The Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) has named this year’s team of dedicated professionals to its annual SFC Ambassadors program, selected to advance the organization’s mission to promote sustainability, wellness, and social justice in the furnishings space.
The 2020 SFC Ambassadors include Corey Damen Jenkins, Thom Filicia, Libby Langdon, Breegan Jane, Laura Hodges, John Eason, Jennifer Jones, Anelle Gandelman and Laurence Carr.
Each of the high-profile designers will serve in a leadership and advocacy role, with the goal to affect positive change among their interior designer peers, clients, and the home industries at large.
SFC Ambassadors make a 12-month commitment to represent the SFC and its ideals through public image, social media platforms, and more. Ambassadors share information the organization provides about the state of sustainability in the home furnishings business, as well as the best practices they implement in their own businesses. The areas of focus vary from firm to firm, but the elements of sustainable design practices include conscientious product sourcing and material selection, re-use and upcycling, and demand for vendor transparency, among others.
Ambassadors incorporate SFC values into their design practices currently and are committed to expanding their knowledge in this area. Several have completed the SFC GREENleaders certification program. Susan Inglis, SFC Executive Director, expressed her appreciation, saying, “We are so pleased to be working with each of these illustrious, committed, and articulate designers. This is a good year for turning up the volume on sharing best practices – consumers care, and it is urgent that we each do all that we can to reduce the surprisingly large environmental impact our industry has. These Ambassadors will make the difference, by inspiring as well as by sharing info.”
Each of the 2020 Ambassadors spoke to why they care to be part of the SFC’s efforts:
Corey Damen Jenkins “We only get one Planet Earth, and this is not a dress rehearsal. So the decisions we make now have to count—not only for us in the short term—but for the benefit of generations to come.”
Thom Filicia “As an interiors and product designer, I think it’s important to always continue learning and striving to do better, which includes making efforts to do what is best for our planet, the place we ultimately call home.”
Libby Langdon “The environment provides natural elements for every living thing on our planet. Our forests remove pollutants from the air we breathe, our wetlands store storm water, filter pollutants, and recharge where most of us get our drinking water; and the dune systems on our beaches form natural barriers to waves and provide a habitat for wildlife. Most of us take these things for granted but we have to all work now to ensure they don’t go away.”
Breegan Jane “One of my life’s missions is to leave the world in a better condition than I received it. I believe the most spectacular design elements stem from Mother Nature’s beauty, and I sincerely believe I owe much of my creativity to her.
Laura Hodges “I care deeply about sustainability because I feel that it’s our duty to take care of this planet in any way we can. Every day we see the very real impact of being careless with our environment and, in an industry where we are always creating newly built environments for our clients, I feel obliged to make sure that we’re doing so responsibly.”
John Eason “Simply put, it is irresponsible and inexcusable to not care about sustainability. I have an obligation to care for the ecosystem that my life is physically dependent on, to imagine otherwise is insanity.”
Jennifer Jones “As designers we have the power to effect real change by harnessing our clients’ purchasing power to support sustainable manufacturers, local fabricators, and specifying eco-friendly materials and fixtures.”
Anelle Gandelman “I am concerned with how quickly we have polluted our planet in the space of a century, how it seems to be accelerating exponentially and how that will impact our future.”
Laurence Carr “We have to take an honest look at our society’s economic practices, our role as members of the design community, and choose a better, more sustainable path.”
