HOUSTON, Miss. — A new leather program debuting this October High Point Market at upholstery manufacturer Franklin Corp. combines an earth-friendly story, aggressive pricing and Brazilian cut-and-sew for domestic production to achieve shorter lead times with no tariffs.
“Renevarre,” which translates from Italian into English as “Renew,” will launch with four leathers ranging from natural grains with two-tones to oily/waxy articles with slight pull-up that are very natural looking. The leathers will be available initially on four motion frames, five stationary, four recliners and lifts as well as accents.
Two to four colors per style will offer the dealer flexibility and the consumer special order options. Cut-and-sew will be performed in Brazil to supply domestic production in Mississippi in order to enhance lead times relative to Asian sourcing.
The leathers come from one of three tanneries carrying “Blue Angel” certification. Blue Angel is a German environmental label awarded since 1978 by a coalition of environment and consumer protection groups, industry, unions, trade, media and churches. It covers some 10,000 products across around 80 product categories.
“Blue Angel sets very high standards for environmentally friendly product design and has proven itself over the past 40 years as a reliable guide for a more sustainable consumption,” said Peyton Passons, vice president of sales and marketing at Franklin, who added that of the three certified tanneries, only one serves the residential upholstery market.
“It is an Italian leather producer, and we have partnered with them to curate our new leather program, Renevarre. This leather is Blue Angel certified, but we elected to create and market our own brand, Renevarre, since Blue Angel is not known in the U.S.”
He noted that leather production can create massive amounts of waste and pollution in the forms of contaminated water, dangerous levels of chemicals and loss of renewable energy.
“Renevarre certifies the life cycle of the product from the use of the raw materials, through production, use and disposal,” Passons said. “Air quality is improved. Water and fuel usage is greatly reduced. Sustainability is enhanced by transforming all waste into fertilizers to be used in agriculture.
“Strict guidelines are in place to exclude the use of toxic substances like Chromium VI in the manufacturing process.”
Passons cited research that showed 98% of consumers are concerned about environment issues, and 92% are very interested in purchasing environmentally safe home furnishings if style and cost considerations were comparable.
“With Renevarre, we are giving the customer what they want: great comfortable product made in the U.S. that is environmentally friendly and doesn’t break their budgets,” Passons said. “These price points are more aggressive than what we have had in the recent past in leather.”
Stationary sofas will retail from $999 to $1,399, and stationary sectionals from $2,499 to $2,999. In motion, sofas will run from $1,199 to $1,399, while recliners and lift chairs will range from $599 to $1,099.
Franklin, which shows at High Point Market in Furniture Plaza 200, aims to begin shipping Renevarre in January.
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