Regular readers of KBzine may recall me mentioning that a recent issue was produced while John and I were attending a cleaning & hygiene exhibition at the Amsterdam Rai. It’s an enormous show, with almost 800 exhibitors taking up several halls’ worth of space – and although (as happens at these shows) we only got around to visiting a small percentage of them, it soon became obvious that the swing towards having sustainability as a key factor in the design and manufacture of new products is akin to the swing we’re seeing towards UKIP in the election results being announced as I write…

It started off as a trickle a few years back, the trickle slowly became a stream and the stream has now become a real surge!

Learning last week that the Bathroom Manufacturers Association has secured the services of Dick Strawbridge MBE for the forthcoming Bathroom and Kitchen Business Conference (Tuesday 7 October), shows that this industry too, is taking seriously the need to embrace sustainability. If you’re familiar with Dick from his popular BBC2 series on sustainable living and eco-technology – ‘It's not easy being green’, you’ll know we’re going to be in for a treat.

Sustainability expert Dick, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and man of many interests, is an energetic and versatile presenter and motivational speaker, who is not afraid to speak his mind and tell things as they are. He will be telling us how he sees the current bathroom and kitchen industry, its products, their sustainability and the way they are marketed (and should be marketed) to both professionals and the consumer.  

Says the BMA’s chief executive Yvonne Orgill: “This year’s conference is, once again, stretching boundaries and looking for fresh ideas and inspiration from people who are not usually connected with our industry. Today’s consumer is becoming more aware of sustainability issues and the bathroom and kitchen industry has to respond to this with more attractive and engaging marketing and sales communications.”

Yvonne tells us that the conference speakers will concentrate on the theme: ‘Marketing the future’, to encourage delegates from both the bathroom and kitchen industry to look beyond their office desks and outside their normal comfort zones. “Fresh and youthful thinking will dominate,” she promises. “New ideas and stretching boundaries will be pinned firmly to the agenda.”

We should be in for a good one…

If you want to learn more about the conference, visit: www.bathroom-association.org

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs