SSA Has New Environmental Guide in Vegas

January 29, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on January 30, 2012

The Specialty Sleep Association will distribute copies of its new environmental guide at this week's Las Vegas Furniture Market.

In addition, SSA praised the establishment of a new Global Organic Latex Standard to establish the true meaning of "organic latex" claims in mattress and bedding sales.

SSA created the 14-page guide, "Glossary of Terms Frequently Used in Environmental Marketing Claims," with the assistance of sustainability consultant Vicki Worden of Worden Associates. The updated guide is available as a free download at the SSA Web site, and a limited number of printed copies will be distributed at  Market in the SSA Showroom, WMC-C1350.
 
"This is the well-researched and defining guide for the entire mattress and bedding industry, which now has a common reference for product identification and communication to the consumer," said SSA President Dale Read. "It's the first glossary of its kind for the industry, it is a very comprehensive and useful reference tool, and it will be the go-to guide for 'selling green' and understanding published guidelines from U.S. government agencies like the FTC and USDA."
 
During the Las Vegas Market, Worden will lead "Making Green on 'Green,' a bedding retailer seminar on winning over today's conscientious consumers with accurate product claims on Tuesday, 11 a.m.-noon in the SSA showroom (C-1350). The seminar, presented by the SSA, is open to all market attendees and will explore best practices for promoting green sleep products in ways that eliminate consumer confusion and solidify a purchase decision with documented claims.
 
Worden is a sustainability consultant working with manufacturers, retailers, and trade associations on the development and launch of sustainable and environmentally focused products and services. Her expertise includes environmental standards and green building, and she is a former a judge of the White House Sustainability Awards.
           
The new Global Organic Latex Standard from Control Union Certifications, which is based in Zwolle, the Netherlands, was developed with support of the SSA in reference guidelines for describing organic latex.

In announcing GOLS, Control Union Certifications singled out the support of the Specialty Sleep Association in helping improve the standard that informs consumers about the content of internationally sourced latex products, which builds upon existing standards for organic latex produced within the United States.

"This is another important step towards truth in marketing in the mattress and bedding field," Read said. "The goal of the Specialty Sleep Association is to pursue full transparency and to embrace accepted worldwide standards as part of full consumer disclosure."

Control Union officials said the new standard will enable producers to showcase a product of organic origin, "a product that is socially justifiable and a product that also ensures certain environmental aspects during processing."

Two categories of label grading are available with the new standard. With GOLS, product labeled as "Made with Organic" or "Contains Organic" should contain minimum 95 percent or more of certified organic latex and other certified organic raw material in the final product, from its total weight. Product label as "Made with 70 percent of Organic" should contain a minimum of 70 percent of certified organic latex and other certified organic raw material in the final product.

Read said the new latex standard has been created by Control Union, the same organization that inspects and manages the widely accepted Global Organic Textile Standards for textile products that are 95 percent certified organic finished products. The standard also has provisions to ensure that environmental and labor standards are adhered to in manufacturing.

GOLS certification will be valid for one year and its procedure will be similar to that of organic textiles certification. The conformity to the standard will be verified through an audit (documented and on-site). Certification will be granted when all the compliance criteria are achieved.