NEW YORK—LOLIWARE, the world’s leading seaweed-based material technology company replacing plastics, announced the close of a $6MM financing round, led by prominent New York venture firm Hatzimemos/Libby. As part of this announcement the company added new leadership, a new board member and announced that demand for billions of LOLIWARE’s Straw of the Future—seaweed-based, biodegradable straws—spans 68 countries across six continents. LOLIWARE will use the proceeds to meet global demand from Fortune 500 companies, scaling its first straws into the billions in 2020. LOLIWARE, co-founded by Chelsea Fawn Briganti, is focused on changing the way people think about single-use plastic. LOLIWARE’s...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—In the hospitality industry, sustainability in all areas of design is essential. From the drapery to upholstery and even the bedding, nearly everything in the room can be made from plastic bottles otherwise destined for a landfill or a water source. At Valley Forge Fabrics, being able to ensure the durability and performance needs of these textiles while also creating them from a source like plastic bottles, is a big win. It’s no secret that plastic bottles are forever, so being able to use them as a fiber that’s woven into upholstery fabrics is vital to Valley...

NEW YORK—Rocean announced its partnership with Conrad New York Downtown. The partnership will bring Rocean Zero smart filtration devices to each of Conrad New York Downtown’s 463 rooms, with the goal of reducing single-use plastics, and encouraging a circular economy across hotel operations. “Everyone wants to be doing something to help the overwhelming issue of plastic pollution, but not many people know where to start,” said Sunjay Guleria, Rocean Founder and CEO. “By acting now in 2020 and not years from now, we can save literally billions of single-use plastic water bottles over the next decade as we expand this...

NATIONAL REPORT—Almost two years ago, Green Lodging News published an article on alternatives to plastic straws. In that article, straws made from paper, bamboo, glass and polylactic acid (PLA) were mentioned as plastic alternatives. In the two years since that article was published, numerous other types of non-plastic straws have hit the market. YesStraws, formed in 2018 and maker of straws from the stalk of cane plants, recently published a list of its “19 Plastic Straw Alternatives to Save the Environment.” On that list are straws made from materials ranging from wheat to papaya leaf stems to metal. To...

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA—Sunway Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality division of Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group, has partnered with Kloth Cares, a Malaysian social entrepreneurship movement dedicated to keep fabrics out of landfills through rethinking, reusing, reducing, repurposing and recycling unwanted fabrics. The partnership involves Sunway Hotels & Resorts located in Kuala Lumpur, namely Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Sunway Pyramid Hotel, Sunway Clio Hotel, Sunway Putra Hotel and Sunway Velocity Hotel where a permanent Kloth Cares bin were placed in the respective hotels for its employees to recycle their used linen, clothes and soft toys which are then collected on a...

DENVER—Silicon Valley-incubated FloWater is one step closer to making it easier than ever before for the growing numbers of consumers looking to ditch the plastic water bottle. Attendees at CES this year (Las Vegas, January 7 to 10) will get the first glimpse at a “smarter,” IoT-connected drinking water platform. FloWater, makers of new-tech water refill stations, will unveil a development project for a cloud-connected, smart water Refill Station and mobile app, powered by Microsoft’s Azure Sphere, at Sichuan Changhong Electric’s booth (# 11439). FloWater’s development of an IoT mobile app works hand in hand with its smart water Refill...

PLACENCIA, BELIZE—Ray Caye is a small (20-unit) island resort with a very large focus on sustainability. The property is 17 miles off the coast of Belize and a short flight from Belize City, then a boat ride. It has been open for eight years but is reopening in January as Ray Caye. This is a decidedly upscale resort but there has been as much investment in environmental elements as in accommodations, according to Dasha Shivers, the resort’s General Manager. Seriously Solar On the solar front, the resort has a solar array of 100 KW (total of all installed solar panels); a...

ATLANTA—IHG owners across the United States and Canada are driving further impact in local communities through the Renovation Donation Initiative (RDI), an industry-leading reuse program. Over the past year, more than 50 hotels have registered to participate in the program, including nearly 30 which have already scheduled or completed pick-ups. Launched as a pilot effort by IHG and the IHG Owners Association in October 2018, and fully open to all IHG-branded hotels in the United States and Canada as of April 2019, the first-of-its-kind RDI provides hotels undergoing renovation an easy process to reduce waste and support local communities by...

KEHL, GERMANY—Plastic waste has become a highly debated global issue. The small bottles of body care products, which still can be found in many hotel bathrooms, contribute significantly to this problem. Estimates show that each year, the hotel industry disposes over 10 billion of these mini bottles, many of which still contain product. ADA Cosmetics International is using the “Make the Shift” campaign to draw the attention of hoteliers towards environmentally friendly dispenser systems. The key communication mode is a landing page with background information and product news on the topic of dispenser system solutions, presented in a magazine style....

SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF.—Bamboo Studio is about to launch Eco Hempware, the world’s first collection of foodservice tableware made entirely from high-grade industrial grown hemp fiber. Twice as strong as steel, six times as flexible, and 100 percent compostable, industrial hemp is a high-yield crop ideally suited for the food industry, producing four times as much fiber pulp from one acre of hemp as an acre of trees. Eco Hempware is microwave safe, dishwasher safe and extremely durable. Experts at making sustainable tableware with natural fibers for over 10 years, Bamboo Studio is launching its newest brand, Eco-Hempware, with an initial 50-piece...