Nov 27, 2013

NY NOW Presents “Sustainability” Program at Winter Market

An expanding range of “green” home and lifestyle resources will be highlighted through the SustainAbility: design for a better world® program at the winter 2014 edition of NY NOW™, the Market for Home + Lifestyle (formerly NYIGF ®), February 1-6, 2014, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Pier 94. This initiative includes a juried product display, eco-friendly product design awards, and an educational session addressing sustainable and socially-responsible product design.

The SustainAbility display will feature some 120 products from 70 NY NOW exhibitors which were selected for meeting established criteria, including the use of eco-friendly products and production processes, as well as socially responsible, philanthropic or fair-trade oriented business practices. The display also will include products from Artisan Resource, a GLM-managed tradeshow matching artisanal craft producers and production resources with U.S.-based volume importers, direct import retailers and wholesalers, which runs concurrently with NY NOW, February 1-4, 2014, at the Passenger Ship Terminal’s Pier 94.

“The range of ‘green’ products continues to broaden, with virtually every home and lifestyle category represented in some way – from personal accessories and body care to stationery, tabletop, textiles and products for children,” reports display curator Ilene Shaw of Shaw + Co! Productions. “There’s also an increasing nod to humor in the designs through the use of colors, patterns and creative material repurposing.”

Select products to be featured in the winter 2014 SustainAbility exhibit include: “green start® Little Color Books” by innovativeKids made of kraft paper, recycled soy and vegetable based inks; Delight London’s modern jewelry made of rubber bands; Horizon Birchwood Coasters by LUprints made in Sweden from FSC-certified birch wood; Christophe Pourny Furniture Tonic made in the USA from all natural oils sourced from North American seeds; and Gold Leaf Beer Bottle Tumblers by Solos Glass, made in USA from reclaimed glass bottles.

As an extension of the SustainAbility display, the semi-annual Eco Choice Awards will recognize favorites, as determined by popular vote, in three categories: “Most Innovative,” “Most Sensitive Use of Materials” and “Most Sellable.” Ten finalists in each of these three categories will be featured for one month in an online voting gallery, www.giftshopmag.com/votegreen. Winners of the awards, which are sponsored by NY NOW and GREENRetailer, will be announced in advance of the February market and profiled in the Spring 2014 issue of GIFTSHOP magazine.

A related educational program, “SustainAbility & the Artisan Sector – Influencing Design through Production,” will be presented on Tuesday, February 4, from 12:00 to 1:00pm. Susan Szenasy, editor of METROPOLIS, will moderate a panel of designers, retailers and wholesalers who are working successfully in the artisan sector. Topics will include best practices of successful and sustainable partnerships, including the design process, artisan interaction, distribution and consumer marketing. Tickets for the seminars are $20 in advance and $25 onsite. Advance registration is available online at www.nynow.com/programs.

The winter 2014 edition of NY NOW, the Market for Home + Lifestyle, will run Saturday, February 1, through Thursday, February 6, 2014, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Pier 94. NY NOW’s four comprehensive collections – HOME, LIFESTYLE, HANDMADE and NEW! – will encompass 100,000 products in 400+ product categories. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nynow.com.