May 30,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on May 31, 2012
The International Oeko-Tex Assn. textile testing and certification organization will sponsor The Continuum sustainable textile industry trade show.
The Continuum runs July 24-25 at Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street, New York City.
Oeko-Tex is the ideal sponsor for the Continuum, said co-founder and show organizer Andrew Olah. Twenty years ago, Oeko-Tex was a pioneer in developing certification standards for textile products that are safe for humans and for textile manufacturing facilities that are environmentally and socially responsible. Oeko-Texs focus on and dedication to a safer and more sustainable textile industry is right in line with the principles of the Continuum show.
The International Oeko-Tex Assn., which was founded in 1992 in response to consumer demands for textile products that posed no risks to human health, established the Oeko-Tex Standard 100, the product certification that ensures textiles are successfully and comprehensively tested for more than 300 chemicals that can be harmful to humans, substances such as formaldehyde, carcinogenic dyestuffs, pesticides, residual surfactants, and lead and other heavy metals.
The association also created the Oeko-Tex Standard 1000 certification for textile manufacturing facilities that meet stringent criteria for environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing practices. This comprehensive certification ensures sustainable production conditions are maintained at textile facilities of all types including spinners, dyers, knitters and weavers, finishers, and manufacturers of finished textile products.
Companies like those who attend the Continuum show are the thought leaders and innovators who will drive meaningful improvements in the textile industry, says Dr. Jean-Pierre Haug, Secretary General for the International Oeko-Tex Association. We look forward to supporting these positive-thinking, action-oriented companies as they provide the consumer marketplace with high quality, sustainable textile products that are considerate of workers, consumers, and the environment.
May 30,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Furniture Retailing on May 31, 2012
from http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2012/may/30/leo-burke-furniture-store-closing-ar-1952595/
Jack Burke has taken lots of risks over the years with his family-owned furniture store business in Richmond, Va.
Now, he's taking the biggest gamble ever: shutting down the Leo Burke Furniture store in Carytown that his father started in 1958.
"It just makes more sense to go out now while we are on top rather than keep pressing on," Burke said Wednesday. "There was no big epiphany. We have run a good business for 54 years. This is a business decision like any other we would have to make."
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May 30,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on May 31, 2012
from http://www.wqow.com/story/18649821/ashley-furniture-adding-more-than-200-jobs-and-new-facility-addition
"2011 was a very good year for Ashley Furniture," says Ashley Furniture CEO Todd Wanek. "We were rated the number one furniture manufacturer in the United States and the number one furniture retailer in the United States. We were able to grow in excess of 10 percent during that period of time."
Ashley Furniture plans to double the size of it's facility in Whitehall, Wis.
"We're investing back in the manufacturing facility," Wanek explains. "This year we will be investing $6 million in an expansion of a physical plant and equipment.
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May 30,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on May 31, 2012
from http://www.wdbj7.com/business/wdbj7-rowe-furniture-facility-in-elliston-cuts-back-workforce-20120530,0,4009784.story
Rowe Furniture announced yesterday that it is laying off some of its workforce. Reports did not indicate how may people were laid off.
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May 30,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Obituaries on May 31, 2012
from http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/30/2136299/myron-mike-goffin-who-died-last.html#storylink=omni_popular#wgt=pop
Myron "Mike" Goffin knew the way to a shopper's heart is through his stomach.
About 1960, after opening a tiny storefront appliance shop on Main Street in Boise, Idaho, he caught his first microwave customers with the promise of a free casserole made by his wife.
"Whichever casserole they chose, he'd put it in the microwave," said Martin R. Goffin, his son and former owner of the family business. Mike Goffin died May 24 at 82 after suffering from heart and kidney failure.
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