Sunbrella, a manufacturer of fabrics for outdoor and indoor furnishings, launched ReMade, a line of one-of-a-kind home goods made from upcycled Sunbrella fabrics. The ReMade offering includes tabletop accessories, home textiles, wall hangings and tote bags. 

“While we have long prioritized sustainable practices, Sunbrella ReMade represents a new extension of our commitment to sustainability as we look to further connect our design team’s expertise to the circular economy,” said Allen Gant III, general manager of lifestyle products at Sunbrella. “Finished home goods made from repurposed industry-leading performance fabrics were missing in the marketplace and we’re glad to give consumers another option where performance, sustainability and elevated design can coexist without compromise.”

Sunbrella ReMade utilizes the excess fabrics from the brand’s design and manufacturing process, including sample sets, design trials, short rolls and other sources. The fabric is upcycled into coasters, placemats, table runners, aprons, tote bags and wall hangings that double as picnic blankets.

The line was developed in partnership with sustainability leader Recircled for the company’s ability to embrace complexity and produce bespoke products, said Sunbrella. Like all Sunbrella fabrics, each product features the brand’s Color to the Core technology, designed to keep each fiber of yarn saturated to the core with UV-stable pigments for products that are weather- and stain-resistant.

The ReMade line is the latest step in Sunbrella’s commitment to sustainability which includes the Recycle Me Sunbrella program that provides manufacturing partners and consumers with an alternative outlet for disposal and has recycled more than one million pounds of fabric. The brand, in conjunction with parent company Glen Raven is on track to be 100% powered by certified renewable electricity by 2025 and carbon neutral for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

All ReMade products will be available for purchase on remade.sunbrella.com allowing consumers to view the design, fabrics and colors of each unique piece. New pieces will be added frequently, according to Sunbrella.

Lifetime Brands, Inc. has partnered with singer, songwriter, musician, actress, philanthropist and businesswoman Dolly Parton in a multi-year licensing agreement to collaborate on products in kitchenware and tabletop.

Products in the Dolly Partner collaboration will include kitchen tools and gadgets, bakeware, cookware, spice racks, cutlery and cutting boards in food preparation; and barware, bar tools, flatware, serveware, dinnerware and drinkware in tabletop. The offering will also extend to food storage solutions, pantryware, insulated bottles and curated home décor accessories that will capture the essence of Dolly Parton’s brand, said the company.

“We’re honored to partner with the legendary Dolly Parton,” said Dan Siegel, president of Lifetime Brands, Inc. “Dolly’s passion for cooking and her ability to bring people together is truly inspiring. The products we’ll create together will help infuse homes everywhere with Dolly’s warmth, creativity, and hospitality.”

Trade association Licensing International celebrated a select number of home and housewares manufacturers last month for producing outstanding licensed product.

Appliance maker Smeg, soft home resource Jay Franco and Sons, and cutlery company Dalstrong earned the highest accolades for a product created under license from The Coca-Cola Company, Hasbro Gaming, and Call of Duty, respectively.

Judges, with the help of voters, whittled 850 award submissions from around the world down to 30 finalists. The mix of wannabe winners spanned licensors (intellectual property owners), licensees (manufacturing partners to the licensors), retailers, agents, and more.

“We were thrilled to honor the creativity and innovation of the teams working in Home Décor and Housewares at this year’s Licensing International Excellence Awards,” said Maura Regan, president of Licensing International. “These categories have shown incredible growth in recent years and present opportunities for expansion to everything from corporate brands like Coca-Cola to videogame properties like Call of Duty.”

Of note, the trade association teased new data indicating that the growth of global sales of licensed merchandise and services in 2022 reached a groundbreaking $340.8 billion, with overall licensing industry sales up 8% compared to 2021.

Winner Spotlight

Dalstrong x Call of Duty Culinary Collection

Dalstrong won Best Licensed Product in the categories of Appliances, Housewares & Electronics for Entertainment Brands category with Call of Duty Performance Culinary Collection.

