Hickory Springs, Craftmaster Deliver EarthCare Challenge Prize

June 26, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on June 27, 2011

Furniture components supplier Hickory Springs and Craftmaster Furniture have delivered first prize to the winner of the 2011 EarthCare Challenge.

The companies built and delivered a child-friendly sectional sofa and loveseat to Sara's Pre-School in Ridgewood, N.J., featuring Hickory Springs' earth-friendly EarthCare Inside components made with Preserve bio-based foam.
 
Five schools from around the country competed in the national social media competition that took place this spring, submitting updates, photos and videos showing how they were going green in their schools and communities.
 
In addition to the furniture prize, the school received $1,000 from Hickory, N.C.-based Hickory Springs to help fund future environmental learning initiatives. The prize money was put towards starting an organic vegetable garden, while the furniture was placed in two of the school€™s common areas to provide more comfortable seating and to accommodate more children in the room.
 
"The kids chose to plant cherry tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. We're really grateful to Hickory Springs for the beautiful new furniture and for the cash award," said Sara's Pre-school Kindergarten Enrichment Teacher Sara Bauer. "Our students, parents, teachers and entire school community have learned a lot from this experience, and we€™re encouraged to do even more to teach future generations about the importance of protecting our environment. It was a great feeling when the furniture arrived, too; the kids were excited to test out their new sofa."
 
Over 31 days, EarthCare Challenge II garnered over 1,200 fan votes on Facebook. More than 1,150 social media users have become fans of the contest on Facebook and Twitter to date.
 
"We feel fortunate that we could use social media as a platform to show the movement of our company, and the furniture industry in general, toward a greener standard," said Hickory Springs Executive Vice President Dwayne Welch. "We are also grateful to Craftmaster Furniture, who has been our partner since day one in handcrafting the EarthCare Inside furniture we award to the winners."
 
The first EarthCare Challenge launched in 2010, bringing to life the quest of young adults seeking to live more sustainably. This year's contest broadened Hickory Springs' reach through schools. Finalists brought together families, friends and communities at large to vote for their favorite teams through the contest's Facebook page.
 
The runner-up, Fair Lawn High School Environmental Club, received a Craftmaster club chair featuring EarthCare Inside and a plaque in recognition of their community project, "Creating a Plastic-Bottle-Free Campus."