SFC stepping up education effort
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, August 4, 2008
Las Vegas — The Sustainable Furniture Council plans to issue a revised set of standards this year and will focus on green product education efforts, officials said at the organization's general meeting here during last week's Las Vegas Market.
The SFC also is updating its Web site with a searchable database for green companies, said Executive Director Susan Inglis.
The move is in response to the mass of inquiries it receives asking who makes green products, Inglis said.
As of July, the SFC had 261 members, she said. The organization, which rates product eco-friendliness, has certified five members to Silver Exemplary status and five others are seeking certification, she added.
Education will continue as a focus this year, Inglis said.
SFC member Holly Barbo of retailer Barbo Furniture in Bellingham, Wash., showed a video during the meeting that the company released titled, "It Can Be Easy Being Green," which discusses furniture manufacturing. (An introduction is online at http://www.barbofurniture.com/easygreen/intro.html.)
The SFC is working on an educational package that stores can use with consumers, said Michael Hennessey, an SFC education committee member and CEO of Salt Lake City retailer C.G. Sparks.
There is a gap between consumers' enthusiasm about green and their understanding of basics such as what is renewable and what is recyclable, he said.
"I think there's a commonality to the questions. People don't know their foams are made of oil. They understand the concept but not the finer points," Hennessey said.
