Housewares Show makes a splash in Chicago

Chicago The International Home & Housewares Show, held here at the McCormick Place Convention Center, has featured a host of new color trends and green products.

In many ways, the two trends merged. Pantone, which produces a yearly preview of color trends, noted that colors from nature -- particularly greens and blues -- are showing a surge in popularity in the home because of their connection to the burgeoning green movement.

Annamarie Plass, a buyer for Adams Fairacre, a chain of three grocery and outdoor products stores in New York, agreed.

“We’ve just updated our collection of cookware with some really beautiful colors, green colors and blue colors,” Plass explained.

Other color trends included brash neon colors that invoke the 1980s -- a new iron introduced by Hamilton Beach Brands included a black and neon pink or neon green color scheme. Mod colors, like chocolate brown and bright blue, were featured on new products, including stick vacuum cleaners from Electrolux and kitchen storage products from Starplast Industries.

On the green side, Umbra featured a new line of trash cans made from biodegradable plastic, and cleaning products company Simple Green unveiled a new line of totally chemical free cleaners with ingredients like soy. Several green products were included in a special pavilion, such as house mats and cleaning products made from recycled materials by textile company Ofertex.

Speakers addressed the issue of “greenwashing” and other sustainability issues at the show. In “Green Today, Here Tomorrow: The Emotional Currency of Sustainability,” designer Mark Dziersk said, “From Wal-Mart to Detroit to Wall Street, green has come into its own as a sincere piece of the go-to market plan.”

The International Home & Housewares Show concluded this week in Chicago. Check out the next issue of Home Channel News magazine for a full wrap-up and photos from the show.