Some of the most exciting findings come from the Sustainable Furnishings Council, which has released the top findings from its 2012 Green Home Furnishings Consumer Study. The fourth study of its kind, researchers surveyed 432 female homeowners ranging from ages 30-60 with household incomes more than $50,000 shows.

The survey, conducted by the Sustainable Furnishings Council with the support of furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, aims to provide trend data on consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviors relating to environmental issues and the home furnishings industry. Among its discoveries:

•  There is a growing interest in buying green. More than half of the consumers surveyed have purchased green products in a variety of categories. These consumers practice recycling at home and are concerned about a range of environmental issues.
• Those who purchased home furnishings in the last year showed twice the interest in green products as those who have not purchased. People may be buying less but they are buying eco-friendly.
• In general, consumers will pay a little more for a special feature that is important to them. 67 percent of respondents said that they would pay up to five percent more for green furnishings.

That last bullet point is perhaps one of the most important findings. Consumers will pay extra to buy a green product, especially if it does more than its traditional counterpart. Just as we’ll buy energy efficient brands because they’ll also save us money, when you’re talking with consumers about mattresses and other products with BiOH® polyols, spend ample time discussing the benefits to the consumer – such as better sleep – in addition to the benefits to the environment.

That two-for-one value could easily be the tipping point that results in more sales. Your customers will be excited about sleeping better at night. They’ll also feel good about themselves because they just bought something that helps sustain Mother Earth.

It stands to reason that they will also feel good about you, as a retailer, because you sell these earth-friendly, health-enhancing products and you were knowledgeable about their many layers of benefits.

Three trends worth noting:

• Gel is the buzz word! At High Point Market, there were mattresses and pillows marketed using such phrases as “gel-infused”, “cool gel ventilated”, “swell gel” and “gel comfort”. It’s all about helping consumers achieve cooler, more restful sleep. Cargill is on point with our new BiOH® polyol, which can replace 100 percent of the petroleum polyols in gel products today, reducing the dependency on oil and increasing the renewable content in finished foam products. The urethane gel made from this new BiOH® polyol can be used in mattresses, mattress toppers, pillows, upholstered furniture, carpet cushion, automotive seats & more.

• Bedding accessories are still on the rise. Mattress protectors, toppers, and decorative pillows will remain popular, and remain excellent sources for add ons and impulse buys.

• Organic/Eco-Friendly = growing demand. The focus on sustainability and the health of our planet continues to increase. Case in point was the debut of the Alexander Julian Couture line, a Made In America line featuring sustainably harvested hardwood frames. There were also numerous examples of natural décor and nature-inspired furniture on display. Watch for high profile designers including Kathy Ireland and Alexander Julian to participate in a consumer print campaign for green home furnishings.

Retailers: The future is where natural meets wired

When we saw that one major mattress manufacturer is actually debuting a mattress with a built-in iPad station, we wondered how adults ages 18-29 are changing our industry. Just in time for High Point Market, Furniture/Today released results of a survey conducted with Millennials: the generation born between 1981 and 2001. 100 percent of those responding said that they regularly shop for furniture at lifestyle furniture stores, such as Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. The report offers tips for attracting more of these young adults into traditional furniture retail stores, such as offering WiFi so shoppers can access in-store specials; battery charging stations perhaps in a coffee bar setting; and using end caps and front-of-store bins to encourage impulse buys.

Here are five great ways for furniture retailers to take part in Earth Day 2012:

1. Draw attention to your earth-friendly inventory.

• Create Earth Day signs or tags to place on goods made from recycled, reclaimed, organic or sustainable materials, as well as any sourced from local suppliers.

• Ask each employee to pick his/her top three favorites from among the “green” items and sign their name to those tags. This gives those items a personalized staff endorsement.

• Offer your employees an extra incentive for selling those items which they have endorsed.

2. Reward customers for purchasing earth-friendly items.

• The value of the rewards can be scalable depending on the amount of the purchase. Some ideas include:

o Free fluorescent light bulbs

o A memory foam pillow made with BiOH® polyols

o A gift certificate to a local restaurant that features sustainable menu items

o A memory foam topper made with BiOH® polyols

3. Take part in community activities.

• Organize a team of employees to help clean a beach or neighborhood, or to plant trees. Wear tee shirts with your business name so that others will notice your involvement.

• Print fliers inviting your customers to join you at the event.

