The 65 finalists are set for the 2009 Housewares Design Awards. In addition, the winners were selected for the Housewares Design Awards first annual "Green House" honors.

The finalists (five in each category) were selected from a field of more than 300 entries representing 13 awards categories: Cookware & Bakeware; Kitchenware & Barware; Kitchen Hand Tools, Cutlery; Food Preparation Electrics; Cooking Electrics; Personal Care, Health Care and Garment Care Electrics; Home Environment Electrics; Floor Care Electrics; Home Organization, Laundry Care & Non-Electric Cleaning Products; Furniture; Lighting & Home Décor & Outdoor Living; and Tabletop.

“Best in Category” winners for each of the 13 awards categories will be announced during a special Housewares Design Awards presentation ceremony and luncheon. In addition, for the second year, a trio of “Best of the Best” winners— gold, silver and bronze awards— will be selected from the 13 “Best in Category” honorees.

The sixth annual Housewares Deisgn Awards ceremony also will mark the presentation of the first annual “Green House” Awards for eco-responsive housewares design (see box).

The 2009 Housewares Design Awards luncheon and ceremony is set for January 20, 2009, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., inside the Marriott New York Marquis overlooking New York City’s Times Square. Each of the finalist designs and the three “Green House” winners will be on display during the Housewares Design Awards luncheon, to be attended by leading retailers, housewares industry executives and consumer media.

The Housewares Design Awards is presented by HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® with the educational support of the International Housewares Association (IHA). DuPont’s Teflon Housewares Group sponsors the 2009 Housewares Design awards.

A panel of design and merchandising experts assembled by the IHA convened in mid-November to judge the entries and select finalists, “Best In Category, “Best of the Best” and “Green House” winners.

The IHA oversaw the design awards entry submission process and assembled an awards selection committee composed of product designers, merchandisers and other industry design experts. Members of the selection committee assembled by IHA were excused from judging submissions for which that had any affiliation.

Housewares Design Awards nominees were chosen based on design believed to differentiate a product with unique appearance and/or function. The judges considered appropriate aesthetics, innovative materials and technology, user benefits (i.e., performance, comfort, ease of use, safety) and market response.

“Green House” winners were judged from the overall pool of entries and were not required to have been among the 65 “Best in Category” finalists.

Products judged had to have been introduced to the market between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008, and available for purchase by consumers by October 1, 2008. No prototypes were accepted.

Details on the 2009 Housewares Design Awards are available at housewaresdesignawards.com. For information on attending the awards luncheon, contact Judy Colitz at 847-692-0126 or e-mail jcolitz@housewaresdesignawards.org.

"Green House" Awards Winners Selected

A trio of products will receive the first annual “Green House” Awards for eco-responsive housewares design at the 2009 Housewares Design Awards ceremony and luncheon, January 20 at New York City’s Marriott Marquis.

The first-ever “Green House” honorees are Cuisinart’s CleanWater Countertop Filtration System; NatureMill’s NatureMillPro and Recyline’s Preserve Kitchenware.

Recycline’s Preserve kitchenware by Evo Design is made from 100% recycled plastic and is 100% recyclable without disassembly. The USA-made collection includes colanders, cutting boards, mixing bowls and food storage containers.

Cuisinart’s CleanWater Countertop Filtration System reduces contaminants such as chlorine, mercury and copper. Each NSF-certified filter has an average life of 80 gallons, which will last three to four months on average for household use, according to the company. Featuring 2-gallon capacity, the unit has two spigots for dispensing hot, cold or room-temperature filtered water.

The NatureMillPRO is a fully automatic, indoor home composter. The unit is said to be energy-efficient (costing just 50 cents a month to operate) and it is made from recycled and recyclable materials. It is 100% recyclable itself.

The Green House winners were selected by the 2009 Housewares Design Awards judging panel from more than 300 entries in this year’s annual design competition.

The Green House winners will be on display in a special exhibit of 2009 Housewares Design Awards finalists during this year’s awards ceremony and luncheon.