Hospitality Design - August 2014 - 48

perspectives

trends

made in the usa

8
9

7

Pinching Pennies

While it does make sense for some products to
be produced overseas, based on project location
or on the availability of certain materials-metal
is very costly to purchase and manufacture
in the U.S., for example, and some European
countries specialize in fabric qualities like
velvet, according to Riback-the myth of acrossthe-board cost savings for purchasing goods
manufactured overseas is just that. "When you
look at the total cost of ownership, from delivery
through quality and customer service, the cost
effectiveness in the long run starts to become
a harder sell," explains David Kitts, design
director for Hubbardton Forge, a company that
creates all of its lighting in Vermont.
"The attendant costs of longer lead times,
freight costs, and the potential for receiving
less-than-top-quality products can often offset,
in part or completely, the higher initial costs of
purchasing domestic textiles," explains Matt
DeShantz, Fabricut Contract's vice president of
sales, adding that Fabricut produces most of its
hospitality upholstery patterns, along with many
basic drapery patterns, in the U.S.
"It's short sighted if people look just at the
price per yard and not at the overall scope of the
project and what you're trying to accomplish,"
agrees McArthur. But convincing clients can
sometimes be a challenge, says Bart Kulish,

048

August 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

7. More than 95
percent of Shaw
Hospitality Group's
commercial products
are domestically
manufactured, including
Ruffled Feathers, part of
the Natural Curiosities
collection.

president of MTS Seating, which fabricates
exclusively out of its Michigan headquarters.
"There was a time in the last few years that if
we were promoting made in the USA, it was
almost looked on negatively-we're going to be
more expensive. We've worked hard to be price
competitive. If a competitor is bringing in a
quality product from offshore, we won't lose to
them on price."

Sustainable Solution

Environmental responsibility is an aspect
of domestic production that is coming to the
forefront. "So much of our impact in textiles is
shipping," says Jenna Tanner, account manager
and sustainability leader for Valley Forge
Fabrics, which almost exclusively produces
its upholstery domestically and is actively
investing in shifting other products stateside.

8. Intersections
from TRI-KES, which
produces the majority
of its wallcoverings in
the U.S.

9. Amish from Valley
Forge Fabrics, one
pattern from the
company's upholstery
collections that are made
almost entirely stateside.

Part of Tanner's job is to calculate the company's
carbon footprint. "If we're making something
in Asia and having to ship it thousands and
thousands of miles every year, a big chunk of
our carbon footprint comes from transportation,"
she explains. "The biggest impact that we could
make was to shift where we were making
things."
Environmental impact is also top of mind
for Christian Nickum, president at Rocky
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