Everyone touting green at Hardware/Garden/Home Show
ORLANDO —The all-natural theme was in full bloom at the National Hardware Show and Lawn & Garden World. More than 3,500 exhibitors packed the Orange County Convention Center May 8 to 10 with hundreds of suppliers promoting all-natural and eco-friendly products.
Solar-powered lighting took up most of the space at the International Development Corp. booth. IDC showcased its new Westinghouse-brand decorative landscape solar lights and its first-ever line of solar-powered LED outdoor Christmas lights due in stores this fall.
“[The Christmas lights] don’t need to be plugged in and come with a timer that turns them on at sundown,” said IDC regional vp of sales Don Clayton. He estimated that up to 80% of IDC’s outdoor lighting is now solar powered and said the company is branching into solar-powered indoor lights for sheds and garages.
In the lawn and garden section, all-natural plant foods, fertilizers and pest sprays were a large part of the merchandise mix. Nature’s Touch unveiled its new Natural Organic-Based Lawn Fertilizer and its EcoSharp Organic Lawn & Garden Insect Killer that zaps bugs with a combination of apple cider vinegar and cloves.
Scott’s had its Organic Choice brand of all-natural soil and plant food prominently displayed at its booth and said it plans to add to the line later this year when it introduces all-natural lawn fertilizer and mulch.
Even paint suppliers were promoting products that are eco-friendly. Benjamin Moore touted its new Aura line of low-volatile organic compound paint that is rolling out to stores in the Mid-west and East Coast this year. “It has an entirely new tint system and is the best low-VOC paint we’ve ever produced,” said Benjamin Moore’s Jeff Spillane. The paints emit little or no toxic fumes, dry faster and don’t have a strong scent when drying.
Eco-friendly pioneer Simple Green was at the show with a different mission. A supplier of all-natural household cleaners since 1974, Simple Green is trying to set itself apart from newly green companies with an ad campaign that promotes itself as, “Clean, Safe and Green for Over 30 Years.”
“Everywhere you turn here, you see a product with green in the name,” said Simple Green’s Jeff Hyder. “So we’re letting people know we’ve been around for 33 years and we’ve always been green.”
In the tool area, Zircon unveiled its high-tech MetalScanner and HyperTape. The MetalScanner is a one-button tool that finds studs in lath and plaster walls and the HyperTape uses laser technology to measure distances of up to 100 feet to provide instant square footage and volume measurements.
Hardware show organizers said final attendance numbers won’t be available until June but said they should match up to last year. “We should end up with about 35,000 industry professionals attending, which is about the same as last year,” said Reed Exhibition’s public relations director Beth Blake.
Blake said having the show in Orlando boosted East Coast attendance and attracted more drive-in visitors than its normal venue in Las Vegas, where the it will return in 2008 and 2009.