Housewares going for the green

CHICAGO, March 16 (UPI) -- If the International Housewares Association trade show in Chicago is any indication, the nation's consumers are turning green -- and not with envy.

Eco-friendly is the watchword for the annual paean to consumerism, which opened Sunday and runs through Tuesday at McCormick Place. The show is not open to the public.

From packaging to cleaning supplies, green is in, IHA spokeswoman Anita Pedersen said.

"A very big trend," she said in reference to the effort to keep toxic chemicals out of houses and the environment in general. "Design still is driving the bottom line (but the) industry has embraced green."

Numerous speakers are set to key on the green kitchen, recycling and eco-friendly packaging and manufacturing.

Pedersen said as they were unpacking the press packets she noticed one from First Alert and thought, "This isn't new."

"Then I noticed in the corner they had marked the packaging as recyclable. Was it always? I don't know but now they're labeling it. Why? It shows they're green," she said.

As in past years, some 2,000 exhibitors lined up over 13 miles of aisles will be attempting to sell their wares to a record 23,000 buyers -- up 7 percent from last year and 36 percent from 2003. Overall, 60,000 people are registered to attend the show.

The IHA says housewares is a $73 billion industry in the United States and $306.4 billion globally.