FORT LAUDERDALE—Valley Forge Fabrics, a leader in sustainable textiles, was honored as a finalist by the Natural Resources Committee of Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce as it hosted its first annual Sustainable South Florida Awards. The Green Business Award honors a South Florida business that provides a superior product, service, or innovation that enables others to practice sustainable and green efforts. The award also recognizes new processes or ways of doing business with a significant environmental benefit. There were over 100 nominees in the first annual Sustainable South Florida Awards and 31 in the Green Business category including giants...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—The Refinishing Touch, a specialist in environmentally safe and sustainable on-site furniture refinishing, upholstery and armoire modifications, has added new environmentally-friendly materials to its Touch Textiles fabrics brand. The new line includes a range of 100 percent recycled fabrics finished with GreenShield, a Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) recognized, low fluorocarbon treatment that uses two-thirds less chemicals without compromising the durability, moisture resistance, stain resistance or nonflammable qualities of the fabric. In recent years, the industry has seen a massive increase in the use and demand for eco-friendly textiles. Close to 12 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste ends...

TROY, MICH.—ilumisys, Inc., developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology, announced that it has granted a license for patents on its light-emitting diode (LED) fluorescent tube replacement to LED Lighting, Inc., of Northbrook, Ill. “LED Lighting has had the privilege of being an ilumisys channel partner and participating in the development stages of ilumisys T-8 replacement lamps,” said Bill Hood, CEO and founder of LED Lighting, Inc. “This licensing agreement allows us to extend and strengthen our relationship with ilumisys, now giving us the ability to offer both premium and value-engineered products to our customers under the LED Lighting...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Allegheny Printed Plastics as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Allegheny offers eco-friendly material options to meet key card and signage needs: BioPVC has been certified as fully biodegradable; Recycled PVC is made from carefully segregated waste generated in the company’s factory. PLA, made from renewable resources like corn, can be commercially composted. Allegheny also offers customized key card sleeves, door hangers and door inserts. For more information, call (800) 933-4123, e-mail boustead@allegheny.com, or go to www.printedplastics.com.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Concept Amenities Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Concept Amenities is the maker of ERP, a complete range of bathroom guest amenities that are biodegradable in the landfill. Designed to reduce solid waste disposal, ERP products, according to Concept Amenities, will not negatively impact the environment in the long term. Concept Amenities offers a wide range of other product lines including Eco Fresh, Basic Earth Botanicals, Ecossential Elements, and Kudos Spa. The company also offers Eco Fresh and VIVE dispensers for public rest rooms, spa...

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.—Sterling Hospitality has partnered with Michael Koo, founder of NuBrand and former Managing director/chief executive with Simmons Asia, to bring Sterling Hospitality’s modular mattresses to the Pacific Rim. “We are excited to work with Michael and his team at NuBrand to expand Sterling Hospitality’s presence in South East Asia,” says Sterling Hospitality CEO, Tony Hochschild. “This partnership will allow Asian hotel owners to provide a high quality mattress that will increase guest satisfaction and decrease solid waste by reducing the number of mattresses being sent to landfills.” Koo will distribute Sterling Hospitality’s environmentally sustainable beds to hotels, clubs and...

DALTON, GA.—Shaw Industries, Inc., through its division Shaw Hospitality Group, and La Quinta Inns & Suites have partnered to keep more than 30 tons of carpet from landfills during five La Quinta hotel renovations in Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. Shaw Hospitality Group, a manufacturer of sustainable, reclaimable carpets for public spaces and guestrooms, was specified earlier this year to re-carpet La Quinta guestrooms during a large-scale renovation project. Instead of sending tons of the old hotel carpet to landfills, Shaw Hospitality Group worked with La Quinta to reclaim the carpet and divert it to Shaw Industries’ Evergreen Nylon...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, has added a new case study to the Green Lodging News website. The case study focuses on the InterContinental San Francisco’s recycling program and how the hotel was able to save more than $120,000 annually in waste removal fees. Integral to the hotel’s efforts was the placement of Metro recycling receptacles supplied by T2 Site Amenities in public spaces and Treela Recycling wastebaskets in guestrooms. “They are in very public areas and look terrific,” said Harry Hobbs, director of engineering at the hotel, in regard to the Metro Recyclers....

LOS ANGELES—Last week, officials at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles announced that the property had received the city’s first Green Seal Silver Certification. In a press release announcing the honor, it was stated that the hotel expects to save approximately $225,000 a year because of its energy-saving and waste reduction initiatives. However, according to Steve Silva, chief engineer at the 1,354-room hotel, the Green Team has “just scratched the surface” of what can be saved and he expects the $225,000 number to eventually grow to $1 million a year. According to the online publication “blogdowntown,” the certification of...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—The Bancroft Hotel, a National Registered Landmark and a premier boutique hotel based in Berkeley, Calif., has teamed up with The Refinishing Touch to update furniture as part of a large-scale renovation project. The Bancroft Hotel was built in 1928, was designed by noted Bay Area architect Walter T. Steilberg, and has come to be known for its historic charm, personalized service and eco-friendly practices. Located directly across the street from the University of California at Berkeley and next door to the Berkeley Art Museum, the Bancroft is part of the rich and diverse history of the Bay...