Sustainable Furniture Council to Meet at Las Vegas Market

January 22, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on January 2007 The Sustainable Furniture Council will hold its next general organizing meeting during the Winter Las Vegas Market. The event is scheduled for 7 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30 at the Four Hands showroom, space B270 on the second floor of World Market Center’s Building B.

The SFC is an alliance of companies and individuals committed to sustainable business practices in the home furnishings industry, emphasizing the selection of eco-friendly wood choices certified as either reclaimed or sourced from managed forests. The alliance is the brainchild of Gerry Cooklin, owner of South Cone, who has long advocated sustainable practices through his company and in numerous speeches and public commentary.

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 wide variety of interests associated with the home furnishings industry, including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and the trade press.

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 SFC seeks 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.

Currently, the SFC functions in an advisory capacity to its members and the industry overall, with immediate goals of raising awareness of the sustainability issue within the industry; encouraging and assisting companies in adopting sustainable practices; serving as an information clearing house for members; and promoting sustainable products.

Longer term, the group is working to develop participation guidelines that would allow members to use the SFC logo in 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.

Interested parties can contact Jeff Hiller at HYPERLINK “mailto:jhiller@fourhands.com” jhiller@fourhands.com for more details.