Sustainable Furniture Council To Hold Next General Meeting at Vegas Market

January 1, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on January 2007 The Sustainable Furniture Council will hold a general organizing meeting during the Winter Las Vegas Market later this month. The SFC is an alliance of companies and individuals committed to the advocacy of sustainable business practices in the home furnishings industry, emphasizing the selection of eco-friendly wood choices that is either certified as reclaimed, or sourced from managed forests.

The gathering will take place 7 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30 in the new Four Hands showroom, second floor of Building Two at the World Market Center, space B270.

The alliance is the brainchild of Gerry Cooklin, owner of South Cone, and a longtime advocate of sustainable practices--practices that he’s put into effect with his business.

The SFC held its first organizing meeting at the 2005 October High Point Market, and met again at High Point in October 2006, extending invitations to a variety of interests associated with the home furnishings industry, including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and the trade press. Response was strong, and the group now counts among its members more than 40 different companies and individuals, including ABC Carpet & Home, Room & Board, and the Rainforest Alliance.

The Sustainable Furniture Council is seeking to incorporate as a non-profit organization by the end of the year. By-laws have been drafted, and governance committees have been appointed, including an initial board of directors. That board includes: Gerry Cooklin of South Cone, Executive Committee president; Amy Chender, ABC Carpet & Home, Executive Committee vice president; Susan Inglis, From the Mountain, secretary; Gat Caperton, Caperton Furniture Works, treasurer; Steve Freeman, Room & Board, Standards Committee co-chair; Tom Verellen, Verellen Inc., Standards co-chair; Jeff Hiller, Four Hands, Marketing Committee co-chair; and Margaret Casey, Home Furnishings Business, Marketing co-chair.

At present, the SFC is intended to function in an advisory capacity to its members and the industry overall. Its immediate goals are to raise awareness of the sustainability issue within the industry; to encourage and assist companies in adopting sustainable practices; to serve as an information clearing house for members; and to promote sustainable products.

Looking further ahead, the group is working to develop participation guidelines that would allow members to use the SFC logo in all of their own communications and promotional activity as a symbol of compliance with specified sustainability standards. SFC will partner with existing organizations in the adoption of their wood harvesting and other sourcing protocols. Certified chain of custody letters documenting the sourcing of raw materials, with a strong and increasing commitment to the use of sustainable materials would be mandatory.

For more information, contact Jeff Hiller at jhiller@fourhands.com