ARIZONA, USA – September 10, 2013 – The Sustainability Consortium® (TSC®) is excited to announce the launch of its tenth working group: General Merchandise. This working group will produce sustainability profiles and metrics for consumer products such as sporting goods, bed, bath, kitchen, tabletop, and home decor products, small and large appliances, lawn and garden products, hardware, batteries, jewelry, automotive supplies, and building supplies. Lifetime Brands, Inc., a founding member of this working group, has joined The Consortium and is involved in the development of Key Performance Indicators for these popular product categories.
Lifetime Brands is North America’s leading resource for nationally branded kitchenware, tabletop, home décor, and lifestyle products. Their products make it easier for consumers to prepare food, serve meals, entertain guests, and decorate their homes. Lifetime Brands offers trusted brands, value without compromise, and an unwavering commitment to innovation. Lifetime Brands believes intelligent business and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. Their goal is to implement sustainable practices in its operations.
“The greatest value of the committee for Lifetime Brands will be exposure at the formative stages to what will inevitably become policy and standards for materials and manufacturing, both in the near and distant future. Being in on the ground floor will provide us with more time to react and make any needed changes, eliminate much, if not all, of the surprise element, and provide us with a competitive advantage,” said Bill Lazaroff, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design and Product Development at Lifetime Brands.
Dr. Kevin Dooley, Chief Research Officer of The Sustainability Consortium and a professor at Arizona State University, said, “We’re excited to have Lifetime Brands as a founding member of the General Merchandise Working Group, as they bring a lot of innovative-sustainability thinking to the table. A significant number of The Consortium’s retail, manufacturing, and supplier members have also expressed interest in the sector. Addressing such a broad range of product categories enables The Consortium to maximize scale, and thus, the positive impact of our work.”
Since its launch in 2009, The Sustainability Consortium has identified over 500 improvement opportunities and 400 hotspots across ten working groups. Recently, The Sustainability Consortium has launched an office in China, making it the fourth global office. TSC staff participates and members will gather together for TSC Member Summit meeting October 9-11 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
About The Sustainability Consortium
The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) is an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.
The Sustainability Consortium advocates for a credible, scalable, and transparent process and system. The organization boasts over 90 members from all corners of business employing over 57 million people and whose combined revenues total over $1.5 trillion. The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and University of Arkansas with additional operations at Wageningen University in The Netherlands and has recently launched an office in China.
About Lifetime Brands, Inc.
Lifetime Brands is a leading global provider of kitchenware, tabletop and other products used in the home. The Company markets its products under such well-known kitchenware brands as Farberware®, KitchenAid®, CasaModa®, Cuisinart®, Cuisine de France®, Guy FieriTM, Hoffritz®, Kizmos™, Misto®, Pedrini®, Roshco®, Sabatier®, Savora™ and Vasconia®; respected tabletop brands such as Mikasa®, Pfaltzgraff®, Creative Tops®, Gorham®, International® Silver, Kirk Stieff®, Sasaki®, Towle® Silversmiths, Tuttle®, Wallace®, V&A® and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew®; and home solutions brands, including Fred®, Elements®, Melannco®, Kamenstein® and Design for Living™. They also provide exclusive private label products to leading retailers worldwide. Lifetime Brands’ website is www.lifetimebrands.com.
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Kessler, Marketing Coordinator
The Sustainability Consortium
Arizona State University
Elizabeth.Kessler.1@asu.edu | 480.965.3810