Sustainable Furniture Council To Hold Next General Meeting at Vegas Market
Furniture World Magazine
on
12/22/2006
The SFC is an alliance of companies and individuals committed to the advocacy of sustainable business practices in the home furnishings industry, emphasizing the selection of eco-friendly wood choices that is either certified as reclaimed or sourced from managed forests. The alliance is the brainchild of Gerry Cooklin, owner of South Cone, who has long had a passion for the subject reflected in the work of his furniture company and in numerous speeches and public commentary. He has since taken his passion to a broader platform with the creation of the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC).
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. Response was strong, and the group now counts among its members more than 40 different companies and individuals, including such luminaries as ABC Carpet & Home, Room & Board, and the Rainforest Alliance.
The Sustainable Furniture Council is seeking 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:
Gerry Cooklin, South Cone, Live Sustainably, Executive Committee President
Amy Chender, ABC Carpet & Home, Executive Committee Vice President
Susan Inglis, From the Mountain, Secretary
Gat Caperton, Caperton Furniture Works, Treasurer
Steve Freeman, Room & Board, Standards Co-chair
Tom Verellen, Verellen, Inc, Standards Co-chair
Jeff Hiller, Four Hands, Marketing Co-chair
Margaret Casey, Home Furnishings Business, Marketing Co-chair
At present, the SFC is intended to function in an advisory capacity to its members and the industry overall. Its immediate goals are:
- to raise awareness of the sustainability issue within the industry
to encourage and assist companies in adopting sustainable practices
- to serve as an information clearing house for members
to promote sustainable products
Longer term, the group is working to develop participation guidelines that would allow members to use the SFC logo in all of 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.
The SFC understands that the goal of sustainability for wood products is a process, not an event. Certainly, the “Green” issue is topical, with numerous publications, both trade and consumer, taking notice with dedicated features or special editions. It is apparent that consumers are starting to take notice. What is most important is that industry members educate themselves on the issue, examine their own practices, promote those products that are compliant, and guide their future product development and sourcing efforts toward sustainable choices.
The next organizing meeting will be held in Las Vegas at the new Four Hands showroom on the second floor of Building Two at the World Market Center, space B270, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 7:00 a.m. All interested parties are encouraged to contact Jeff Hiller at jhiller@fourhands.com for more details.
SUSTAINABLE FURNITURE COUNCIL
Governance Committee
Gerry Cooklin, South Come, co-chair
Amy Chender, ABC Home, co-chair
Susan Inglis, From The Mountain, co-chair
Gat Caperton, Caperton FurnitureWorks
Gary Adams, Mac Kenzie-Dow
Bill Perdue, AHFA
Ed Phifer, EJ Victor
Sara Lyke, WithIt
Darlene H. Leonard, BDO Seidman, LLP
Chris Anderson, United Furniture
Marketing Committee
Jeff Hiller, Four Hands, co-chair
Margaret Casey, HFB, co-chair
Gerry Cooklin, South Come
Amy Chender, ABC Home
Susan Inglis, From The Mountain
Lelsie Newby, Work The Brand
Peggy Farabaugh, Vermont Woods Studios
Marty Tucker, Copeland Furniture
Andy Friberg, Spectra
Michelle Lamb, TrendCurve
Pete Parisette, Parisette GemWoods
Bondi Coley, LEE Industries
Gale Steves
Douglas Thayer, RugNews
Bruce Weinberg, American Leather
Anne Schewe, AMS Imports
Standards Committee
Steve Freeman, Room & Board, co-chair
Tom Verellen, Verellen, Inc, co-chair
Gerry Cooklin, South Come
Amy Chender, ABC Home
Susan Inglis, From The Mountain
Phil Payne, Shenandoah Furniture
David Mahood, Olive Designs
Bill Becker, BDI, Inc
Wendy Shafranski, David Francis Furniture
Bradley Gantt, Lee Industries
Jennifer Prince, ASU
Stoel Burrowes, Product design
Bill Perdue, AHFA
Douglas Gasal, American Leather
Marten Jenkins, The Conservation Fund
Loretta Peters
Daphne Hewitt, Rainforest Alliance
Liza Murphey, Rainforest Alliance
Rick Hilton, Rainforest Alliance
Greg Harden, Harden Furniture