The Dalstrong x Call of Duty culinary collection is a collection of kitchen essentials that exudes the popular game’s aesthetics, topographies, and spirit. Each item is designed for performance, using premium materials and manufacturing techniques that deliver an insane level of detail, tactility, and a performance experience. The relationship between chefs and gaming is serious. Before and after a shift, gaming is popular. A kitchen is a place of adventure and creativity. This collection levels that up. Adventure, creativity, and ‘play’ in the kitchen like never before: [think of it as] Call of Foodie. Pre-orders for phase one sold out in one day. Phase two sold out in five days. 76% of purchases were new to the brand. 50% purchased non-licensed products. 17% sales lift of core non-licensed business.

Jay Franco and Sons Hasbro Board Game Blanket

Jay Franco and Sons won Best Licensed Product​ in Home Décor category for the Hasbro Board Game Blanket.

The concept: the blanket acts as the “board” with the foam game pieces packaged within the set. The packaged-in-a-backpack format launched exclusively on a Walmart end cap and was later featured in every Target and Aldi across the U.S. overall.

Smeg Coca-Cola Refrigerator

Smeg won Best Licensed Product in Appliances, Housewares & Electronics for Corporate Brands category with the Smeg Coca-Cola Refrigerator.

The redesign of the famous Smeg FAB 28 was inspired by Coca-Cola’s vintage “Ice Cold” vending machines. To launch in the U.S., interior design websites and social influencers were tapped to imagine and share how this collaboration could update interiors in unexpected ways and elevate design by combining modern and nostalgic aesthetics. The Coca-Cola Smeg designs were also featured in their flagship storefront windows in London and Milan.

The Las Vegas Market will showcase a wide array of home goods, including gourmet housewares, tableware, textiles and décor. The show runs July 30-August 3 for permanent showrooms, July 30-August 2 for Gift & Home Temporaries and July 30-August 3 for Home Furnishings Temporaries.

Scroll through the slideshow below for a preview of the products that will be on display in Las Vegas.

The Summer Atlanta Market will showcase a wide array of home goods, including gourmet housewares, tableware, textiles and décor. The show at AmericasMart runs from July 11-17 for showrooms and July 12-16 for temporaries.

The Yankee Candle Company, Inc., part of Newell Brands, is partnering with luggage lifestyle brand, Vera Bradley, for a limited edition home fragrance collection.

The collection design was inspired by Vera Bradley’s Sunlit Garden Sage pattern. It includes a new Yankee Candle fragrance specific to this collection featuring aromas of lavender, rose and sage.

“This collaboration between two iconic, heritage brands felt like the perfect tie-in for spring and Mother’s Day gifting,” said Michelle Favaloro, vice president of home fragrance and wellness at Newell Brands. “The pairing of the floral pattern and fan-favorite fragrances make this a great gift for yourself or someone you love.”

“At Vera Bradley, we continually strive to make the world a brighter place, and our latest design collaboration with Yankee Candle does exactly that — both literally and figuratively! We’re proud to partner with another iconic American heritage brand that shares our entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to quality, and passion for creating beautiful solutions,” noted Jennifer Bova, vice president of marketing for Vera Bradley.

The collection includes:

• Lavender & Sage 3-Wick Candle: The candle comes in a floral fragrance that captures the scents of field-grown lavender, blooming rose, and fresh sage.
• Pink Sands 3-Wick Candle: This candle is a mix of bright citrus, sweet florals, and spicy vanilla.
• ScentPlug Base + Refill: This limited-edition diffuser comes in an hourglass shape and is printed with Vera Bradley’s Sunlit Garden Sage pattern — described as a playful, floral pattern that makes a beautiful pair with the Lavender & Sage fragrance refill.
• Tote bag: The tote in Vera Bradley’s Sunlit Garden Sage pattern will be included as a gift with purchase.

Available at YankeeCandle.com and select retailers now, the ScentPlug Base retails for $11.99, the ScentPlug Refill for $7.50 and the single 3-Wick Candle for $26.50.

