Homefires Provides Tips For Making Your Office "Greener"

Furniture World Magazine

Homefires, well known accent and area rug line of parent company, Cresc Corporation located in Atlanta, GA, has been incorporating practical, common sense green routines into the corporate culture of its company. “Simple things like reusing unwanted printed paper in our fax machine has saved us hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars over the last 15 years” says Renee Ringstad, VP of Merchandising for the company. “In our effort to control costs, we found that we were also being environmentally friendly…a welcome consequence of cost cutting measures.” Some of the many ways Homefires has found to cut costs and positively impact the environment are: 1. We make our own coffee and drink it out of china cups that we wash and reuse. 2. We don’t buy Post-It notes – we cut up scrap paper for note paper. 3. We don’t print out every email, we file emails electronically and we continue to look for more ways to send electronic documentation rather than paper. 4. We reuse our exhibit materials for many show seasons – we repair and repaint – saving both dollars and the environment. 5. We donate slightly defective product – we get a tax deduction, and the environment doesn’t get another pile of waste material in the landfill. 6. We combine our overseas shipments to maximize container space – cutting freight costs and using less carbon based fuels in the transportation process. 7. In the summer, our thermostat is set at 76 and in the winter months – it is set down to 69. Our dress code is casual, so we can dress appropriately for those temperature changes and keep our energy costs down. 8. Blinds are kept closed in the summer and open in the winter during sunny days to take advantage of the added warmth. 9. Our payroll checks are deposited automatically into our checking accounts, an obvious cost saving to our employees in terms of fuel usage driving to their bank on pay day. 10. Lights are turned off in offices and areas that are not being used. 11. Some of our employees car pool to work. 12. We recycle and reuse pallets when shipping our goods The bottom line is that going green and being conscious of wasteful behavior, can have a beneficial impact not only on the environment, but the bottom line. Sometimes the simplest changes in behavior, can make the largest impacts on outcome. These are things that everyone can do in their own businesses. We encourage everyone in both their business and personal lives to make the effort to reduce waste wherever possible. Reduce and Reuse can be the easiest steps one can take in the journey toward becoming “Environmentally Friendly”. Cresc Corporation is the parent company of Homefires™ and Home Comfort, maker of Jellybean™ brand accent rugs. The Jellybean™ brand rug is manufactured with 35% post consumer product fibers, a fact that the company is proud to be able to claim. You can reach both Homefires™ and Home Comfort™ by calling 1-800-782-1198 or visit them on their websites: www.homefiresrugs.com or www.homecomfortrugs.com.