EAST SETAUKET, N.Y. – Celebrating the practical beauty of eco-friendly design for the things we use every day, the Housewares Design Awards announces the winners of their annual “Green House” Design Award competition. 

The “Green House” honorees – Batten Industries, Electrolux and NextLife – were chosen for their new product innovation in meeting the needs of today’s eco-conscious consumer with smart new eco-friendly design.

“’Green’ is becoming one of the most important factors in housewares product design, adding a new dimension beyond beauty and function.  Environmental consciousness is inspiring a new era of creativity in product innovation,” said Peter Giannetti, Editor-in-Chief of HomeWorld Business. 

The Housewares Design Awards are presented by HomeWorld Business with educational support from the International Housewares Association and sponsorship by DuPont Teflon Housewares and the New York International Gift Fair. 

The “Green House” Design Award is part of the prestigious Housewares Design Awards Program, now in its seventh year as the premier design award focused on the housewares industry. The “Green House” winners were chosen from hundred of entries vying for recognition as the best designed products of the year.

Batten Industries Nellie’s PVC-Free Dryerballs
Nellie's second generation Dryerballs are now PVC free. Unlike previous versions that were made from PVC, this new TPR material is not harmful to factory workers during processing and is readily recyclable. PVC-free dryerballs eliminate the need for chemical fabric softeners and dryer sheets while reducing drying time 15-25 percent, thus saving energy. Optional fragrance sticks are available and come in four varieties. Fragrance sticks are made from 100 percent essential oils.

Electrolux UltraSilencer Green
A cleaner environment starts at home.  With greener innovation in mind, the Electrolux global design team created UltraSilencer Green, an environmentally friendlier vacuum cleaner designed to help consumers clean greener without sacrificing performance.  Unlike other “green” cleaners, Electrolux built a vacuum that embraces recycling, re-using and reducing.  Designers started by building UltraSilencer Green with 55 percent recycled plastic, mostly from shredded cars and building a sleek canister vacuum with high-performance and power.  Energy-efficient, and compatible with the Electrolux design palette, UltraSilencer Green uses nine amps of power at a reduced noise level for a cleaner, greener home environment.

NextLife RainStore
The “Green Team” at NextLife has completely reengineered the pedestrian “rain barrel” from the bottom up to maximize rainwater collection and reuse, while minimizing wasteful environmental behavior. Like every NextLife-branded product, the “RainStore” has been scientifically proven to carry a lower carbon footprint than comparable products through the incorporation of sustainable manufacturing, packaging and transportation practices.  While the design, including a self-watering planter on top sets a new standard for a category, which was historically driven by function. No one said “eco” has to be ugly! And just for good measure, NextLife went an eco-step further by incorporating at least 40 percent high-quality, post-consumer recycled plastic into every “RainStore;” thereby, alleviating the stress on our overburdened landfills as well as our shrinking supply of fresh water.

Products judged were introduced to the United States market between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.

The three Green House Award winners, along with all Housewares Design Awards winners, will be honored at a ceremony and luncheon February 3, 2010 at the Marriott New York Marquis overlooking New York’s Times Square. For more information on the entire program and the “Green House” Design Award winners, visit www.housewaresdesignawards.com.