Green consciousness is more than just a marketing technique for spa style guru Noel Asmar creating and supporting healthful spa practice is this design entrepreneur’s top priority.
At the top of the list: the luxurious, high-performance, signature stretch-fabric used in her trendsetting Spa Uniforms collections is formaldehyde-free, unlike many cottons, microfibers and synthetic-cotton blends used throughout the apparel industry and elsewhere. It’s a fact that formaldehyde is present in many textiles, says Asmar. This preservative is primarily used to make fabrics wrinkle-resistant and hold a crease. Formaldehyde also waterproofs the fabric, maintains the color-fastness of dyes, and makes fabrics fire-retardant. But none of these conveniences outweighs the fact that formaldehyde has proven to be carcinogenic.
Formaldehyde is ubiquitous, also present in many commercial construction and building supplies, furniture, particle board and plywood, wood paneling, carpets, adhesives and household products. The preservative is also used in many beauty products, and has made international headlines most recently as the most controversial ingredient in so-called Brazilian hair-straightening systems, where toxic fumes from the treatment were linked with the death of a consumer in 2007.
In addition to producing formaldehyde-free fabrications for her professional spa uniforms collections for women and men, Asmar currently is in the process of developing a new green microfiber fabrication which will be made entirely from reclaimed and re-purposed synthetic yarns. There is a long learning curve regarding green consciousness, says Asmar, whose selection of spa uniforms is the largest and most sophisticated in the industry. For example, we frequently receive inquiries as to why we don’t manufacture cotton uniforms, since cotton is aggressively marketed as the natural, earth-friendly fiber. The fact is that growing cotton conventionally requires a tremendous amount of water, as well as pesticides and herbicides which threaten the health of agricultural workers, and contaminate the water-supply. While cotton feels wonderful on the skin, green microfibers have much more to offer in ecologically correct terms.
The NOEL ASMAR brand integrates SPA UNIFORMS, INC. and its sister company SPA COLLECTION DESIGN STUDIOS INC.; the Spa Soles® collection of designer footwear for the spa professional; Asmar’s line of deluxe spa towels and blankets; elegant hand and foot care amenities through Pedicure Bowls.com; and an online directory currently under development, along with several other brand extensions now being planned for launch in 2008.
Launched in 2002, SPA UNIFORMS, INC. and SPA COLLECTION DESIGN STUDIOS, INC. are dedicated to creating excellence in the spa industry through a growing family of products which bring together superb technical performance, function and beauty. SPA UNIFORMS is the preferred supplier for Westin Spas worldwide. Many other exclusive spa venues rely upon SPA UNIFORMS, including 20 deluxe Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton Spa locations, as well as the Bellagio, and the Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian in Las Vegas.
For more information, please visit www.spauniforms.com, or call 1-800-772-1408.
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