Hungry for the green

If you're like us, you've probably noticed a "green" tint on the NRA Show floor this year. But it's not the lighting — it's the enormous number of exhibitors stepping up to meet a voracious appetite for eco-friendly and sustainable products and practices.

With 62 percent of consumers saying they would choose a restaurant based on its environmental friendliness, companies like Green Earth Products are helping operators capitalize on that. Green Earth provides the chains who use its eco-friendly cleaners and degreasers with stickers for their establishments.

Tim Field, of Lloyd Industries is happy to see the increased interest. After focusing on lean and low-impact manufacturing for the company's cookware for some time, Lloyd Industries is seeing increasing dividends. "We've been trying to be environmentally friendly for the people in our area, and it's nice now that you can market it. Restaurants and large resorts are being challenged to see what they can do to be environmentally sensitive." The Spokane, Wash., company uses renewable resources and waste-reducing manufacturing processes to produce pans with water-based non-stick coatings free of pollutants and contaminants.

While you're here at the NRA Show, trying drinking your beverage into a recycled paper cup, take a sip through a bio-degradable drinking straw, pick out earth-friendly new uniforms or take in one of the "green" education sessions.