Posted by Nicole, BiOH Polyols Assistant Marketing Manager on August 13, 2010
I am soy excited to share with you that Target Home® brand memory foam pillows with BiOH® polyols will be available for purchase at over 50 selected Target® retail locations nationwide while supplies last. Whether you are a parent, student, mother or significant other, you can rest easy knowing that you have the choice of a more renewable pillow.
We have hit the bull’s-eye with this incredible opportunity to bring BiOH® polyols into bedrooms all across America. Stock up on soy and look for the logo when you’re browsing the bedding aisles of this trendy retailer (that is if you can make it past the $1 bins, which I frequent). If you can’t find what you’re looking for, I’m sure a friendly team member in red will be more than happy to help you. Hurry in today because each selected store has a limited quantity and this offer is while supplies last!
Here are the details:
Look for the BiOH® polyols label
Memory Foam Supreme Contour Pillowby Target Home™
Open cell memory foam maintains comfortable sleeping temperatures, contour design conforms to support your head and neck and has a soft velour removable cover.
Price: $19.99
SKU DPCI 62/5/56
Memory FoamDeluxe Bed Pillow by Target Home™
Temperature- sensitive memory foam is ventilated for cooler sleeping, molded design is perfect for all sleeping positions and has a removable cover for easy wash and care.
Price: $27.99
SKU DPCI 62/5/57
Here’s where you can find pillows made with BiOH® polyols in the aisle
To find a Target store that carries pillows made with BiOH® polyols near you check out our handy Store Locator.
Everyone has the ability to make a difference by purchasing products that leave a smaller environmental footprint. By buying these products at Target you can feel good about your choice to rest renewable. Hurry in today! This exclusive opportunity is while supplies last!
Posted by Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant on June 16, 2010
Interior designer Gloria Battista Collins, who sent us the video below, is a key proponent of this new movement.
Slow Home means being mindful and knowledgeable about the furniture you purchase for your home and the impact on the environment of the materials that are used to make it. It means buying the best furniture you can afford so that it will last and not end up in a landfill. It means slowing down to appreciate and remember the memories that accrue to each well-loved piece you own.
Thank you, Gloria, for using furniture made by TLSbyDesign, an Indiana based manufacturer, who uses foam made with BiOH’s soy ingredient in each piece.
But, especially, thank you for sending us this beautifully produced and unsolicited video of your slow home living room to share with our readers. We wish you and your family many years of happy memories there.
Posted by Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant on June 7, 2010
Congratulations to Tiffany Bradley for winning our Bed Head is Soy Stylish photo contest! Her “Morning Me… Bleh!!!” bed head photo garnered the most public votes and was also the favorite among our judges. The Bed Head is Soy Stylish contest is a partnership with Serta® Mattress and the 2010 HGTV Green Home. Tiffany will receive a top of the line, queen size mattress set from the new collection of HGTV Green Home mattress collection by Serta® shipped directly to her home!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! To see all entries and the runners-up, please view our slideshow below:
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on May 10, 2010
Jump for Soy! At the April 2010 High Point Market, LEE Industries introduced a new cushion option in their upholstered leather collection that is made with >30% soy content in the foam - the highest renewable content currently offered in the industry!
Two chairs from LEE's Leather Collection in their High Point Showroom
The cushions are made with Bio-Lux™ Max technology from NCFI Polyurethanes where 50% of the foam’s petroleum-based polyol is replaced with BiOH® Polyols. NCFI has been using BiOH technology in their foams since 2006 and continues to explore ways to add more renewable content to their foam products.
LEE has a long history of embracing sustainable processes and materials. In fact, they were the first manufacturer to adopt soy-based foams made with BiOH® Polyols back in 2006. Additionally, they are founding members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. We shared some fun facts about LEE Industries in a previous blog post - including their extensive fabric and leather options! You can contact LEE directly to inquire about their furniture and/or new cushion options.
LEE's leather collection featured a new cushion option with Bio-Lux Max Technology
Hats off to LEE Industries and NCFI for embracing the soy story and taking the lead in ”raising the bar” around renewable, soy content in foams! As BiOH® Polyols are incorporated at higher levels across the industry, the positive environmental impacts and petroleum savings can continue to increase. Every additional percentage of soy embraced by manufacturers along with each individual furniture or mattress purchase decision adds up!
PS – For those that would like to learn more about Bio-Lux™ Max foam made with >30% soy content, contact NCFI around supply and performance questions.
