One of the newest initiatives is Zero Energy America, a project focused on using eco-friendly materials and new building techniques to design Zero Energy Homes. A Zero Energy Home is one in which the net average energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emission, are both zero over the course of a year.

In the U.S. and Europe, our homes account for about 40 percent of the total national energy consumption. But even if an entirely new, energy efficient home is not in your future this year, there’s another way you can become part of the solution. The next time you’re in the market for future, shop for pieces that contribute to a zero-energy lifestyle.

Here is a checklist to help you determine if that furniture you’ve been considering is also good for the environment:

1. Is it made of wood? Ask if the wood is sustainably harvested for domestic, replenished forests. Or, look for reclaimed wood, bamboo or other environmentally safe materials. Products made with Smart Wood certifies that you are supporting a global effort for responsible forest management.

2. Is it made with leather? Ask if the tanning chemicals used are either biodegradable or recycled?

3. Is the furniture upholstered or does it have foam cushions? Look for the green and white hang tag indicating that the foam is made with BiOH® polyols. Traditional foam and carpet cushion ingredients are made from petroleum-based chemicals. BiOH polyols are made from a renewable resource – soybean oil. Manufacturing BiOH polyols requires 60% less non-renewable energy and results in less global warming emissions than manufacturing the petroleum polyols we replace. Additionally, for every one million lbs of BiOH polyols used, over 2200 barrels of crude oil are saved.

4. Where is it made? Furniture made in America cuts energy consumption and emissions associated with transportation.

Start by shopping at retailers that carry products made with BiOH polyols. You can also find great furniture options by entering “green furniture” or “eco-friendly furniture” in your search engine.

Hesitant to try it? Check out this training video testimonial from Furnitureland South’s Cameron Lindsay as he talks about the importance of sales training for sustainable products made with BiOH polyols and how it can increase your sales today!

Try it out! It’s more than just a video. With a few clicks of your mouse, you’ll be immersed in short Q&As, and you’ll also discover how consumers responded to a sustainability and home furnishing survey. Most important: you’ll learn the key messages that will resonate with your customers: comfort, durability and environmentally friendly benefits.

Watching this retail training video could easily differentiate your store from your competition. Most consumers want to buy green home furnishings. They want to do their part for the environment but they need your help finding and choosing the right sustainable products.

As more people become aware of sustainable furniture, it’s important to educate them about their options including the significance and value of foams and mattresses made with BiOH® Polyols. In some cases, you may be the only one who knows about this option! That will make you the subject matter expert and it may be the tipping point that could lead to more sales.

After viewing our new interactive retail training video, you will be ready to help your customers make an informed purchase decision that’s right for them and their families.

If you are a retailer and you carry these furniture brands, contact us about co-branding opportunities. We can provide you with retail resources. Or, ask your manufacturer if they have resources to help you promote BiOH in your store.

A mild drop in body temperature induces sleep

Mother Nature has put your body on a 24-hour cycle, called the circadian rhythm. Time, light and temperature all factor into how your body clock functions.

Every night, your body temperature automatically lowers by just a couple of degrees, signaling your tissues and organs to become less active. Even a slight increase in external temperatures can become so uncomfortable that it causes you to awaken. The closer you can stay to your body’s natural ‘set point’, the more rested you will feel in the morning.

Sleep experts typically recommend keeping bedroom temperatures between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. In reality, you should set your thermostat at whatever temperature comfortably helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.

New BiOH® soy-based polyols help memory foam achieve better temperature regulation

Your mattress is, of course, another part of the sleep equation. Memory foam mattresses are popular because they conform to your body’s shape, giving you maximum support, and helping to prevent tossing and turning

throughout the night. But foam is notorious for absorbing and holding onto body heat. In fact, some memory foams rely on heat to stay soft.

Now there is a way to enjoy the benefits of memory foam mattresses while also sleeping cooler. Studies show memory foams produced with a revolutionary new BiOH® Polyol dissipate heat more quickly, cooling off 15-40 percent faster than memory foams using infused gel technology. Foams made with BiOH® Polyols are also less sensitive to temperature overall, so they stay softer at cooler temperatures.

Concerned about durability? Memory foam toppers with BiOH® Polyols are resistant to rips and tears.

And, as a bonus, initial findings show that these new vegetable-based foams are 51 percent renewable, so you also are helping the environment when you purchase BiOH®-based foams.

