SFC DRAWS BIG CROWDS FOR LAS VEGAS MARKET EVENTS

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The Sustainable Furnishings Council partnered with World Market Center Las Vegas on several high profile events at Winter market, all of which drew sizable crowds with enthusiastic response.

The first ever ECOngress: Legal Wood Sourcing & Building Green Markets was held on Sunday, 1/31/10, the day before the official start of market. The half-day event featured thirteen speaker panelists from leading academic, governmental, environmental, industry and media organizations including World Wildlife Fund, Rainforest Alliance, The Forest Trust, Weyerhaeuser, Savannah College of Art & Design, Century Furniture, Williams-Sonoma, Architectural Digest and many more. More than 100 attendees participated in the panel discussion at one of three sessions dealing with Policy, Manufacturing & Marketing, and they were universally positive in their praise. As one attendee put it, he “learned more on that one day than I would have in six months,” sentiments echoed by many. Video excerpts will be available online shortly.

“As a first time effort, we were hopeful but uncertain quite what to expect,” said Jeff Hiller, SFC President “It was truly amazing. The speakers were knowledgeable and eloquent, the mood was fun, the audience asked great questions and everyone raved about how much they go out of it.”

Next up was the newest installment of the SFC’s DESIGNINGreen roundtables, part of the national “why green/why not?” consumer print campaign in which prominent designers associated with sustainable product lines agreed to bring awareness to the cause with their names, images and live participation. Kathy Ireland and HGTV’s Angelo Surmelis headlined alongside Dwell Magazine president and publisher Michela O’Connor Abrams in a talk show-style format that drew an overflow crowd of over 120 to hear them discuss the influence of sustainability in their lives and their work. Abrams also announced that Dwell would be running the campaign gratis in many of its issues going forward.

SFC concluded its market programming with an all-day staging of the GREENleaders Certified Sustainability Training program. This industry first was written by a LEED AP and launched at Las Vegas market exactly one year ago. It has since graduated more than 250 participants as expert in green residential. The course is delivered live at market or by webinar. Contact Susan Inglis at 919.967.1137 for more details.