While walking into a hotel, one of the first things that hit the nose is a signature scent. Now, consumers are spending more time working and gathering in the home, creating a signature or seasonal scent is top-of-mind. They are also looking for convenience and personality in the items they choose to fill their home with scent, from bright colors to easy-to-use goods that don’t require maintenance.

Innovative Fountains is bringing its newest line, dubbed NoBrn sustainable luxury home fragrance, to the market. According to the company, this patent-pending refillable fragrance pod is designed to fill home spaces with calming aromas in stylish vessels. These pods are said to release scents into the air without the need for heat, liquid or electricity, using the company’s Scent-Perm technology. According to the company, these fragrance pods come with a service cap that can be replaced to preserve the fragrance for another use and make it easy to change scents. Pods come in unlimited scents and unlimited Pantone colors and last about 725 hours, said Innovative Fountains.

“We designed this line to easily swap out fragrance by simply removing the cap and the fragrance pod from the vessel. Fragrance pods are provided with a service cap that can be replaced to preserve the fragrance for another use and be replaced with a new scent,” said Brian Ray, founder of Innovative Fountains.

In addition, Fusion (pictured top) is coming to the candle market. The new flagship brand is from Rimports, LLC, and is bringing the launch of an assortment of fragranced candles in decorative jars. The candles will have an array of aromatics but are also designed to be sleek and decorative to fit any type of home decor. These new goods are set to launch in the second half of 2023. 

Among the most relaxing ways to spend some time is just lounging on a pool float. Of course, it never hurts for the pool float to be decorative and fun in its own right. El Arroyo is looking to do just that with its pool floats that were showcased at The Inspired Home Show.

The El Arroyo pool float’s form is taken from the El Arroyo marquee sign. The El Arroyo restaurant in Austin, TX, has been displaying amusing messages on its marquee sign for quite a while, and the pool float introduction continues that legacy.

The float features two amusing sayings: “I feel like most of my problems could be solved with a swim-up margarita bar” and “Row row row your boat gently away from me,” and could be the sort of thing that makes pool parties Instagram-worthy, says the company. Packaged in signature bright colors, photogenic El Arroyo pool floats are designed to make make the summer season that much more fun.

Spring is on the way. With that, Sebastian Brauer, Crate & Barrel senior vice president, product design, development and metaverse, told HomePage News that consumers are looking for luxury they can live with as emerging trends build off the functional, sheltering, slightly antiseptic sensibility that many people assumed as they dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic to one focused on bringing the natural inside as their lifestyles become more open and welcoming.

“Consumers are leaning towards livable luxe as a long-term result of pandemic confinement and desire for versatile spaces for relaxing, entertaining and working while still enhancing personal comfort without compromising style,” Brauer said.

Crate & Barrel recently released lookbooks for its namesake and CB2 brands that made statements about where the company sees consumers moving.

Of the new collection highlighted in the Crate & Barrel lookbook, Brauer said, “Our spring collection drew inspiration from the casual coastal vibe of California living and the Pacific Coast, pairing airy minimalist design with a mix of natural and honest materials, resulting in spaces that feel high-design, yet casual and lived-in. This collection offers consumers subtle ways to refresh their homes with striking neutral pieces across furniture, lighting, textiles, decor and kitchenware.”

Trends that are emerging can be diverse, with color, material and form influenced by social considerations such that Crate & Barrel is, in one example, responding to consumer demand for certified materials such as those approved by the Forest Stewardship Council.

“We’re seeing new trends filter into the living area and kitchen,” Brauer said. “Natural textures and surfaces in a range of stone natural solid FSC woods are finding new uses throughout the home. From walnut, acacia, oak, plaster, linen, and pure organic cotton, these textures are used in tableware in earthy, soft colors and speckled glazes, and simple wood silhouettes in functional decor like vases. We are also introducing upcycled and sustainable materials throughout the home, including premium and luxurious upholstery fabric made of recycled ocean plastics and recycled ceramic dinnerware collections.”