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on May 3, 2010
It’s official! Today kicks off our “Bed Head is Soy Stylish” contest in partnership with Serta® Mattress and the 2010 HGTV Green Home. We’re celebrating the new HGTV Green Home mattress collection by Serta®featured in the design home this year. The Grand Prize winner in our “Bed Head is Soy Stylish” photo contest will receive a top of the line, Queen Size mattress set from this new collection shipped directly to your home! You can enter today from the BiOH Facebook page and clicking on the “Contests” tab to view the contest application shown below.
Here are the contest details!
Phase 1 (May 3- 28) – Submit Your Photo Entry: Get your cameras and get creative! It’s fun and easy to participate – just submit a photo of a family member, a friend, a pet, or yourself with crazy Bed Head – you know, they type of hair you have in the morning after going to bed with wet hair or after a lot of tossing and turning. (Limit of one entry per individual.)
Phase 2 (May 29- June 4) – Public Voting: This is your chance to lobby your family and friends to vote for your photo! The top five entries with the highest number of votes will be selected as finalists!
Phase 3 (June 4) – Judging: Judges will include a three member panel with representatives from BiOH, Serta® and HGTV. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the five Finalists based on the following criteria: creativity (50%) and originality (50%).
Phase 4 (June 4) – Winners Announced: Winners will be announced the afternoon of June 4! The Grand Prize winner will receive a queen mattress set from the HGTV Green Home Collection, and the four Runners Up will receive $100 iTunes gift cards.
Here’s Jessica Koster, Marketing Manager for the BiOH Polyols business talking about the contest…with her Saturday morning Bed Head!
We can’t wait to see the photos you submit. Maybe you’ll want to go to bed with your hair wet. Or maybe you can try to some new hair styling products before bed. Whatever you do…. we hope you’ll spread the word to your friends and have fun! Good luck!
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on April 30, 2010
We have such BIG NEWS that we couldn’t wait until next week to announce it! Get your cameras ready for our “Bed Head is Soy Stylish” photo contest that kicks off next week! It’s fun and easy to participate – just submit a photo of a family member, a friend, or yourself with crazy Bed Head (You know, they type of hair you have in the morning after going to bed with wet hair or after a lot of tossing and turning!) through the Bed Head tab that will be added to our Facebook page in the next couple of days. You’ll have a chance to win a fabulous, new Serta® mattress currently featured in the HGTV Green Home!
Stay tuned for more contest details on Monday! Until then, you can capture some great Bed Heat photos this weekend… Have fun!
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on March 24, 2010
Did you know that you might be sitting on soy while waiting for your next flight? Arconas became the first airport-seating manufacturer to incorporate soy-based BiOH® polyols from Cargill in late 2009. Arconas is a global leader in airport seating, servicing some of the world’s largest airports such as Boston Logan, Dallas/Fort Worth, JFK, Hong Kong, La Guardia, Lisbon, and Orlando, among others.
So where will you be able to sit on soy? Arconas seating with BiOH polyols is coming soon to these airports:
Los Angeles International Airport, CA
Raleigh-Durham International Airport, NC
Winnipeg International Airport, MB
Des Moines International Airport, IA
Newport News International Airport, VA
Calgary Executive Flight Center, AB
San Antonio International Airport, TX
Flyaway Seating from Arconas
This week the Arconas team is highlighting their innovative products – including those containing soy foam with BiOH Polyols - at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Brussels, Belgium. Among other things, visitors to their booth may receive a reusable shopping bag crafted by Arconas from 100% recycled textiles as shown in the picture below!
These reusable shopping bags from Arconas made from 100% recycled textiles will be handed out during the Passenger Terminal Expo.
You can keep up with Arconas and their innovative products on Facebook, Twitter: @Arconas, or their You Tube channel. And next time you’re at the airport… consider if you might be sitting on a soy innovation while waiting for your flight!
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on February 22, 2010
At the Experience Soy Style event at Room & Board last fall, we captured video clips from people of all ages talking about issues around sustainability. From recycling to conserving energy, kids were full of ideas to help the environment. We thought we’d share a short compilation from some of those video clips with you – Enjoy!
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on January 22, 2010
Copeland Furniture!Congratulations to Copeland Furniture on winning this prestigious industry award. The Sage Award was created in 2008 by the BiOH®polyols team in partnership with the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) to recognize industry innovators that embrace the value of environmnetal and social responsibility with profitable growth. See my last post or watch the video below to hear stories from all of the 2009 finalists!
