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Retail Update: Get your eco-education through SFC GreenLeaders

Susan Dickenson, Retail Editor -- Home Accents Today, 4/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

I am a new GreenLeader, which means I just completed and passed our industry's most comprehensive training program on the subject of designing, sourcing, selling and manufacturing green home furnishings, produced and presented by the Sustainable Furnishings Council.

As such, I'm commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2010, by helping to spread the word about the GreenLeaders training experience, which I found to be interesting and educational on both a professional and personal level.

I took the course in six one-hour weekly Webinar formats, but the SFC also offers one-day training courses, the next of which is scheduled for April 21 in High Point from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

The first module presented "The Case for Sustainability," an introductory overview on the state of our environment, why we should be concerned, and the role of home furnishings in that scenario. It also shows how the production and transportation of home furnishings impacts this problem, and then brings it home with an introductory lesson on VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and how paints, adhesives, wood and fabric finishes impact our indoor worlds.

Module two focuses on the consumer, and provides some interesting insights based on a proprietary survey the SFC conducted last August to get a better handle on consumers' preferred "green" terminology, their levels of environmental concern, price sensitivity, purchase interest and obstacles when it comes to marketing green home furnishings. The consumers surveyed were women homeowners in the 30- to 60-year-old age range with annual household incomes of at least $50,000, who had purchased at least $500 worth of home furnishings in the prior year.

The first thing course instructor (and SFC President) Jeff Hiller shared with us is that the term "green" is not as favorable as the words "environmentally safe," "sustainable" and "eco-friendly" (in that order) when it comes to talking up these products to this target group. The survey findings also give us a little insight into what makes them tick — the global issues they are most concerned about and to what degree — revealing a collective consumer mindset that ranges from diehard environmentalist to steadfast skeptic.

As the SFC's numbers show, however, a lot of purchasing power is sitting out there waiting to be tapped. These shoppers are already buying green appliances, clothing, cars and cleaning products, so why not home furnishings? According to the survey, it's not the price but lack of awareness and availability, and therein lies opportunity.

But before we can talk about selling to this opportunity, we need to understand the product, and that's what module three, "Sourcing," is about — a lesson in all the materials, options and acronyms: certified and/or plantation grown woods, rapid renewables, recycled vs. recyclable, organic textiles, responsible leather, FSC, SFA, PEFC, GOTS, BioH, Lacey Act and the IPCC. It's all presented in a format that is digestible, interesting, easy to understand and relevant.

Modules four and five are all about marketing, explaining and selling it. Hiller starts by answering commonly asked questions, taking into account likely objections, and even gives suggestions as to how you might bring up the subject ("cautiously — like politics and religion"). The "Designing Green Interiors" module is about taking a more holistic approach to your design projects — incorporating the ecological aspects of conservation, durability, product transport and materials, without sacrificing the aesthetic. This one has a heavy focus on indoor air quality and really goes into explaining and understanding VOCs.

The final module shows you how to reduce expenses in your own commercial space through energy conservation, recycling and lighting. This presentation was probably my favorite because it made sense out of a subject that, until now, left me totally in the dark: light bulbs.

Hiller presents, in basic terms, the world of lumens, watts, CFLs and LEDs, and how much money can be saved with different lighting options in large spaces.

The model he uses, a 10,000-sq.-ft. store that lights over head with three bulbs (75W standards) per 100 square feet and 150 floor lamps (60W standards), is estimated to spend $24,139 annually for lightbulb installation, operation and replacement. Change those overheads to 16W CFLs and use 60W long life bulbs on the floor, and that number drops to $15,655. Replace the overheads with 8W LEDs and the floor lamps with 14W CFLs, and the annual cost drops to $6,025.

Hiller offers several suggestions to make it even more cost effective, as well as lots of other energy- (and cost-) saving tips for the store and showroom, but I'm running out of space. For the complete story, sign up for the GreenLeaders course at www.sustainablefurnishings.org.

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Retail Update: Get your eco-education through SFC GreenLeaders