By Matthew Spieler
HARTFORD, CONN.—A larger-than-expected crowd of retailers, distributors and mill reps converged at the Marriott hotel here to learn about “The Green Impact” as part of the Connecticut Floor Covering Association’s (CFCA) educational day and State of the Industry Dinner.

From breakout sessions that at times were standing room only, to a keynote address on the subject of sustainability by Randy Merritt, president of Shaw Industries, the event gave the approximate 200 people in attendance the opportunity to better understand “what being green means to you, your customers and your business.”

While the event was hosted by CFCA, the program actually saw participants come from various parts of the Northeast, such as New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The event started with four breakout sessions that were repeated to allow attendees the opportunity to sit in on two of them. With many of the participants coming in pairs or more from the same company, most were able to walk away knowing they had the benefit of seeing all four seminars.

Sessions were conducted by sponsors of the event—in some cases a mill and distributor teamed up—and included Mannington/ NRF Distributors, Armstrong/ Belknap White Alcco, Mirage and Connecticut Recycling Works (CRW)/Floor-Cycle/DemoCycle.

The seminars hit on such topics as “The Grey Area of Green” and “Yesterday’s Flooring – Tomorrow’s Resources,” and also included information on the sponsoring companies’ green programs, products and services, such as “Armstrong’s BioBased tile and linoleum products and FloorScore,” and “Mannington and the Green Consumer.”

Sheila Harkins, Northeast district manager for Mannington, was “happy” to be a part of the event because “the topic of green is becoming more and more important to consumers and therefore more important to our retailers. This was a great way to open up the discussion and educate retailers.”

While each session focused on a different aspect of the green movement, the one thing that was clear coming out of them was how confusing the subject is. This was evident in the types of questions participants asked, as many centered on the basics, from what specific terms and definitions mean to complex issues involving recycling and sustainability.

And that is one of the main reasons why Harkins and the others felt the day was beneficial. “As was seen in my sessions, retailers are confused on the topic of green. In the field the more we can educate our retailers the better for them in the selling process. Mannington and NRF both have a long history of environmental responsibility that we bring to all our products. The more we bring this to our retailers’ attention the more comfortable they are about showing our product lines.”

Tim Sullivan of Bestflor Distributors, noted, “Like it or not, recycling is here to stay.” He told retailers this is not a negative in their business but actually a positive, especially during these tough economic times. “If you want to decrease your costs, then get into recycling. The cost of waste management will continue to go up.”

Ron Stevens, a partner with CRW, could not agree more. Using facts and not just scare tactics, he explained why waste managements costs are projected to keep increasing and why keeping flooring, especially carpet, out of landfills and recycling or reusing it is beneficial for business—as well as the environment.

On a per pound basis, Stevens noted, carpet takes up 3% more landfill space than natural waste. Plus, “landfills are closing up all over. Around here they will all be closed within six or so years.” Put simply, “Waste management is a good way to control your costs,” he added. “Those who do it now are seeing the benefits.”

Leslie Boyko of Custom Floors and a past CFCA president, was “particularly pleased with the breakout sessions that took place. Attendance in all the seminars was full, and I learned a great deal from each session. We will definitely do another event like this in the future.”

While the breakout sessions provided a wealth of information for both participants and sponsors, it was the keynote address by Merritt that was the highlight and left the audience in a good mood.

“Randy Merritt is a great speaker,” said Brian Booth, of Booth Flooring and CFCA vice president, “and I liked the fact he presented a holistic picture of our industry as opposed to just the Shaw story. The most important thing I took away from this evening was a sense of hope. It’s easy to get discouraged in a difficult economy. Merritt pointed out this was the fifth economic downturn he had experienced in his career. It was a nice reminder that we have all been through this before and we will see good economic times again. We just need to use this time to get ready for it.”

(Editor’s note: Space limitations prevented us from being able to fully report on Merritt’s speech. A detailed story will appear in the next issue.)