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From Home Furnishing Business

Las Vegas Names Global Goodness Winners

January 27, 2014  by in Green, Industry, Las Vegas, Market   

Blue Mountain Arts, Chairtech, Palecek, Phillips Collection and Rizzy Home  were honored in recognition of their socially responsible products and business practices. The awards will be presented at this week's Winter 2014 Market.

Winners of the winter 2014 Global Goodness Awards were selected based on their activities to integrate sustainable and socially responsible practices into their businesses and manufacturing processes, and thereby improve the lives of people all over the world.

Blue Mountain Arts has used recycled papers and soy-based inks since its founding. Its newest card line, Classic Blue Mountain Arts, is printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance, demonstrating that beautiful products can be created without compromise using sustainable materials. 

Chairtech ensures that all of its furniture is produced in an ethical manner by participating in the United Nations' Global Compact, which addresses 10 principles regarding human rights, the environment and anti-corruption initiatives; the company's manufacturing facility in China has been recognized as a model for other producers.

Palecek designs and produces high-end furniture and accessories using sustainable natural materials and eco-friendly production practices The company also consistently provides aid during global relief efforts, most recently donating funds to rebuild school structures destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. 

Phillips Collection has collaborated with the local northern Thailand artisan community, creating products such as the Galvanized Disk Wall Décor and Olympic Rings Screen from reclaimed oil drums from landfills. 

Rizzy Home undertakes humanitarian activities in India, where the company built and finances two schools offering free education to women in villages where the company's rugs are manufactured. Rizzy also built two hospitals; offers free eye care and ambulatory clinics; and a plastic recycling plant making rugs and carpet from waste materials. 

The Global Goodness awards program, which debuted at the Las Vegas Summer 2013 Market, relates to dramatic growth in sustainable, environmentally-friendly and Fair Trade products throughout the industry in general, and at the Las Vegas Market in particular. 

"Las Vegas Market is pleased and proud to present the Global Goodness Awards program to recognize vendors who are doing well by doing good," said Dorothy Belshaw, president of Gift & Home Décor, International Market Centers. "As the fastest growing furniture, home décor and gift market in the western United States, Las Vegas Market has experienced a substantial influx of exhibitors offering Fair Trade, sustainable and artisanal products. The Global Goodness initiative is just one way in which International Market Centers is demonstrating its commitment to supporting environmentally-friendly and socially-responsible businesses."

The Global Goodness Awards program supplements an ongoing partnership Las Vegas Market has with the Sustainable Furnishings Council(sustainablefurnishings.org) to create "One Good World," a sweeping program that not only equips retailers with the insights, information and strategies needed to respond to the rising consumer demand for sustainable furnishings, but also encompasses the many eco-friendly practices at World Market Center's trade complex. The effort includes a sustainable products locator program, showcasing relevant at-Market resources, expanded educational offerings addressing issues and opportunities connected with sustainability. Details are available here(sustainablefurnishings.org/post/one-good-guide-las-vegas-market-winter-2014). 

Two of this week's Las Vegas Market's 13 temporary exhibit categories--MADE and GLOBAL--highlight the variety of gift and home décor exhibitors offering sustainable and Fair Trade products. Located on C11, MADE showcases handcrafted, artisanal products including handmade ceramics, pottery, home décor, letterpress, apparel and jewelry; and GLOBAL presents unique products from around the world with an emphasis on fairly traded products, social responsibility and global community development.