Susan M. Andrews — Furniture Today,
Company can design “green” products for customers

VALDESE, N.C. — Fabric source Valdese Weavers made a splash at Showtime this month with the launch of its Valor brand, designed to package its green and sustainable story for residential furniture manufacturer customers.


Valor — a name inspired by “Valdese” and the first letters of “organizational responsibility” — is more a philosophy than a product, according to President Mike Shelton.

“The idea is that each customer can decide what’s important for their own story, instead of just having a limited line of green fabrics available,” he said.

The company, which has been implementing environmentally responsible processes and products for several years at its manufacturing plant and through its contract fabrics division, has developed “the biggest toolbox in town” to support the initiative, according to Michelle Apple, speaking to customers at a Showtime reception to launch the program.

Apple, who is creative director for Valdese Weavers Contract and helped spearhead the Valor program, was referring to more than 500 organic, recycled and/or renewable components — including warps, filling yarns and colors — that Valdese Weavers has available to develop eco-friendly product “and let each customer define its own green story.”

“Everything that contains organic, recycled or rapidly renewable material will be tagged with the Valor brand,” said Zack Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing. “The idea is to have an elegant design solution for our customers so we can help them achieve their aims in this area.

“It’s more meaningful than just saying, ‘Here’s a green product,’” Taylor said. “We will work ‘backward’ with the customer to find both the economy and the story they want to tell and then we’ll fit the product to that need — whether they want organic or recycled or some combination.”

Product shown under the Valor banner at the recent Showtime ranged from $6.95 to $13.95 per yard for furniture manufacturers. The company said that shows that “going green” doesn’t have to mean a drastic price increase, which has been a sticking point for many furniture producers.

In promotional materials for its new Valor branding program for environmentally responsible textiles, Valdese Weavers expresses the theme in several “green statements” like this one.