The result is a memory foam that provides a cooler, more comfortable sleep. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting new development.

• New BiOH foam does not heat up as much.
• After eight hours in an oven at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the new BiOH memory foam was not as hot as the gel-infused material.
• Start cooler, cool faster!

If you have ever wondered who we are and what we are all about then wait no longer. We have just launched a new video that simplifies the BiOH® polyols story.

We have removed the complicated chemical lingo and added a snazzy new tune.  Just watch our quick one minute video to learn more and share your thoughts.

This feature gave exposure to many furniture and bedding industry partners who manufacture American made products every day and who also use BiOH® polyols in their cushioning. One company, Harden Furniture was featured in a video segment talking about how they are responsibly managing the forests that they obtain for their wood products.

Watch their video:

Other furniture manufacturers listed were:

• LEE
• TLS by Design
• La-Z-Boy
• BKIND3

Bedding manufactures Sealy and Simmons were listed as well.  

Apartment Sofa by LEE

One common mistake consumers can often make is thinking that domestically made furniture and appliances cost more money. This segment shows consumers where to purchase products “Made in America” and how they could even save money by doing so! For more information, you can also visit the Made in the USA Foundation.

This week the BiOH® polyols team heads out to the real city that never sleeps to uncover the latest and greatest trends in the furniture and bedding marketplace at the annual Las Vegas Market . World Market Center is the place to see “everything that’s new and unexpected in the world of home furnishings, all in one inspiring venue.”

If you want to be ahead of the curve and know new industry trends before everyone else, just like I do, this market is the place to be. Another great place to trend-spot is by flipping through the pages of Bedroom Magazine, the “Sleep Retailers Magazine.” Pick up a copy of the Winter 2011 issue or visit their website to read a new and exciting article titled Cargill provides Insights on Marketing “Green” featuring Cargill’s BiOH® Business Unit Leader, Yusuf Wazirzada. 

Before heading out to Las Vegas, make sure to cast your vote online for the One Good Chair People’s Choice competition sponsored by the Sustainable Furnishings Council and World Market Center Las Vegas. This competition is similar to BiOH® polyols Project Udesign because the designs use sustainable materials but are not upholstered furniture like BiOH® soy-based foam ingredients.

Fingers crossed for a successful market visit that we learn a lot from the bedding industry leaders and maybe we’ll even get a little bit of sleep along the way!

Here is what they made:

Holiday tree: cutout form of recycled cardboard topped with soy-based spray foam, spray paint for coloring and a flexible soy-based foam star.

Candy canes: cutout form of recycled cardboard topped with soy-based spray foam and  spray paint for coloring.

A special thanks to our lab team for allowing us to sneak up on them. Let’s hope they don’t get into any trouble for having a little holiday fun.

Happy Holidays from your friends at BiOH®!

Watch and share video:

The Sage Award is an opportunity to recognize excellence in the home furnishings and bedding industries through honoring and acknowledging companies who lead in area of:

• Reducing their environmental footprint
• Expanding their positive social impact
• Running a profitable business

This is the third year BiOH® polyols has partnered with the AHFA to present the Sage Award winner with a $2,500 donation to any non-profit organization of its choice. The purpose of the Sage Award is to seek out, discover and recognize true industry innovators from whom others can learn. This award is founded on the belief that environmental excellence is an ongoing journey requiring flexibility, insight and constant learning. The annual Award honors businesses that demonstrate a passion for and a sustained commitment to that journey.

Zenda Leather embodies these environmental requirements and many more by having internationally-recognized ISO 14001 environmental management certifications for its factories. This certification controls use of natural resources, handling and treatment of waste, and energy consumption. Over the last five years they also have:

• Developed practices to reduce over 3 million kilograms of solid waste per year by producing compost.
• Opened the first private energy plant in Uruguay that transforms waste into energy, eliminating the company’s need to buy power from an outside source
• Built a waste treatment plant in which the biological sludge is used as organic fertilizer for local farmland and also saves an estimated 2 million liters of water per day by recycling rainwater.
• Invested in developing more eco-friendly products and introduced “Eden” leather to the residential market in 2008. Only natural extracts – no metals – are used in the tanning process for Eden leather. They have over 10 years of experience making chrome-free leather for the automotive industry.

