My shoe hugger from Arcadia

I’m just back from a fun, but all too brief trip to the Bay Area, which included a trip to the recently (re)opened California Academy of Sciences, which you’ll hear more about tomorrow.  Until I get all those images and information ready to post however, I would like to take a moment to send some kudos to the Arcadia company for creating such a helpful bit of green.

You see, a couple of weeks ago I attended a mini-expo put on by IIDA in Orange County, and had a chance to talk with Niki Valdes of Arcadia about all their efforts to create sustainable contract furniture.

The Serifina Lounge from Arcadia

After a great conversation and an invitation to tour their facilities, she offered me a… bag.  Now, as a green designer and blogger, I have amassed a heck of a collection of re-usable bags of all shapes and types, some more useful than others.  Almost all have the logo of the expo/company/product they came from prominently displayed on the side, and I often hand them back out to friends, family and others to encourage them to forgo plastic bags when they shop.  But the bag I was handed by Niki was different.  To promote their commitment to sustainability, Arcadia had taken their own scrap fabric, left over from production, and fashioned the cutest, most useful little “shoe hugger”!

Here’s what they wrote on the 100% recycled paper band used to wrap the bag -

Waste not, want not.  At Arcadia, fabric remnants previously destined to landfills play a supportive role in the interior construction of our seating products.  And now, they serve an additional purpose by becoming this nifty little bag.  We hope you enjoy the many uses for it today and in the years to come.”

Well, I certainly did enjoy using it for my travels this weekend, but more importantly, I appreciate the thoughtful re-use of the fabric, and the genuine effort Arcadia made to come up with a unique way to express their commitment to sustainability.  So kudos Arcadia.  I like your style!