The Crate and Barrel lookbook took a variety of approaches to the larger trends. For instance, it promoted cooking with citrus, an approach described as bringing more zing to meal prep. Among the products featured in the lookbook were the Crate & Barrel Serrated Citrus Knife in green and, in yellow, the Crate & Barrel mini citrus juicer with cup, citrus squeezer with measuring cup, citrus reamer and Microplane grater/zester.

For consumers who developed their meal prep skills during pandemic stay-at-home requirements, the lookbook also featured Staub Eucalyptus heirloom-quality French cookware inclusive of a three baking dish set and a 5.5-quart Dutch oven in cool metallic colors exclusive to Crate & Barrel.

Serene green is a lookbook theme shade, applied by Crate & Barrel as a minty hue to the business end of a whisk and silicone spatulas featuring FSC wood handles. Other colors available include yellow, navy and orange. 

Rectangular Acrylic Kitchen Canisters incorporate FSC bamboo lids and bases. The lookbook also features a KitchenAid Artisan Series Steel Blue 5-quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with a Mermaid Lace Ceramic Bowl. 

The Sorrento collection offers servingware and tableware including a 28-inch platter, an olive oil cruet, a pedestal bowl and a 6-piece bowl set as part of what the lookbook refers to as the Italian kitchen in a soft white finish. In addition, Crate & Barrel throws a spotlight on a collection of Le Creuset dinnerware. In white, cream, chambray and ink, the stoneware includes plates, bowls and mugs. In a different turn, the new Cafe collection of hand-cast stoneware bowls is hand dipped in the rich modern hues dark teal, spice orange, desert taupe, cider burgundy and white. The Argila Dinnerware Collection complements the bowls.

Textiles include a collection dubbed The New Denim Project, while furniture includes the modern Dahlia collection constructed as metal supporting natural wood. Home decor items include the Regen Clear Blown Glass collection. Proof that the mid-century theme won’t quit appears in lighting. The Weston Mid-Century Table Lamp and Chandelier feature light gray and black tones and represent a new reading of the long-standing design theme. 

The lookbook for CB2 is themed Spring Alchemy, which is explained as how to bottle the intangible quality that is excellent taste. The answer by CB2: Start with thoughtful curiosity and add a mixture of unexpected eras, materials and influences to forge an enduring style.

Among the items featured in the lookbook are the new black and white Fynn Reactive Dinnerware; the Pave Red Marble Server; crimped Muse Smoke Barware; the lengthy Pin Shiny Gold Flatware Set; and the twisting Asha Black Knotted Double Taper Holder. Lighting and decor include the deeply curved Venus Dome Black Floor Lamp; the asymmetrical Organic Shape Horn Wall Mirror; the egg-shaped blue Steele Vase; and Ice Jade Marble bookend. Furniture included the Chale Teddy White Boucle Sectional Collection; the Ren Grey Mongolian Sheepskin Chair; the Isola Natural Fiber Chair; the Montara Rattan Tall Bar; the Pasar Black Marble Coffee Table; and the Vice Oak Media Credenza.

The CB2 spring collection makes heavy use of natural materials and looks, bringing the outside world inside with a modern styling that often features clean straight lines. However, shapes, such as the Organic Shape Horn Wall Mirror, are sometimes distorted to give the assortment a bit of eroded assertiveness. An overriding theme that shapes the collection is one of sophisticated comfort.

Brauer said fashion, as reflected in both the home and the closet, has become more consistent with larger dynamics generated by how people are living.

“In recent years, the intersection between fashion and home design has been driven by larger lifestyle trends,” Brauer said. “Today, both clothing and interiors that are livable and functional using classic and innovative materials continue to trend in parallel with the rise of the hybrid work environment. Consumers are interested in investing in pieces that have purpose and a greater sense of awareness when it comes to sustainable materials and practices. 

As the influence of the pandemic fades, lifestyle trends are evolving, which has a significant influence on how consumers are looking for housewares and home furnishings for spring.

“People are embracing newfound flexibility and have begun hosting more gatherings,” he noted. “With that, coziness and versatility have maintained importance for the pieces consumers are selecting and the overall aesthetic they want in every room of their home to personalize.”

