Daily News Archive
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March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on March 18, 2010
The Sustainable Furnishings Council will offer a seminar, DesigningGreen2010: New Policies, Products & Procedures, at High Point Market.
The seminar, sponsored by Cisco Brothers and Toray Ultrasuede (America) Inc., is set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, in Cisco's Mill Village showroom at 1014 Mill Ave. A reception will follow.
The seminar is worth one credit for interior designers seeking educational credits.
Jeff Hiller, LEED-CI/AP-certified president of SFC, will present the hour-long course. He developed the content for beginner and intermediate sustainable interiors practitioners as well as for retailers selling eco-friendly home furnishings.
"The idea is to provide real tools for growing business through green product options," said Hiller. "Any interior designer or dealer who wants to improve both top and bottom line can benefit from this unique High Point Market event."
The course highlights key developments in sustainable and green interior design and includes an assessment of current environmental issues, government policy and new legislation. Consumer awareness for eco-options, buying interest and purchase motivations based on the latest research will also be covered.
Finally, an overview of product-based solutions in home furnishings and interior treatments will include furniture, upholstery covers, such as the 100 percent recycled Ultrasuede EcoDesign, paint, flooring and lighting categories.
Cisco Brothers is a charter member of SFC and is committed to environmental initiatives related to furniture production as well as to corporate social responsibility. The Los Angeles- based company is widely known for featuring sustainable components in its upholstered furniture offering.
In 2009, Toray Ultrasuede launched its Ultrasuede brand of products using the company's EcoDesign process for capturing and recycling raw material, thereby reducing both energy consumption and carbon emissions by over 80 percent in the manufacturing process.
For additional information about Sustainable Furnishings Council or this event, please click here, or contact Susan Inglis, executive director by e-mail, or by phone at (919) 967-1137.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on March 18, 2010
Two environmental groups, Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency, have called on French shipping company Delmas to cancel a shipment of hundreds of tons of rosewood from the port of VoheÌmar, in northeastern Madagascar.
The Delmas operated vessel Kiara arrived in Vohemar last week and currently is taking on containers of rosewood. The groups accuse the company, a division of shipping group CMA-CGM, of facilitating the destruction of Madagascar's last remaining forests. Since June of 2009, Global Witness, EIA, and other organizations have repeatedly advised Delmas of the situation and urged the company not to ship illegal wood from Madagascar.
According to the groups, political turmoil early last year triggered an invasion of Madagascar's national parks by thousands of illegal loggers. A
report by Global Witness and EIA in November 2009 estimated that the trade in illegal rosewood and ebony was worth up to $460,000 per day.
Although almost all harvest and export of precious woods has been banned in Madagascar since 2006, local and national officials have been known to issue illegitimate export permits.
The groups said timber shipped by Delmas usually ends up in China, the largest market for illegal Malagasy wood, but U.S. and European consumers have also been known to purchase it. If the wood finds its way to U.S. shores, company officials could face criminal and civil sanctions under the Lacey Act, which was amended in 2008 to prohibits trade in illegally sourced wood and its products. In November 2009, the American guitar maker Gibson was raided by U.S. authorities, reportedly targeting illegally imported rosewood from Madagascar.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on March 18, 2010
The International Casual Furnishings Association is offering member companies a new group discount on less-than-container-load shipments through Worldwide Logistics.
Members soon will be able to go to a dedicated ICFA website page, where they will be able to get a quote as well as track shipments. Worldwide Logistics also is offering ICFA members a $1,000 credit line to facilitate their enrollment in the program.
Worldwide Logistics is an AHFA Supplier Division Member. For more information, click here.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Recliners on March 18, 2010
Massage chair and recliner vendor Human Touch will showcase a new application and wellness solution, HT-Connect for iPhone and iPod touch, at High Point Market, April 17-22. The Human Touch showroom is IHFC- H517.
Available this June as a free download from the Apple App Store, the company says HT-Connect is the first wellness solution allowing users to personalize the robotic massage chair to their individual wellness needs. HT-Connect will interface with Human Touch's newest, most state-of-the-art massage chair, the AcuTouch 9500. By seamlessly interfacing with HT-Connect, the new AcuTouch 9500 massage chair will offer a fully customized massage and wellness experience by providing instant access to a wealth of massage programs, expertise, and user-friendly applications via Bluetooth wireless connection on an iPhone or iPod touch.
While responding to the personalized settings and preferences of the user, the HT-Connect interface also provides users with access to education and expertise from Human Touch Wellness Council members about how to live better through regular massage, relaxation, and a healthy lifestyle. The Wellness Council comprises a group of renowned experts in their fields, ranging from PGA Golf Pro Tim Clark and former Olympian and professional runner Jeff Galloway, to well-known doctors of naturopathy and chiropractic.
Key features of the new HT-Connect app include: 16 auto-programmed massages connected to your iPhone or iPod touch; instant connectivity to valuable wellness resources; and personalized, real-time massage and wellness experience at the touch of a button.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on March 18, 2010
Joseph Cilio of Alfresco Home, King of Prussia, Pa.; Jim Schultz, Patios Plus, Rancho Mirage, Calif.; and Greg Johnson, JDG Sales Inc., Tampa, Fla. have been elected to on-year terms on the Board of the International Casual Furnishings Association.
In addition, ICFA has adopted several updates to its existing awards programs and added a new award to its annual lineup. The new award is Sales Representative of the Year, to be conferred for the first time in 2010. The program is designed to recognize and honor a sales representative who is a member of ICFA and an active partner with both retailers and manufacturers. Persons considered will be those who serve as an inspiration or model within the industry and whose service is considered both exceptional and innovative.
All ICFA members will be invited to nominate individuals for Sales Representative of the Year. Nominations will include a short biography and explanation of why the individual is deserving of the honor. Each nomination also must be accompanied by the names of two additional industry members who support the nomination. Voting will be conducted online, and the winner will be honored at the International Casual Furniture and Accessories Market in Chicago this fall.
In addition to adding Sales Representative of the Year, ICFA will reintroduce its Manufacturer Leadership Award this year. One manufacturer will be honored in each of 10 categories, including: cast metal, wrought iron/wrought aluminum, rattan/wicker/woven materials, wood, tubular materials, resin/fiberglass, shade products, outdoor lighting, outdoor rugs/ carpeting/flooring and complementary casual products. Manufacturers will be rated on the design and quality of their products, along with merchandising, customer service, ethics, communications and trade relations. From the category winners, an overall Manufacturer of the Year will be named.
These two awards will be presented at a new awards event to be held this year on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The event also will include recognition of the Design Excellence category winners and the Lillian B. Winchester "Best of Show" recipient. As part of its award updates, the ICFA agreed to conduct the Best of Show voting online.
Recognition of the Apollo Award finalists and winners, as well as the ICFA Lifetime Achievement Award winners, will continue to be reserved for a separate awards dinner event. This year that event will be Thursday, Sept. 23, at Chicago's Field Museum. A new online ballot is being developed for the Apollo Awards to make the voting a more inclusive process for ICFA's growing membership.