No matter what the color, you could look marvelous in “green.”

Congratulations to Wyndham Hotels for being the first national upscale lodging chain to implement the eco-friendly uniform initiative! The hotel chain’s employees are now wearing ultra soft uniforms made from spun polyester fabrics derived from post-consumer products such as beverage bottles.

Lodging Hospitality magazine even recognized Wyndham with one of its 2009 Chain Leadership Awards for environmental action.

Designed by Cincinnati-based Cintas Corp., the uniforms come in two collections: an urban line with solid and pinstripe styles emphasizing dark and light blue colors with red accents; and a resort location version featuring nature–inspired earth tones.  The uniforms do not require professional dry cleaning — which, of course, minimizes the use of chemicals in the cleaning process.  The uniforms are now being worn by bellboys, desk clerks, concierge captions, maids and backroom support staff at Wyndham properties worldwide.

“As part of our quest to find new and innovative green practices, we challenged Cintas to design a program that reflected our three Wyndham brand–defining pillars of innovation, personalization and flexibility,” said Faith Taylor, Wyndham Worldwide vice president of sustainability and innovation, in a press release. “Cintas answered the call by selecting trendy, eco–conscious garments that are machine washable, easily modified and mixed–and–matched for a more personal look.”

What’s next? An all-plastics themed season of Project Runway where  each week an aspiring fashion designer is eliminated from the competition for not using enough post-consumer recycled content in their design?

By Steve Petrakis, President, Frigel North America Inc.

As a businessman for the past 33 years – and as a longtime plastics industry employee and member of SPI – I’ve seen the tide of public opinion turn towards and away from many products over the years. I remember when plastic was dubbed the wonder material for being lighter, cheaper, stronger and more durable than alternative materials. Today, plastics make cars lighter and more fuel-efficient, medical devices more innovative, and safety equipment more affordable. But plastic products are also at the center of many environmental conversations taking place today and nice things are not always being said about our industry.

It is important, therefore, for people in the industry to be informed of the conversations taking place, and to tell their own stories. This is why the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and SPI teamed up to develop the Plastics Ambassador Program. This new program is designed to educate and mobilize individuals within the plastics industry to discuss the benefits of plastics in their local communities.

Launched in early 2009 as a pilot program in three states (California, Illinois and Texas), the Ambassador Program features an online portal – including a social networking site, blog and other resources for active Ambassadors. Already, as a part of the program, I placed an op-ed in the Illinois Daily Herald about the benefits that plastics bring to the baseball field in celebration of Major League Baseball’s opening day. I also participated in a Career Fair held by the Barrington, Illinois school district for high school students in the area.  Over 2,000 high school students attended, and every one we talked to was surprised to hear that plastics is the third largest industry in the U.S.

This June, at NPE 2009, the Plastics Ambassador Program will launch nationally. The program is open to employees of SPI member companies with a passion for plastics and the drive to communicate its benefits. If you’re interested in the Plastics Ambassador Program, please visit the SPI booth at NPE, or contact Al Damico, the Ambassador Program contact at SPI.

After two and a half years of planning,  we are ready to open the doors to the entire plastics industry at NPE2009! Just yesterday, the NPE Team, SPI staff, and members of the NPE2009 Committees took our final walk-through of the McCormick Place facilities to ensure that we are ready for you.  We reviewed everything from the branding of the show, to ensuring that both buyers and sellers will have the tools that they need to navigate to and through more than 1,000 education presentations and 1,700 exhibits in close to one million square feet of exhibit space.  Signs (go this way, not that way!), entrance unit placement, banners, billboards, meter boards, hosts, restaurant locations, coffee stations, registration layouts, International Trade Center, specialty displays, pavilion headers, recycling bins, co-branding activities, the Plastics Hall of Fame Gala, the President’s Luncheon (SPI President Bill Carteaux, not that other guy in Washington), special attraction displays, carpet logos, “You are Here” boards (which is an interesting concept given most people know where they are, but want to know where they are supposed to go!), product locators, show daily distribution points, conference room requirements and the list goes on…

It was an entire day of walking around the entire facility and emulating what visitors will be required to do when they visit the show. Did you know it only takes two minutes to walk from the entrance of the West Hall to the South Hall exhibits?  It was a great day, very productive, and all who participated feel really jazzed about the show!

