Environmental Leader

Last week, during the annual three-day Winter Market at the San Francisco Design Center, the emphasis was not only on how interior designers can specify green products for their clients but also on how green design can be profitable. According to this SFGate report, the showroom themes seemed to be selling luxury, selling sustainability and selling green design.

On one day there was a keynote panel at which marketing experts profiled luxury customers for designers, and the following day the opening panel was titled, “How Sustainability Became Profitable.” Later that afternoon there was a presentation called “Eco/Nomics: The Greening of Design.” Speakers noted that designers stand to make money if they can prove to their clients that they will help their health and the environment by choosing sustainable design.

The article noted that higher-end green design is still somewhat new but that natural products “are no longer relegated to the rustic.” Luxury fabrics are being made with green materials, and furniture and case goods are being made with sustainabily grown or recycled woods.

Last fall, a new standard for assessing the environmental-friendliness of carpet was announced.

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