(click
on Resolution to see larger image) |
Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. was honored by
Sustainable Florida
with a Best Practice award in the Large Company Category. The
winners were announced June 9, 2008 at an awards ceremony in
Tallahassee. Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet passed
a Resolution on July 29 honoring Valley Forge and the
Sustainable Florida Award winners. Sustainable Florida is an alliance of
business, government, and civic leaders as well as organizations
committed to defining excellence for Florida’s economic,
environmental and social future. Winners of the best practices
award were selected by an independent panel of nine
representatives from private and public sectors involved in the
sustainability movement. Valley Forge, in business for 30 years,
recently took a
FRESH look at its business model.
FRESH
– Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards (for) Hospitality –
is a line of fabrics made from recycled PET plastic bottles (think
water bottles.) This saves natural resources – especially since
most non-recycled polyester is the fabric of choice for the
hospitality environment and is made from petroleum. Valley Forge
is the only textile company to date that has an established
reclamation process to facilitate the recycling of textiles. The
fabric feels like cotton and exceeds all fire codes, abrasion, and
longevity requirements for use in hotels. In addition to producing
a green product, Valley Forge operates in a sustainable manner by
greening its fleet and implementing a thorough internal recycling
program. |
Out of the companies from across Florida with 50
or more employees, there were 4 finalists; Wal-Mart Stores,
Progress Energy, Carlton Fields, and Valley Forge. "Each nominee
is outstanding and doing extremely innovative things to better the
environment." According to Tim Center, Director of Sustainable
Florida "This year, the word ‘sustainability’ became part of
everyone’s vocabulary. We received more than 70 nominations from
across Florida. Each is a champion of sustainability and is
leading by example. Among this group, Valley Forge Fabrics was an
undiscovered gem in Florida! They have changed the economic
landscape by doing great things for the economy and at the same
time doing it environmentally. I was very excited to find out
about Valley Forge’s good work and even more excited that they
call Florida their home."
Valley Forge’s award was one of 7 categories of
winners honored by Sustainable Florida during the
10th
annual Sustainable Florida
Awards program and was recognized
with a resolution on July 29th
by Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet.
(see photo below)
Since initiating the awards program in 1998, the
Sustainable Florida Organization has recognized and honored
deserving businesses, non-profit organizations, government groups
and individuals whose work is committed to the future success of
Florida. This year's keynote address was delivered by Clyde
Butcher who was also honored with a Legacy Award. Through the
medium of his exquisite photographs, conservation of Florida is an
underlying goal and theme. He is dedicated to using his
photography as an inspiration for others to work together to save
nature’s places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations.
For more information on this award and
Sustainable Florida please visit
www.sustainableflorida.org
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Diana Dobin, (7th from the
right) of Valley Forge accepting the Resolution with Governor
Charlie Crist (9th from the left), the Florida Cabinet, and
other Sustainable Florida winners - July 2008. |
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