Crate & Barrel, at its own and its CB2 stores, is offering consumers a chance to clean the ghosts of the immediate past out of their lives while still providing a setting for work and play that encourages them to let go of stress or at least not experience it as abundantly as has been the case given recent conditions. Whether home alone or hosting a dinner party for family and friends, the combination of utility and novelty creates an environment that’s engaging without being overwhelming, Brauer said. At the same time, he pointed out different rooms are subject to somewhat different trends. So, where a living room sectional might invite someone to stretch out and let go, another room might benefit from some elements that make tasks a little livelier.

“This spring, we’ve refreshed home furnishings with clean, airy designs and warm materials to recharge any space,” Brauer said. “This casually cool aesthetic also pulls through in housewares, with light, textural finishes like speckled stoneware in a range of serene, earthy tones,” he said. “There are also a few other trends in the kitchen this year, including pops of citrus and pastels and rich modern hues, perfect for layering.”

He added, “For our Spring collection, we wanted to help consumers use the season as a moment to refresh in simple ways. Pieces like the Staub Eucalyptus, a soft gray-green, and plateware and upcycled textiles like denim to lend a subtle pop across the home.”

Within the larger trends, retailers and suppliers alike should consider that enough variety exists to give consumers the means of personalizing spaces, according to Crate & Barrel. Some consumers might content themselves with inconspicuous neutrals, and others might prefer Flynn black on the inside and white on the outside of dinnerware with just enough highlighting to give it a weathered feeling. While different, they both have a natural connection whether to a wheatfield or a worn roadside stone.

“Your home should be unique to you,” Brauer said. “Find ways to personalize each room or space in your home by purchasing pieces that create a comfortable, livable environment for yourself.”

At a time when retailers and their suppliers are moving to address the environmental concerns more consumers are expressing, Wayfair is helping its shoppers more easily connect with eco-friendly products through the refinement of its Shop Sustainably initiative. ​

Wayfair took responses to its initial Shop Sustainably initiative and applied them with the goal of making it easier for consumers to connect with products that align with their environmental and social priorities.

Derek Oliver, Wayfair’s global head of corporate responsibility and government affairs, told HomePage News that, as with anything else the company does, Wayfair evaluated Shop Sustainably using market research and customer communication in an effort to make the initial program better conform to consumer needs and preferences.

“We’re always looking for feedback and trying to see what’s happening, so that definitely impacted it,” he said. “I think the whole idea we’ve gotten is to make this as simple and convenient and easy for the customer as possible. So much of the refresh and the learning was: Get this in front of customers in a way that would resonate with them and in an easy-to-understand system. We tried to create so astute observers could see all the information they wanted to see. But the feedback and preferences we got were: Keep it simple on-site so as many customers as possible would feel it’s accessible to them.”

The program, launched initially in March of 2021, emerged as a function of the Wayfair search engine. By using it, Wayfair provided a way for shoppers to connect with 500,000 products offered on the company’s platform that incorporated eco-friendly and related social features. Each of the Shop Sustainably products met specific environmental, health, indoor air quality, or community-related certifications or standards.

However, the system as launched proved somewhat unwieldy in use. To create the new iteration of Shop Sustainably, Wayfair refined product classes and categories to help customers find what they’re looking for quickly. The company also reorganized categories for greater clarity. So, what had been Local Community Empowerment shifted into the Fair Trade designation and Made Clean translated into Nontoxic.

As part of the process, Wayfair narrowed the scope of third-party certifications included in Shop Sustainably to ensure that each certification connected with a sustainable product class that its customers typically sought. Although that constituted some narrowing of the range, Wayfair continues to speak with potential third-party certification partners as Shop Sustainably evolves as it expands the product offering to meet emerging demand.

In October of this year, Wayfair announced it was rolling out the revamped and consolidated Shop Sustainably program, highlighting more than 12,000 items across Wayfair’s family of brands. Now environmentally conscious shoppers can filter for the kind of characteristics that are important to them from WaterEfficient and Organic Content to Cruelty-Free and Fair Trade.

