SFC Celebrates 5th Anniversary at High Point Market

October 18, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on October 19, 2011

The Sustainable Furnishings Council will celebrate its 5th anniversary right where it was created, at High Point Furniture Market.

What started as a series of informal meetings among eco-friends in the furniture business at the South Cone showroom of Gerry Cooklin was formalized in a decision to become a non-profit organization supporting sustainability initiatives throughout the industry at High Point in October 2006. Notable founding members included manufacturers Harden Furniture and Gat Creek, retailers Room & Board and ABC Carpet & Home, and media companies Home Furnishings Business and Furniture Today.

The group's inclusion of ranking staff from the World Wildlife Fund, Rainforest Alliance and one of the two co-founders of the U.S. Green Building Council helped give SFC instant credibility. The first order of business was drafting standards for approval by public consensus to define what it meant to be green in home furnishings. Once in place, the SFC turned its attention to raising awareness, sharing best practices and delivering education which continue as the main priorities today.

The SFC is particularly proud that throughout a very challenging period for the industry over the past several years, the organization has continued to thrive. Membership currently approaches 400, an all-time high, and more than 600 participants have graduated from the SFC-sponsored GREENleaders Certified Sustainability Training program, the only significant certified education focused on green home furnishings. They have engaged celebrity designers including Thom Filicia, Alexander Julian, Kathy Ireland and Angelo Surmelis in a consumer print campaign that appears monthly in a variety publications such as Dwell and Luxe. They continue to attract high profile new members such as Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams, with Mitchell Gold joining the Board of Directors.

The SFC recently issued new Exemplary Standards for Retailers, bringing worthy recognition to numerous companies doing truly exceptional things in the area of sustainability. And they help connect buyers and sellers of sustainable goods at markets by distributing thousands of maps of SFC members showing at High Point and periodically staging attention-grabbing events.

SFC will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a party at The Phillips Collection showroom this Saturday, 4-7 p.m., IHFC-C202. The SFC has information points at High Point Market in Showplace (1315), the C&D Building (5th Floor), Suites at Market Square (M-8049), and IHFC (M-313.)

For those interested in GREENleaders certified training, the course will be offered 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 26. To register, contact by e-mail or at 919.967.1137.