THE FUTURE OF GREEN
What is the future of “green?” When did it “tip” and become an epidemic and how long will it last? Will it disappear into the thin air of marketing jargon or simply become a standard feature? Rochelle Barcellona and I recently returned from the International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Orlando, Florida. The building industry takes over 1 million square feet in the convention center and nearly overwhelms Orlando with almost 100,000 attendees who are there to learn and to see the latest and greatest in building materials, products and equipment. While attending one of the seminars, we heard William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle, state that 20 years ago scientists were talking about our carbon footprints and the dangers of continuing on our current path. Later we spotted actor Ed Begley Jr. at the Home Depot booth. He’s well known for his environmental views and even has a television show on HGTV (Living with Ed) where he demonstrates green living products and practices. At the IBS trade show, Home Depot was paying him to market its environmentally friendly product line. Making our way through the enormous convention center, we realized that about 80% of the booths had some sort of green message. From “we recycle” to soy-based building materials, solar equipment and energy efficient everything. Last year at the same show, perhaps 15% of the vendor booths carried the green message.

DAVID’S SOAP SCANDAL
While attending the conference we stayed at the “official” hotel of the trade show. The 891 room hotel is a fairly snazzy inn with a commitment to service excellence – but more importantly it’s across the street from the convention center and eliminates the need for a car – an important factor for us. Our first day at the hotel started late after a long plane ride and gastro-unfriendly meals. Arriving in my room and wandering into the bathroom to freshen up for dinner, I noticed a cellophane wrapped, large bar of soap for the bathtub and a smaller version for the vanity. I unwrapped the small one and washed my hands and face. Wanting to save time when I hit the shower later, I decided to unwrap the large soap. After dinner I returned to my room and realized the staff had performed their turn-down duties. Inviting bed, a couple of chocolate mints – all very nice until I went into the bathroom and discovered new cellophane wrapped soaps in place of my “pre-prepped” versions. This same ritual went on each day until I placed the used soap out of site and left the new soap in its place. So lets see…with 891 rooms in the hotel, that means 1,782 bars of soap are thrown away each day – 12,474 each week. Is there a green epidemic or is it just limited to certain industries?

-- David Gross

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