About the 2009 Winner
Copeland Furniture was singled out among this year’s entries for its “exceptionally focused” approach to sustainable business operations. The company holds a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody certificate and currently manufactures eight product groups that qualify for FSC on-product labeling. Wood for these collections is sourced from forests within 100 to 500 miles of the plant. Ninety percent of the electricity used to power the manufacturing equipment comes from low emission sources.
According to Copeland President and CEO, Tim Copeland, the company is in the process of converting its heating plant from oil-fired hot water to wood-fired, using its own waste scrap as fuel. The scrap not used as fuel is reprocessed into wood pellets that are being sold locally to fuel wood stoves – a popular item in Vermont households.
Copeland was also recognized for urging its finish suppliers to formulate better water-based wood finishes – a key challenge for eco-minded furniture producers. Further, the company is taking steps to reduce the use of non-recyclable materials in product packaging and is posting its entire product catalog on its website rather than printing hundreds of copies for retail customers.
Copeland was awarded a $2,500 check from Cargill’s BiOH® polyols business unit to be donated to the charity of the company’s choice. Copeland chose to add another $2,500 to the amount, so $1,000 could be contributed to each of the following: Bradford Conservation Commission, Bradford Food Shelf, Orange East Senior Center, and the Bradford Library, all in Bradford, Vt.; and Dougscamp.org, Plymouth, Vt.
Copeland Furniture is a 32-year-old family owned and operated enterprise that produces quality bedroom, dining room, living room and home office furniture crafted from sustainably harvested hardwoods from the American Northern Forest. The company also holds the exclusive license to produce the furniture designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on November 24, 2009
Drumroll please….. the 2009 Sage Award Finalists have been announced! The 3 finalist companies areCentury Furniture, Copeland Furniture, and La-Z-Boy. The Sage Award was created to seek out and recognize innovators with a commitment to sustainable practices, social equity, and profitable growth in the home furnishings and bedding industries. The idea for the Sage Award was hatched by the BiOH polyols team over two years ago, and we partnered with the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) to bring this award program to the industry in 2008. We are proud to continue to sponsor the Sage Award and recognize great companies from whom others can learn. Read more to learn about some of their great stories…
Century Furniture is a family-owned furniture manufacturer that has been in business for more than 60 years. The company has implemented a comprehensive environmental management system within each of its domestic manufacturing plants, and this has resulted in dramatic reductions in energy use, water consumption and waste disposal. Aggressive recycling and resource conservation have become part of the corporate culture as a result of this program. Century has also begun to incorporate sustainability into its product design.
In addition to manufacturing in the United States, Century also procures goods from around the world, both as component parts and as finished products. Among the accomplishments noted by the Sage Award judges were Century’s efforts to push sustainable practices throughout its global supply chain.
We caught up with Alex Shuford, Jr. from Century Furniture shortly after they were named a Sage Award Finalist and captured some of his thoughts on sustainability in their business. Check out the video….
Copeland Furniture has been commited to sustainable manufacturing practices long before eco-friendly became a trend in the residential furniture industry. The company holds a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody certificate and currently manufactures eight product groups that qualify for FSC on-product labeling. They are a founding members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, and one of only eight companies worldwide that qualify for the Council’s silver exemplary status.
Their environmental initiatives touch every aspect of operations. Sustainably-grown raw materials come from within 100 to 500 miles of the plant. Ninety percent of the electricity used to power their manufacturing equipment comes from sources that are low emission. They are converting their heating plant from oil-fired hot water to wood-fired and using their own waste scrap as fuel. They are taking steps to reduce the use of non-recyclable materials in product packaging and are working with finish suppliers to formulate finishes that use water as the primary solvent. They’ve stopped printing their catalog and now post it entirely on the Internet. Despite all of their accomplishments, Copeland views sustainability as an ongoing process of improvement, rather than as a finite goal.
Gain a little more insight into Copeland Furniture from this short clip we captured of Ben Copeland shortly after they were announced as a Sage Award Finalist…
La-Z-Boy has adopted a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable business practices. Altogether, 11 domestic manufacturing facilities across the United States have implemented an environmental management system to both systematize and accelerate sustainable practices throughout the corporation.