4. Plant a sapling or garden in honor of the employee who sells the most “green” products this month.

• Have a placard made with the employee’s name and the year, to remind employees and customers year round about your commitment to the cause.

5. Partner with a recycling group by serving as a collection site for items such as used cell phones or clothing.

• You will expand your marketing exposure because your business will be advertised by the recycling group as a drop-off point.

Earth Day is a great way to remind your community of your commitment to the environment, and to the health of your neighbors. However you decide to commemorate the day, we hope you also have fun doing it!

Let’s get together!

We enjoy helping manufacturers promote BiOH® polyols. We can always come up with something fun and unique to get retailers selling more products made with BiOH®. This photo was taken in the Klaussner Showroom during the last High Point Market. Retailers took photos and played a little Do you KnOH? game about BiOH® during the Klaussner party!

How can we help you? During the 2011 Fall High Point Market, we increased awareness & educated manufacturers & retailers how to sell the benefits of BiOH® polyols through our online retail training course. Since then, Klaussner has had more than 500 of their retailers take the course & will continue to promote BiOH® in its showroom, and make the training available onsite at this month’s Market. You can also view this training here.

Look for the BiOH logo on your map

The Sustainable Furnishings Council, a non-profit balanced coalition of industry players founded to promote sustainable practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers will once again hand out High Point Market maps to all attendees. Look for the BiOH® logo next to these names of Council members who also use BiOH® polyols in their foam cushioning:

• American Leather

• Century Furniture

• BKIND3

• Cisco Brothers Corp.

• Harden Furniture

• Lee Industries Inc.

• McCreary Modern Inc.

And be sure to stop by to chat with these other High Point Market exhibitors who use BiOH® polyols:

• Bahaus

• Broyhill Furniture

• Comfort Design

• Key City Furniture

• Klaussner Home Furnishings

• Lane Furniture

• La-Z-Boy

• Precedent

• The Rose Hill Co

• Wilem Smith

• Zedbed 

The SSA is a non-profit advocacy and education association advocating and promoting the full spectrum of new technology bedding using both synthetic and green or sustainable solutions. Cargill Inc, producer of BiOH® polyols, is a full founding member of the SSA’s Environmental & Safety Program/Green Initiative Board of Governors.

Building the foundation for new industry standards

The SSA’s labeling program may one day result in more uniform labeling standards for green manufacturers, and more consistent, industry-wide definitions for what constitutes natural, green and sustainable.

The three-step seals and consumer discloser label tags appear on mattresses from manufacturers who join the program. They help consumers to understand the environmental and safety attributes of participating manufacturers’ products. Specifically, they make it easier for consumers to see at a glance:

• The minimum environmental and safety compliance levels that apply to that particular product.

• The material content by percentage for components in the mattress. Manufacturers certify what natural materials have been used and list those materials by weight. If the manufacturer claims any part of the mattress is organic, it has to substantiate that claim. Periodic product testing authorized by the SSA will help ensure compliance.

So far, products and manufacturers that have earned the SSA’s Environmental & Safety Program Seal of Approval are: Boyd Specialty Sleep, Natura World, Naturepedic and Spring Air International.

Program details

Manufacturers pay a fee to the SSA to use the label and seal. There are three different levels of seals that may be used.

To display the Level I seal, a manufacturer must:

• Disclose materials used in construction and percentages of natural/bio-based and/or pre-consumer recycled content if applicable

• Achieve a minimum of 20 percent of natural/biobased or pre-consumer recycled content in component categories of fabric and quilt

• Participate in an annual survey to identify carbon footprint issues and commit to continuous improvement

• Meet all federal safety flammability requirements

• Meet all safety requirements for children’s products if applicable

• Provide a warranty for the product

For the Level II seal, a manufacturer must meet all the requirements of the first threshold and in addition, the products must:

• Disclose materials used in construction and achieve a minimum of 20 percent natural/biobased, pre-consumer recycled content material, and/or steel in component categories of fabric and quilt and 10 percent for core

• Certify the top fabric (closest to consumer during sleep) through either Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or Global Organic Textile Standard

• Flexible polyurethane foam products must achieve CertiPUR-US certification

• Latex foam products must achieve Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification.

