer Millworks and East Teak Fine Hardwoods Inc. displayed their hard wood flooring materials. Modern Nature Design featured its vast collection of area rugs with natural design themes and Shaw Hospitality Group promoted its Eco Solution Q premium branded fiber. It includes 25 percent recycled content.
Even some of the art companies have gone green. Jesse Kalisher Gallery touted the fact that its frames, glass and even canvass material are made from recycled materials, and The James Co. featured the Julie Anne Collection of framed Real Pressed Flowers.
The HD Boutique 2007 Expo & Conference also featured a Green Luncheon that included presentations by representatives of companies currently building green hotels, and Bernadette V. Upton, Florida Green Lodging Assessor, FGBC, led a “Hospitality Design Goes Green” session.
“As responsible designers, we need to know where products we specify come from,” Upton said during her presentation. “I want to know that something I specify is going into a healthy space.”
She emphasized how important it is to keep the 30 percent of travelers who have allergies or chemical sensitivities in mind. Avoiding products that off-gas harmful emissions is important, she said. Paint, carpet, particle board, cleaning products and other items can all cause problems.
For details on 2008’s HD Boutique Expo & Conference, read Green Lodging News or visit www.hdboutique.com.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
