High Point, N.C. – Over the last several years, developing and marketing "eco-friendly" home furnishings has grown from a specialty niche owned by a handful of peripheral companies to a tidal wave being ridden by nearly every major manufacturer in the industry. Many believe there will be no opting out in the decade ahead, as the combined impact of consumer demand, retail pressure and regulatory action force all companies either into the game or off the field altogether.

To help home furnishings companies survive and thrive in this new marketplace, the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) will hold its second annual Sustainability Summit Dec. 2-3 at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C. The program will provide essential marketing intelligence for companies planning to develop or promote eco-friendly home furnishings collections or products in 2010. Presentations will be targeted to presidents and CEOs, as well as to marketing and environmental executives at manufacturing, retail and supplier companies. Companies do not need to be members of the AHFA to attend.

The Summit is once again co-sponsored by Cargill's BiOH® polyols business unit.

Headlining the opening day program is Miriam Arond, director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, which recently launched the Good Housekeeping Green Seal after 18 months of development. Arond's appearance at the Summit is her first presentation on the Green Seal – an engagement she accepted, in part, because of the Institute's interest in eventually adding furnishings to the product categories eligible to apply for the Green Seal.

In evaluating products for its new green designation, the Institute reviews and verifies a wide range of data relating to the product's measurable environmental impact. Among the criteria evaluated are the reduction of water use and energy use in manufacturing, ingredient and product safety, packaging reduction and the brand's corporate social responsibility. The goal, says Arond, is to set "a mainstream bar for consumers who wish to live a greener lifestyle."

Bringing up-to-the-minute consumer insights to the 2009 Summit will be Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group. Her firm's ongoing consumer research reports, including four national studies each year, are shattering the stereotypes of "green" consumers. For her Summit presentation, AHFA has commissioned custom research to help home furnishings companies focus on motivating mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices. The research will explore what eco-friendly attributes consumers recognize and value. In her presentation, "Beyond the Green Bandwagon: Creating a Believable, Actionable, Profitable, Green Strategy," Shelton will translate the research results into take-home tips to help companies develop effective messaging for environmental products.

The industry's ability to "certify" the environmental attributes consumers consider most relevant will be the focus of "The Promises and Pitfalls of Eco-Labels," presented by Heather Gadonniex, a LEED-certified professional and principal at MindClick, a sustainability consulting firm. Existing certifications available to home furnishings manufacturers are based on single product attributes, such as indoor air quality, recycled content or biodegradability. Although these certifications are beneficial, they do not measure the total environmental impact of a product.

Gadonniex will untangle the existing web of certifications, rating standards and labels and describe the "Environmental Product Declaration," a type of label that originates from ISO 14025 standards and is based on scientific data generated from a product lifecycle assessment.

No discussion of eco-labeling would be complete without an update on the regulatory challenges in advertising and marketing the environmental attributes of consumer products. Christie Grymes is a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Kelley Drye and chair of the firm's Consumer Product Safety practice group. She advises clients on making truthful and non-misleading claims related to green seals and logos, recyclable and recycled products, sustainability initiatives, third-party certifications and other environmental attributes. In "Descriptive or Deceptive? How to Avoid the Risks in Green Marketing," Grymes will help companies identify successful environmental marketing strategies that fit within today's dynamic regulatory context.

For one more perspective on the challenges of eco-labeling, AHFA is assembling a panel of leading retailers for "Bridging the Gap: Communicating Green at Retail." Among the participants will be Andy Thornton, owner of LaDifferénce, a furniture and accessories store in Richmond, Va., and Peggy Burns, owner of Circle Furniture in Boston, Mass.

Completing the Dec. 2 program is a case study presented by Kincaid Furniture, a leading manufacturer that turned environmental policies and programs into real life actions that not only significantly reduced the corporate environmental footprint but also returned thousands of dollars to the bottom line.

The Summit's opening day will conclude with a reception honoring finalists in the second annual Sage Award competition, a program co-sponsored by AHFA and Cargill's BiOH polyols business unit. The award recognizes excellence in the home furnishings and bedding industries through sustainable business practices, social responsibility and profitable growth. Following a video tribute highlighting the accomplishments of the three finalists, the 2009 Sage Award winner will be announced.

On Dec. 3, the Summit's focus turns to greening the supply chain. Angela Nahikian, director of global environmental sustainability for Steelcase Inc., has been invited to share her company's progress toward the goal of reducing its global environmental footprint 25 percent by 2012 – its 100th anniversary – and the role suppliers are playing in achieving that goal.

A panel of suppliers, including representatives from Hickory Springs, Cargill, Columbia Forest Products and Leggett & Platt, will discuss their sustainable business practices and how industry partnerships can accelerate the progress in finding solutions to environmental challenges.

Presentations from all three Sage Award finalists are on the agenda for Dec. 3, along with case histories from Hooker Furniture and Flexsteel Industries demonstrating how the right environmental management tool can produce extraordinary results.

A limited number of rooms at a special $169 per night group rate are available at the Proximity. Attendees should call the hotel directly at 800/379-8200 or 336/379-8200 and provide the group name (American Home Furnishings Alliance) to secure accommodations at the reduced rate.

Registration for the Summit is $500 per person, or $450 per person if more than one executive from the same company is attending. The registration form is online at EVENTS, then scroll down to Sustainability Summit.