 Category Focus - February 2011  |
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Globally Green
Where eco-friendly products are sourced and sold, here and abroad In the U.S., industries are still learning what it means to embrace sustainability. As the term “going green” has moved from trend to lifestyle in the States, in other regions such as Europe, “going green” isn’t always promoted, but instead, expected. Here is a geographic breakdown of how some of the eco-friendly collections found in the U.S. are distributed and marketed around the world. Canada: Dream Designs “Our Asia market is also growing, as its interest for green and high quality home textiles is rising,” says Linda Tang, owner, creative director, Dream Designs. “We source from some organic farmers in the States, but for cotton, we have multiple sourcing chains in U.S., Asia, Europe, Egypt, Portugal, Turkey and India, among others, and it’s necessary—the organic supply market has seen a lot of changes in the past 20 years, and it’s not reliable to have just one source chain,” says Tang. Through expansion, Tang brings up a solid point in merchandising—it’s not enough to push the products as just natural and eco-friendly. “In Canada, we are constantly surrounded by rain forest, the ocean and mountains and we see the importance of protecting air and water quality,” says Tang. “In the States, interest in the environment is becoming more mainstream, but you still have to attract consumers first with fashion and quality. Even in Asia, they want quality first. The eco-element is just a plus.” Italy: Busatti and SDH Enterprises As Michelangelo Formica, export and marketing manager, Busatti, explains, the weavers receive linen from Belgium, cotton from Egypt and source wool locally,to keep up its rich tradition and sell to varied markets in the U.S., Kazakhstan, Africa, Japan and Europe. “We use simple electronic machines, from 1920s/1930s, which use less energy while turning raw materials into natural fibers,” says Formica. “We work to keep classic techniques, and use traditional looms and yarn-dye with our own colors.” Since Busatti has such a niche product, Formica says they aren’t looking to expand, but they are branching out in a different way with fashion, fusing traditional textiles with modern styles.
Also hailing from Italy, SDH Enterprises was founded on one simple goal: to create luxury bedding and fabrics that are both elegant and useful while promoting the environmental cause, explains Taina Jester, assistant sales manager, SDH. “In The Purists line, we have manufactured truly all-natural linens for over 20 years,” says Jester. “All manufacturing and finishing done for this product line is achieved without chemical ingredients, and we also offer certified cotton organic linens.” According to Jester, the cotton for SDH is the highest quality organic American cotton available, and the production takes place in Italy under ICEA (Institute for Ethics and Environmental Certification) and is GOTS certified. Its Legna brand, in particular, is a line woven from Europe’s new generation of cellulose yarns, obtained from the wood pulp of managed forests, manufactured 100 percent in Italy. Belgium: Libeco Home and Calvin Fabrics The flax plants from which Libeco Home sources are in Meulebeke, Belgium, where Libeco Home also has its own its own stitching operation. Libeco Home sells in 46 countries, including the U.S. and Canada, where most marketing has been educational about flax’s sustainable traits. “In Europe, they understand how eco-friendly business practices are better, due to spacial constraints,” says Edward Reisert, national sales director, Libeco Home. “In particular, in Belgium, factories are very close to residential areas, so practices need to be sustainable. In Europe, linen has been purchased and used generationally. In the U.S., we’ve been weaned off linen for cotton, so consumers aren’t as aware.” Calvin Fabrics, which manufacturers wholesale drapery and upholstery fabrics, labels its line of natural fabrics with an “ECO linen” label signifying that no chemical residues are found in the final product. As Sheri Croy, executive marketing assistant, Calvin Fabrics, explains, its ECO linens are manufactured by a mill using the highest eco-friendly standards. “The mill has very little to no impact on the environment, and is always looking for new ways to recycle most of the waste,” says Croy. “The mill also uses natural gas as a source of energy, which does not pollute the air.” Calvin Fabrics sells directly, globally through its website, with showrooms in the U.S., U.K. and France. Croy also notes that although they take strides to label their natural linens as “eco,” that’s not the primary reason why consumers return to Calvin. “We first introduced our eco linens with a public relations push, but people aren’t just coming to use it as an eco-product,” says Croy. “People are looking for personal health. They understand it’s great that it’s eco-friendly, but there’s a small percentage that seek us out solely for that reason.”
Bosnia: Woolly Boo “Bosnia is where our production facility for retail orders is situated,” says Avdicevic. “All custom work is done in the U.S. The reason we use the Bosnian wool is because we like the fiber length of that particular breed, we are confident in the quality and we help the local economy.” Woolly Boo currently sells in the U.S. and Canada, using the same marketing for both markets. In particular, as Nina Nadash, home textile merchandiser, Lenzing, explains, the Modal® factory is the only vertically integrated factory recognized as one of the most eco-friendly in the way that it purifies water in production, and how the remainder of unused material is burned in a European way—where smoke and ash is captured in a filtered smoke stack, and turned into energy. Other byproducts are made into soaps and fiberboard—everything is 100 percent reused. “As far as merchandising, in the U.S., to just be sustainable is not a convincing story in a doubting market,” says Nadash. “A product has to provide warmth, be ultra absorbent, reduce bacteria, etc.—it needs to offer something else.” This is where their newest fiber fits in. TENCEL® C is Lenzing’s first oceanic fiber. Extracted from shells of shellfish, the substance Chitosan, which is used in cosmetics and in the pharmaceutical industry for its ability to alleviate itching, regulate cells and protect the skin as well as its antibacterial effect, is applied to the fiber. China: Home Source International “Japan is really big into eco-friendly products and they do very well with our bamboo collection,” says Sorgeloos. “I’m not quite sure why Japan is having success with bamboo, but it just goes to show that it is such a diverse fiber and it can be successful anywhere it is placed. We market bamboo as naturally sustainable and renewable, making sure that the customer ‘gets’ the ‘green’ side of the program, in addition to all the features and benefits.” “LOOP has specifically sold eco-friendly products in places such as Belgium, Scotland, and Bermuda,” says Carmel Campos, owner, LOOP. “Since the towels are made in Turkey, we would like to see European markets grow.” But, even though she sees that awareness of eco-friendly practices differs according to country, LOOP does not market differently per county. “We have found that European countries in general tend to be very eco-aware, and in some cases have felt they were ahead of the U.S. in terms of their environmentally savvy lifestyles and product choices, but the only difference in what we sell may be size preferences,” she explains. Overall, “green” companies are on the lookout for the best sources, staying true to their green mission, while in this economy, continuing to promote value over just “eco-friendly.” It’s a global trend. Resources
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