The Level III seal is the highest that can be achieved. To meet the Level III requirements, a manufacturer must comply with the previous two levels’ requirements and:

• Disclose materials used in construction and achieve a minimum of 70 percent of natural/biobased and/or pre-consumer recycled content material in component categories of fabric and quilt

• Disclose materials used in construction and achieve a minimum of 50 percent natural/biobased, pre-consumer recycled and/or steel for core

• Certify the final mattress through Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or Global Organic Textile Standard

• Test the mattress for VOCs emissions

The SSA is currently considering proposals for a Level IV of the program. In addition, the SSA has developed an Environmental Glossary Marketing Guide, available on its website, explaining many definitions and regulations governing the “green” industry.

Cargill has developed a new BiOH® polyol, with greater than 90 percent renewable content, that can be formulated into urethane gel products. It is made from renewable raw materials and can be incorporated into foam. This new BiOH® polyol can replace 100 percent of the petroleum polyols in gel products today, reducing the dependency on oil and increasing the renewable content in finished foam products. The urethane gel made from this new BiOH® polyol can be used in mattresses, mattress toppers, pillows, upholstered furniture, carpet cushion, automotive seats & more.

In addition to the expo, we’re also running a full-page ad in the March, April and May editions of Bed Times, which features both of our cool new products: our next generation “cool” memory foam and our renewable urethane gel. (Turn to page 67 in this month’s issue.)

About ISPA Expo

ISPA Expo is the world’s only trade show devoted exclusively to the mattress industry. This year’s event takes place March 14-17 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to previewing all of the newest products, you’ll have the opportunity to make valuable connections and learn profit-building sales techniques.

Members of the Cargill BiOH team will be there on opening day, and we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible!

Both were heavily referenced during Furniture/Today Executive Editor Dave Perry’s State of the Bedding Industry presentation. Perry had previously predicted that, “Gel beds will be more common in Las Vegas than casino chips” – and he was right! We at BiOH® polyols also are predicting that this trend will take off at a remarkable speed within the specialty sleep category.

Two new BiOH® products for healthier sleep

There are now nearly a dozen gel bedding products on the market from such well-known names as Simmons, Sealy, Kingsdown and Serta. Most, if not all, combine memory foam with gel technology. Now BiOH® is debuting two new products to fill this growing demand: one is a memory foam and the other is a gel.

It’s an exciting new direction for the bedding industry because these products have the strong potential of giving consumers the best sleep of their lives. And just imagine the health and productivity benefits of having millions of well-rested Americans!

We make cool, healthy sleep plus environmental sustainability possible with two brand new products:

• BiOH® polyols renewable urethane gel: Ideal for a host of cool sleep products, this new polyol can produce urethane gel with greater than 90 percent renewable content.

• BiOH® polyols next generation “cool” memory foam: A breakthrough product with more than 50 percent renewable content. This new viscoelastic foam dissipates heat 25 percent faster than comparable memory foams.

Other experts and trend watchers agree that cool sleep technology is creating a new wave of excitement for the industry. To learn more, call 877-765-9246.

Jessa Gamble, an award-winning writer and expert on our internal body clocks’ struggle against our urban schedules, describes an interesting study. When people lived without artificial light, they slept twice at night. They slept from 8 p.m. to midnight, had two hours of meditative quiet in bed during which their bodies produced abnormally high levels of prolactin*, then they slept again from 2 a.m. until sunrise.

The study participants reported that they felt they were experiencing true wakefulness for the first time in their lives.

Do your customers want to feel that wide awake tomorrow morning?

The statistics say it all: we’re tired! According to a Gallup poll, three in 10 Americans don’t feel well rested. A Harvard study found that 40 percent of college students feel well rested just two days per week. The most revealing of all: Only about four in 10 people responding to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation said they got a good night’s sleep every night, or almost every night, of the week.

Sell a better night’s sleep

People want better sleep. Their bedding is a means to that end. Your goal is to give them the confidence that what they are buying will help them wake up in the morning feeling more refreshed.

Become a better sleep expert. Earn their trust by giving them other ideas, in addition to their bedding, that might contribute to a better night’s rest. We will continue to provide information on this topic here.

When the conversation turns to bedding, point out that temperature regulation is important to sleep quality. Mattresses, mattress foam toppers and pillows made with the new BiOH® visco polyol provide a cooler, more comfortable sleep. Studies show memory foams produced with this new product dissipate heat more quickly, cooling off 15-40 percent faster than memory foams using infused gel technology. Foams made with BiOH® Polyols are also less sensitive to temperature overall, so they stay softer at cooler temperatures.

Many people overlook some of the most obvious components to a good night’s sleep simply because they don’t know about them. Let’s start a new trend in 2012 of better educated consumers who understand the value of great bedding!

*Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Prolactin levels fluctuate throughout the day, and are highest during sleep.

On opening day, make the First Look Exhibit in the Building B lobby one of your first stops. You will be able to pick up a copy of the First Look Book (limited quantities available) and see a showcase of the new product trends to be discovered at the show.

Speaking of trendy, we’re looking forward to the Food Truck Festival, to be held opening day at 6 p.m. in the Grand Plaza. The courtyard will be transformed into a four-wheeled, gourmet food fiesta. There will also be a DJ spinning favorites from the 50s and 60s. Should be a fun evening!

If you prefer something a little more low key, check out high tea, taking place Monday through Thursday in C512 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. You’ll enjoy complimentary tea sandwiches, cocktails and a selection of gourmet teas.

First Time Buyers Orientation

If you haven’t attended this event, this special orientation can be extremely helpful. It takes place from on January 30th from 10-11 a.m. in room C368, and is designed to help you maximize your buying time. You’ll get a rundown on all of the resources, destinations, seminars and events happening at the Las Vegas Market.

Seminars and Continuing Education Credits

There are a number of valuable seminars planned. One that sounds intriguing to us is LuxeEco and One Good World: Designing the Future, happening on January 30th from 11 a.m. to noon. This is a panel discussion among the Sustainable Furnishings Council’s distinguished DESIGNINGGreen Leaders, and should be quite informative. It’s also worth 0.1 CEU.

Verified Eco-Friendly Exhibitors

Perusing the list, we found many eco-friendly exhibitors including Artists Guild of America, Jordan Spence Design, Matt Downer Designs and a company called Groovystuff, based in Dallas, that features seven distinct one-of-a-kind collections. You’ll find everything from artwork to bedding and decorative accessories made with materials that are kind to Mother Nature. Of course, be sure to watch for products made with BiOH. Our partners who will be exhibiting at the show include: Broyhill (A1053), Harden (A901), Hickory Springs (B-0918), Klaussner (A847, A801), Comfort Solutions (A538, A542, A546) and Natura (A946).

Buyer Services

We love the Buyer Lounges, located in each building. They are a great place to rendezvous, relax and grab a snack. Each building also has a Business Center where you can connect with your home office via Internet, phone or fax. This is also where you can make copies or send mail. The Internet Lounges in Buildings A and B have WiFi and communications devices available.

Transportation and Concierge Services

The complimentary M Line shuttles run all day between the World Market Center and select host hotels. Once you arrive at the event, convenient skybridges connect all of the buildings. If you want to take in more of the sights and sounds of Las Vegas, there is a Vegas.com computer kiosk concierge in Building A where you can find dining options and even buy show tickets.

One last word of advice: wear comfortable shoes! The World Market Center is a five million square foot campus!

One of the newest initiatives is Zero Energy America, a project focused on using eco-friendly materials and new building techniques to design Zero Energy Homes. A Zero Energy Home is one in which the net average energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emission, are both zero over the course of a year.

In the U.S. and Europe, our homes account for about 40 percent of the total national energy consumption. But even if an entirely new, energy efficient home is not in your future this year, there’s another way you can become part of the solution. The next time you’re in the market for future, shop for pieces that contribute to a zero-energy lifestyle.

Here is a checklist to help you determine if that furniture you’ve been considering is also good for the environment:

1. Is it made of wood? Ask if the wood is sustainably harvested for domestic, replenished forests. Or, look for reclaimed wood, bamboo or other environmentally safe materials. Products made with Smart Wood certifies that you are supporting a global effort for responsible forest management.

2. Is it made with leather? Ask if the tanning chemicals used are either biodegradable or recycled?

3. Is the furniture upholstered or does it have foam cushions? Look for the green and white hang tag indicating that the foam is made with BiOH® polyols. Traditional foam and carpet cushion ingredients are made from petroleum-based chemicals. BiOH polyols are made from a renewable resource – soybean oil. Manufacturing BiOH polyols requires 60% less non-renewable energy and results in less global warming emissions than manufacturing the petroleum polyols we replace. Additionally, for every one million lbs of BiOH polyols used, over 2200 barrels of crude oil are saved.

4. Where is it made? Furniture made in America cuts energy consumption and emissions associated with transportation.

Start by shopping at retailers that carry products made with BiOH polyols. You can also find great furniture options by entering “green furniture” or “eco-friendly furniture” in your search engine.