SFC Announces New Green Retailer Standard

July 26, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on July 27, 2011

The Sustainable Furnishings Council will roll out a new standard for "green" home furnishings retailing at next week's Las Vegas Furniture Market.

After its founding in 2006, SFC's first order of business was to establish credible standards defining what it meant to be sustainable, borrowing the template of the highly successful U.S. Green Building Council's LEED model, which recognizes levels of Silver, Gold and Platinum Exemplary performance based on points earned in a menu list of possible choices. Fifteen manufacturers having earned Exemplary status since its inception.

Now the SFC has applied the same rigor in defining a new standard more directly applicable to retailers, something that has been generally lacking in the market. A committee of prominent retailers, including SFC board members Steve Freeman of Room & Board, Christina Nicholson of Williams-Sonoma Group, Peggy Burns of Circle Furniture, Laurie Messman of Ligne Roset, and Tom Megna of NatEco led development of a point list that covers areas such as energy conservation, on-site recycling programs, wood sourcing, use of reclaimed materials, training and education. It is intended to recognize those companies who are already employing a variety of sustainable practices, giving consumers a sign of assurance they can look for, as well as to provide guidance of best practices for those retailers trying to improve. Details of the list can be found here.

"We are delighted to participate in developing and releasing the first, credible sustainable Retailer standards," said Mitchell Gold, SFC Board member. "We had been admirers of the work of the SFC for some time, and it has been a tremendous experience for me to become personally involved and make such a profound contribution to the entire industry. We hope others follow our lead in joining the cause, something we at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams have passionately supported for years."

In addition to its work in setting standards, the SFC remains a primary source for market education, providing certified training at major trade shows, via webinar and online for manufacturers, reps, designers and retail sales staff. The focus is on providing a fundamental understanding of the environmental issues related to home furnishings, product based solutions and the knowledge to translate this information in a compelling manner to customers and clients. SFC has graduated more than 550 participant from the GREENleaders Certified Sustainability Training program, which it will offer again at World Market Center Las Vegas.

For information on standards, membership or certified training, please contact SFC by e-mail or at 919.967.1137.