La-Z-Boy’s sustainability initiatives are helping them accomplish significant improvements in energy and water conservation, as well as in waste reduction. In 2008, they used almost 27,000 tons of renewable fuels. They reduced water consumption by more than 6 million gallons, and they recycled or reused more than 50 million pounds of material that previously would have gone to a landfill. La-Z-Boy also has introduced moderately-priced, eco-friendly products (made with BiOH polyols!) under a brand name that millions of consumers recognize.
In addition, La-Z-Boy has a retail group of 68 company-owned stores that have also taken steps to minimize their environmental footprint by implementing energy and waste conservation measures. Across this retail network, the company is in the process of replacing 27,000 light bulbs with eco-friendly alternatives. The store merchandising team has started a “Go Green!” newsletter to encourage further conservation and recycling efforts. For more details on their environmental programs, check out their website.
We weren’t able to catch a video clip of La-Z-Boy after the Sage Award announcement, but I did have a chance to get a few more details from Rod Miller, Director of Environmental Affairs for La-Z-Boy this week. See a few of his responses to my questions below….
What have been some financial impacts of your sustainability efforts? Our sustainability initiatives have helped us obtain significant improvements in energy, waste and water conservation including the following significant reductions (2008 compared to 2007):
• Reduced total energy consumption by 12% (electrical consumption was reduced by 9% and natural gas consumption by nearly 25%) at six upholstery facilities and 4, 12 and 18% at three case good facilities (also reduced natural gas consumption by 25%).
• Reduced water consumption at three upholstery facilities by 6.68 million gallons.
• Reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill by an additional two million pounds (almost 15%) at six upholstery facilities. We even further reduced this amount by nearly 400,000 pounds per month in the first six months of 2009.
• Reduced the amount of solid waste going to the landfill by 47 % (139 tons), 63% (202 tons) and 38% (95 tons) at three different case good facilities.
• Reused or recycled more than fifty-million pounds of material.
We continue to utilize renewable wood fuels (26,800 tons in 2008) generated on-site for the production of steam used in our processes. Wood fuel, a renewable energy source via sustainably managed forests, helps reduce green house gas emissions and eliminate solid waste disposal. We also sell excess wood for further reuse by other industries.
What impact have your sustainability efforts had on your employees, your customers? Besides the positive business and environmental impacts our sustainability initiatives have on our organization, we believe one of the most important outcomes are those that directly affect our employees and their communities. Some examples include:
• Employees have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald Houses across the country, from gathering donations to assisting with the day-to-day activities at the homes.
• An EFEC team visiting the local landfill and recycling center to more fully comprehend our waste management process
• Employees participate in local county selection committee for sustainability project grants
• An EFEC team member provided a presentation at the county Economic and Tourism Council regarding sustainability issues
• A group of employees made a float out of recyclable materials for the local city parade.
What are the benefits of your EcoComfort line? The EcoComfort by La-Z-Boy line includes the use of soy-based foam in the cushions of several popular sofas, recliners and chairs. The soy material replaces a portion of the petroleum-based product used in manufacturing poly foam. This line also includes a selection of fabrics which have been tested and certified to be environmentally friendly by Oeko-Tex, the world’s definitive ecological certification process and come in a variety of colors and styles which we are proud to say are pleasing to the eye and the environment. Our eco-suede fabric utilizes the plastic of one recycled water bottle for each yard of fabric, thereby reducing waste and pollution. A recliner in the line also features arms made of renewable rubber wood. Many of the other wood materials and components we use are provided by suppliers that have implemented sustainable forest management practices or come from sustainable plantation grown rubber wood. Other wood and fiber based materials utilize recycled or recovered paper.
What advice would you give to other large companies wishing to become more focused on sustainability? When you make the decision to focus on sustainability, realize that it is a journey. You will need to think broadly about timeframes, payoffs and successes. Start at the top with senior executives engaged in setting the vision and providing support for your initiatives. Use programs such as the AHFA’s EFEC and SBD initiatives to implement sustainability goals and give your program focus. You must also engage enthusiastic internal champions to help promote and implement each segment of your sustainability initiatives.
Ultimately, you must be committed to responsible stewardship of the environment by integrating environmentally sound and sustainable business practices into all of your daily business decisions.
Tune in next week as the winner of the 2009 Sage Award will be announced on December 2 at the AHFA Sustainability Summit in Greensboro, NC. Do you have any questions for the finalist companies?
The BiOH experience offers resources for you to learn and participate in helping communities and the environment. It is brought to you by the BiOH polyols business — a maker of soy-based ingredients for foam. Please explore our site and then share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from you!
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