What’s astounding is that during the day, more than 1,100 people registered to attend!  What does that mean?  Well, based on demographic information we collect on purchasing, that equates to more than $2.6 billion in buying power — in one afternoon!

NPE is a unique and very special event that requires hundreds of people and years to plan.  But none of it could be made possible without the help and support of SPI members, staff, exhibitors, and of course, the visitors that make it all worthwhile.  I am really excited for June 22 to be here, and I hope you are as well!

One of the recent prompts on “Too Valuable to Waste,” the American Chemistry Council (ACC) blog summit on recycling, posed the question: “If you had the ability to work with and/or counsel the Obama administration on a national recycling agenda, what are the top three things that you believe would be critical components of the program?”  Several of the 11 blog contributors, as well as many people leaving comments, gave their advice to the Obama administration, including establishing energy credits, instituting sound tax policies, nurturing the recycling industry and analyzing proposed legislation. Across all of the posts a couple of common ideas emerged.

First – make recycling easier. Make single-stream (no sorting required) curbside recycling programs available to all communities, extending beyond major city lines, to make recycling more accessible for everyone.

Second – lead by example. Have you heard the phrase “Do as I say, not as I do?” If the leaders of the nation are not taking the time to recycle, it’s too easy for citizens to assume recycling isn’t important. President Obama, the White House, and Congress should all lead by example by establishing strong recycling communities and participating in them.

In his post, SPI President Bill Carteaux wrote that he would counsel the Obama administration to greatly expand waste-to-energy recycling in the Unites States. Citing how far behind the U.S. is compared to Western Europe and Asia in this area, Carteaux states that expanding waste-to-energy recycling is a great opportunity to create green jobs and is an effective way to turn plastics that are unable to be recycled into thermal energy to help power electricity generators.

Do you have any better ideas? What would you suggest?

It’s a nice feeling when arguably the most well-known and respected business and financial newspaper in the world backs up a perspective you have been preaching to every open ear you can find.  As SPI staff and I come down the home stretch of preparing for NPE2009, I was quite pleased to read a Wall Street Journal article last week that examined trade shows in a down economy and concluded that participating in them is still one of the most valuable things a small business can do:

For small-business owners trying to navigate the economic downturn, spending money on trade and consumer shows might seem like a luxury better reserved for more prosperous times. Not so, say many experts, who believe that exhibiting at—or at the very least attending—these events is one of the smartest things that a small-business owner can do, regardless of the state of the economy. Not only do exhibitions provide critical exposure to potential buyers, they also are essential for learning about unfamiliar markets, building personal relationships and getting an up-close look at the competition.

Words that are music to my ears! I recommend small business owners, in particular, read the article  because it contains some very useful, practical tips on how to minimize exhibit costs and, if not exhibiting, how to maximize you company’s presence as an attendee.

Of course, so many of you knew the score without needing to read the WSJ article.  I’m pleased to report that, despite worldwide economic trouble, NPE2009 will surpass NPE2006 in size and scope. As of last week, exhibiting companies had contracted for 16% more booths than by the same date in 2006, and sales of exhibit space in the five weeks preceding May 8 were greater than in the same period in 2006. In terms of attendees, NPE history shows that 80% of all visitors register beginning May 1, and indeed, NPE2009 registrations have begun to spike right on schedule.

As one expert in the WSJ article said, trade shows will always be one of the most valuable things you can do because “there’s simply a consolidation of buyers in one place. They have money to spend and buying authority to exercise.”  I couldn’t agree more.