Edith Ledzema and Juan Diego Casaretto of Zenda Leather

Finalists Flexsteel Industries, Inc. was the first AHFA member company to implement the program EFEC – “Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture” – a voluntary environmental management program for furniture manufacturers in all seven plants. As a result of the new practices and policies established during implementation of EFEC, they:

• Reduced its waste to landfill from 554 tons per quarter in March of 2009 to 114 tons per quarter as of June 2010.
• Energy consumption has declined every quarter since March 2009.
• Water consumption and natural gas have also been reduced and the company has increased its use of recycled materials in operations and product development.
• Pushed sustainable practices through the supply chain by requiring vendors to establish environmental goals – an effort now completed by 86 percent of its suppliers.

Finalist TLS by Design, which stands for Total Life Style, is an innovative, family-run business striving to follow an environmentally-responsible path. They are seriously committed to the environmental journey and on their way to be LEED® certified. In addition to energy efficient practices they also:

• Use soy-based BiOH® polyols for foam cushioning, locally purchase recycled steel springs and all wood finishes are water-based.
• 70 percent of the company’s products are produced and sourced within a 75-mile radius of its base in Portland, Indiana including using local forests and mills for wood.
• Repurposed their facility section by section, including buying old bowling alley lanes for a “new” 60-foot long cutting table and hired locally displaced employees.

Finalists TLS by Design's Jeff Day and guest

The competition for this year’s award was challenging. Thankfully we had a handful of incredibly talented judges. Ten environmental, media and industry leaders accepted the responsibility of reading and judging the entries. They included:

• Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief of Furniture Today.
• Mary Frye, Executive Director of the Home Furnishings Independents Association 
• Heather Gadonniex, managing partner of MindClick, a San Francisco-based consultancy specializing in sustainable business
• Leslie Guevarra, associate editor for Greener World Media, the online publishing group founded by Joel Makower
• Susan Inglis, Executive Director of the Sustainable Furniture Council,
• Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Editor in Chief of Natural Home Magazine
• Jean Nayer, former editor-in-chief of Woman’s Day Special Interest Magazines and author of “Green Living by Design”
• Richard Prisco, professor of industrial design, department of technology, Appalachian State University
• Ryan Trainer, President of the International Sleep Products Association
• Steve Walker, Assistant Director of the Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center at North Carolina State University

Criteria for judging is based on three key points; Sustainable Business Practices, Commitment to Social Responsibility and Profitable Growth. We commend all entrants for their dedication to these efforts. For more information about the Sage Awards please visit: www.sageaward.org.

At 766,300 square feet, Excelsior Crossings is one of the largest LEED application office-buildings in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Excelsior Crossings located in the suburb of Hopkins, MN is the realization of decades of commitment to environmental stewardship.

Excelsior Crossings Campus in Hopkins, Minnesota

The list to gain LEED certification through the USGBC is quite lengthy and can be achieved in a variety of ways. There are three Excelsior Crossings office buildings in which the first was awarded LEED Gold certification in 2008, the second in 2010 and the third is in the process for early 2011.  Keep reading to learn more about the sustainable strategies Cargill is implementing in the planning, design and operation of the Excelsior Crossings campus.

USGBC LEED Gold Plaques

How we got to GOLD:
18 environmental and design credits implemented at Excelsior Crossings:
• Building orientation
• Alternative transportation (excited to park my bicycle up front when I unthaw from winter!)
• Storm water maintenance (come take a swim in our beautiful pond, not!)
• Water conservation
• “Smart” irrigation
• Energy performance & operations
• Environmentally friendly refrigerants
• Use & collection of recycled materials (you don’t get $.05 per can but consider it a good deed)
• Local construction materials
• Sustainable harvested certified wood products
• Day lighting and daylight sensors
• Reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants
• Outside views for occupants (it’s fun to laugh at people stuck in traffic, until it becomes you)
• Thermal comfort for occupants (finally, no winter wardrobe and blanket in summer!)
• Green housekeeping plan
• Chemical-free water treatment
• Greenhouse gas neutral furniture and seating
(the use of BiOH® in sustainable lobby seating really helped gain GOLD)
• Environmental education and display.

Excelsior Crossings Campus LEED Display

We are very excited to share our new campus and ways that we are paving the journey to a better environment. Feel free to stop by and see this beauty all for yourself. Also, leave comments on how you or your company is doing great things to be more environmentally friendly. It’s very inspiring!

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 Pillow by 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!

available at