The eco-friendly characteristics of Shop Sustainably items on the Wayfair platform reside within the product overviews, descriptions and/or specifications for Shop Sustainably items on the Wayfair platform including logos of certifying bodies in some cases. The offering spans furnishings and appliances and provides product-specific certifications such as LEVEL BY BIFMA, FloorScore Green Squared, MAS Certified Green, and Indoor Advantage. Many of the certifications included in the Shop Sustainably program qualify for building rating systems, including LEED v4.1, BREEAM, WELL Building, and Living Building Challenge.

Wayfair asserts that it is home to the largest variety of sustainability certifications featured by a home retailer. In the refreshed Shop Sustainably program, Wayfair customers can shop for products that meet sustainability criteria for one or more of some 50 certifications.

The Wayfair website in the About section includes a Shop Sustainably destination page that includes a pledge that the company’s goal is to help customers easily find products that meet their needs. So, when shopping on Wayfair, consumers can select a Shop Sustainably filter to find certified sustainable products. The page also includes an introduction to certifications. A click-through provides a more detailed account of how consumers can use Shop Sustainably to view all eco-friendly products or those that address specific environmental and related considerations via certifications including Energy Star Certified, Greenguard Certified and EPA WaterSense Certified cover. Or they can shop by category including Fair Trade or Sustainable Wood Products. Then, the items under Sustainable Wood Products reference certifications from Forest Stewardship Council, PEFC, and/or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

A different click-through on the Shop Sustainably page brings consumers to another one that lists and explains each certification.

The Shop Sustainably assortment spans furniture, décor, and appliances so certifications include a wide range of standards and even building product-specific certifications such as LEVEL BY BIFMA, FloorScore, Green Squared, MAS Certified Green, and Indoor Advantage. Many of the certifications included in Shop Sustainably qualify for building rating systems, including LEED v4.1, BREEAM, WELL Building and Living Building Challenge, allowing both homeowners and business professionals to shop Wayfair that meet their professional needs.

“The certifying bodies are key to the program,” Oliver said. “We did not want to create a Wayfair-specific sustainable certification.”

The idea is to give consumers standards against which they could make determinations about purchases. Certifying bodies, many widely recognized and frequently linked to well-regarded environmental institutions, provide set standards that not only consumers but also Wayfair suppliers can tap into to address their own efforts, in this case, to manufacture sustainable products consistent with certification standards.

Wayfair wanted to make it easy for suppliers to participate in Shop Sustainably just as it did consumers.

“We wanted to work with our suppliers to create engagement,” Oliver pointed out. “So, in my mind, they are a key piece. The partnership with them is integral.”

Now, Wayfair is waiting to see how consumers respond to the updated Shop Sustainably.

“It’s very early days on the refresh,” Oliver said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead. It was a fairly fulsome refresh. I think we have to go back to any shift of customer preference comparing the 2021 version and marry that out to the 2022 version because they are so different. I think our focus is creating the best retail customer engagement. That will be the testament to where we’re going because it’s really about making sure we have a great offering.”

The revamped Shop Sustainably initiative is a response to the desire expressed by many consumers to quickly find products that are consistent with their environmental and social sensibilities.

“There has been a lot more interest,” Oliver says. “Our goal was to make our offering as simple and seamless and customer friendly as possible. That’s what we’ve focused on. Shop Sustainably gives the customer a way to come and have another great experience on the site.”

Even if not every consumer is looking to tap Shop Sustainably, as not every customer will search for contemporary styles or outdoor dinnerware on the site because those products aren’t within the spectrum of their tastes and needs, to have programs that allow consumers with specific preferences to more easily find what they want enhances the overall satisfaction of customers across the Wayfair spectrum.

“That still is the goal, to make sure the customer has access to more sustainable products on our site. That’s been the driving force, to delight the customer, deliver for the customer and engage the customer, and have them come back,” Oliver says.