The 2009 Housewares Show – Sustainability Recap

by: Dennis Salazar

31 Mar 2009

housewares-show-floor

This annual show held in Chicago attracts the best the industry has to offer from around the world. Everything from cooking utensils to products designed to make clean up easier is on display, as is the packaging these manufacturers hope will catch our eye and motivate consumers to buy their product from an ever crowded competitive field. There has been a growing trend to make these products as well as the packaging “greener” for a very eco conscious market and I was eager to see if the trend continued.

IHA Promotes Green to the World

One of the many things the International Housewares Association does to educate industry people and visitors in the area of sustainability is to sponsor an exhibit on sustainability which is divided into two categories. One is for green products and the other is green packaging. For the second year in a row, I have served as a “reviewer” of the packaging entries to help determine just how green the packing examples being submitted, truly are.

The State of Green in the Housewares Industry

I visited the show last week and was a bit apprehensive because of all the bad economic news we all hear and see on a daily basis. I was concerned that this downturn in the economy would serve as a good excuse to stray from green and revert back to old, unhealthy eco habits. I am very pleased to say that green awareness and interest continues to grow steadily and the entries in both the product category and packaging category were outstanding and made it worth the trip to McCormick Place on a Sunday afternoon.

Sustainability Top Line and Bottom Line Benefits

More people and companies now “get it” and they see green as not only a benefit to the top line in terms of image, customer approval, and sales in a fast growing green market segment. They also realize that green saves money, in most cases BIG money. As I often tell clients, “Look at what the very large companies are doing and know they are not all going green in a big way, just because they are incredibly nice people. They are embracing sustainability because it saves money, especially in economic times like these.”

I know the housewares industry is particularly challenging in terms of sustainability because so much of what they offer is manufactured and packaged overseas. I was equally concerned that the green movement had peaked and everyone intent on making the trip was already on board the green train. I was thrilled to see some new participating companies making green products and now utilizing green packaging.

housewares-show-2009

“Eco-Consistency” Lives!

I believe companies are not only understanding the benefits of “going green” but they also understand the need to maintain that green image throughout from manufacturing, marketing, primary packaging and even secondary packaging. If it touches the customer directly or indirectly, it has to be as green as possible, in every way possible.

Eco-Good News and Eco-Bad News

Last month the results of a new consumer survey were released indicating four out of five consumers continue to buy green products. In fact a surprisingly large 19% responded that they are now buying more green products. So in spite of the economy the housewares industry is very wise to continue moving in that direction.

The bad news is that many consumers are not really sure whether they can believe the product and packaging claims made by the manufacturers who promote and market green products. I think we can all expect this market to continue searching for answers and when they do, the question will be whether they judge us as sincere and authentic, or just another one of the many companies that are trying to get the most by investing the least in sustainability.
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