Porto Joins the Sustainable Furniture Council

Raleigh, NC, July 21, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Porto, a fine home furnishings and accessories store with locations in Raleigh’s North Hills and Chapel Hill’s Eastgate Shopping Center, has become a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC) and the only furniture store in the state to be accredited by the organization thus far.

According to SFC founder Gary Cooklin, CEO of South Cone Furniture in California, the Council has two objectives: “to assist manufacturers in adopting sustainable practices” in alliance with the harvesting standards established by the Forest Stewardship Council, and “to promote sustainable products.”

Porto has been a South Cone retailer since the store opened in North Hills two years ago, when owners Emily Barrett and Michael Perry made it a standard business practice to carry only those manufacturers who practice environmental stewardship. They welcomed the opportunity to join SFC so they can educate their customers about the value of sustainable home furnishings. To that end, the partners are planning an educational section for the Chapel Hill location where customers will learn about South Cone, the SFC, and the Rainforest Alliance, which works with organizations of all sizes to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a steadily expanding global marketplace for sustainability (www.ra.org).

Porto offers South Cone’s living room, dining room, bedroom and accent furnishings, both in the showrooms and via access to all of the company’s complete collection of handcrafted furniture.

For more information on Porto, visit http://www.portohome.com or call 919-341- 2763. For more information on South Cone or the SFC, visit http://www.southcone.com.

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