WASHINGTON, D.C.— Plastic pollution of land, water and air is a global problem. Even when plastic bags or water bottles break down to the point at which they are no longer an eyesore, tiny fragments can still contaminate the environment. Animals and humans can ingest the particles, with uncertain health consequences. Now, scientists report that they are among the first to examine micro- and nanoplastics in human organs and tissues. The researchers presented their results recently at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo. It featured more than 6,000 presentations on a wide range of science...

NATIONAL REPORT—Earlier this year the Westin Houston Medical Center announced it was using LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots to sanitize and disinfect its guestrooms and common areas to help combat the threat of coronavirus. The robots use intense germicidal UV light to disinfect rooms by quickly destroying microscopic bacteria and viruses that may be missed during the manual cleaning process. Operated by hotel staff, the robot uses pulsed xenon (a noble gas) to create intense broad-spectrum UV light. The room disinfection technology was provided by Xenex Disinfection Services. Xenex Disinfection Services is just one of a number of companies now selling UV...

NEW YORK—Organic Spa Media, the leading authority in wellness travel, natural beauty and eco-living, announces the debut of The Wellness Experience, a new virtual summit featuring a roster of top industry experts and interactive live-streaming experiences. Developed in partnership with prominent virtual events platform 6Connex, the two-day event on October 20 to 21, 2020 will feature wellness content from a variety of leading international authorities. For the first time ever, consumer wellness aficionados, travel advisors and media are invited to interact with some of the brightest minds in the industry, with programming carefully curated by Organic Spa Media. The summit...

ENCINITAS, CALIF.—A year after receiving Platinum WELL Certification for her Inn at Moonlight Beach—the first lodging establishment in the world to do so—owner Shangwen Chiu Kennedy has no regrets about the investment. Well Certification is a result of the International WELL Building Institute’s collaboration with Green Business Certification Inc. According to the Institute, there are currently 4,421 projects encompassing over 623 million square feet that are applying WELL across 63 countries. There is at least one additional Well hotel project. The boutique Inn at Moonlight Beach consists of five modern suites, 10 distinct gardens, and an owner’s quarters. The Inn...

NATIONAL REPORT—According to the recently released J.D. Power 2020 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index (NAGSI) Study, meeting guest expectations for cleanliness continues to be a strong driver of guest satisfaction. “In fact, satisfaction with guestroom cleanliness has been climbing steadily for many years,” says Andrea Stokes, Hospitality Practice lead at J.D. Power. With guest attention to cleanliness at a hyper level due to COVID-19, making sure guests need not worry about lingering cigarette or marijuana odor is even more critical. As far as the hotel industry has come in banning indoor smoking (97 percent of hotel rooms are nonsmoking),...

CALHOUN, GA.—Mohawk Industries is supporting safety precautions as local students, teachers and staff return to school. The company recently made several large donations in northwest Georgia prior to the beginning of the school year: Calhoun City Schools: 4,250 water bottles and 420 cannisters of disinfectant wipes; Dalton Public Schools: 500 gallons of hand sanitizer; Gordon County Schools: 6,700 water bottles, 840 cannisters of disinfectant wipes and 100 boxes to cover water fountains; and Whitfield County Schools: 500 gallons of hand sanitizer. “We reached out to our local schools and asked what we could provide that would best help students and...

NANTUCKETT, MASS.—GSN Planet (GSN) has recently partnered with the Esalen Institute to bring webinars to the wellness community dedicated to personal and professional healing and growth during the post-COVID 19 world. Esalen Healing Arts is introducing a selection of its faculty and partners to provide this conversational and thought-provoking webinar series to stimulate and raise awareness amongst our ever-changing wellness landscape. “We are very excited to collaborate with GSN for this opportunity. We are looking forward to bringing some unique perspectives to the discussion through our esteemed faculty and friends,” says Doug Drummond, Director of Healing Arts and Somatics at...

MIAMI, FLA.—The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the $4.5 trillion global wellness economy, announced that James Nestor, author of the new book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, will keynote at its conference being held November 8 to 11, 2020, at The Breakers Palm Beach. Nestor’s book has instantly become a New York Times best seller and is the result of his decade-long investigation into thousands of years of medical texts and new studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry and human physiology. Breath turns our long-held beliefs about our most basic biological function...

Nearly 4,000 consumers from 48 countries and territories responded to the Wellness Tourism Association’s second consumer survey, revealing their motivations for taking a Wellness Vacation as the industry begins to recover. The three-month (April, May, June 2020) online consumer survey was administered in collaboration with WTA Member, Professor Danny Kessler Ph.D. from Youngsan University, Busan, South Korea. Respondents were 54 percent female with 73 percent between the ages 26 to 74 (Millennials and Baby Boomers), and with close to 78 percent indicating they already include wellness activities when they travel. President & CEO of the Wellness Tourism Association, Anne...

NEW YORK—The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the world’s leading certification body for healthy buildings, announced the establishment of the WELL Advisory for Hotels and Resorts to provide insights on the application of the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facilities Operations and Management for hotels and resorts. The WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating focused on operational policies, maintenance protocols and emergency plans to address a post COVID-19 environment. IWBI will accept registrations for the WELL Health-Safety Rating from all building and facility typologies later this month. Leveraging guidance on the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory disease...