FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2011
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Eco3Home Hangtag Recognized by New York House Magazine

HIGH POINT, N.C. – As part of its third annual Innovative Green Design awards, New York House magazine recognized the Eco3Home program, developed by the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), with an “Award for Transparency.”

The award was presented to Kincaid Furniture, the first home furnishings company to register products under the Eco3Home label. Seventy pieces of the company’s “Homecoming” collection have been registered and carry the Eco3Home hangtag.

The Eco3Home product registration program was developed by AHFA in 2010 to help manufacturers communicate a product’s safety, health and environmental attributes to consumers. Registered products carry the Eco3Home hangtag, which directs consumers to the Eco3Home website. There, consumers can research the attributes of registered products, including environmental footprint, safety features and compliance with health-related regulations. Information on the environmental record of the manufacturer is also provided.

New York House describes itself as “the voice of green living – New York style.” The online publication features profiles of New Yorkers and how they are “greening” their lives, as well as articles on building and renovating green living spaces.

The publication’s third annual Innovative Green Design awards spotlight technology and design with minimal environmental impact. Products that reduce consumption of water or electricity and items that creatively use recycled materials also are recognized.

But Kincaid Furniture’s “Award for Transparency” specifically recognized the Eco3Home hangtag.

“As more sustainable products come to the market, educating the consumer is crucial,” the New York House award announcement pointed out. “The judges scrutinized each product for ‘green washing’ and other marketing gimmicks. As a counterpoint to this, the panel singled out one manufacturer, Kincaid Furniture, for its transparency in labeling.”

The judges lauded Kincaid’s disclosure of details on the Homecoming Collection as reported on the Eco3Home website. The “environmental inventory” describes all that went into the product’s manufacturing: its water consumption, electricity use, materials use and waste created.

“I wish every product in the world had that label,” said Doug Mazeffa, research director for a website called Greenopia and one of the Innovative Green Design judges. Other judges included Paulette Cole, CEO and creative director at ABC Home; Paul Gleicher, LEED AP, founder of Gleicher Design Group; Robin Wilson, an author and interior designer; and Cheryl Terrace, owner of Vital Design Ltd.

Kincaid has now registered both domestic and imported wood products from the Homecoming Collection and intends to pursue Eco3Home registration for additional collections in its line.

“AHFA congratulates Kincaid on receiving this award,” says Bill Perdue, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief architect of the Eco3Home registration process. “Stepping forward and presenting the Homecoming Collection as the pilot Eco3Home registration required Kincaid’s environmental and manufacturing executives to gather detailed data and to work with us on devising complex calculations to produce the environmental measures required by the registration.”

Perdue continues: “Then came the challenge of reporting those measures in language average consumers could understand. We are still fine-tuning some sections of the program, and Kincaid remains a valued partner in that process. We could not have advanced the Eco3Home product registration process without them.”