Dafne Berlanga, vice president of international business development of Oakworks
How important is it for the spa industry to be sustainable? Vitally important. There should be no separation between personal wellbeing and sustaining the health of the planet. Our individual wellness is directly dependent on our access to a healthy environment.
As a company, you place heavy emphasis on sustainability – could you tell us about that? Jeff and Linda Riach, the founders of Oakworks, have always been committed to sustainability. Since 1978, before it became a global trend, Oakworks took a step-by-step approach to ensure a high level of protection of the environment. Jeff hand-crafted our first portable table with regionally-sourced materials.
Today, we manufacture all tables and trolleys at our headquarters in Pennsylvania, which is an ISO 13485 certified medical facility. Materials are locally sourced when possible and are non-toxic – we use PVC-free fabric and water-based sealers and lacquers. We also partner with companies such as 3form, which provides recycled and responsibly-sourced materials.
Since January 2008, we’ve also been donating to Trees for the Future, a non-profit organisation. In 2017, we planted our millionth tree through the initiative.
Do you see being sustainable as a way of standing out in a competitive market? Any efforts to stop global warming and to reduce carbon footprints will be an advantage when talking to wellness customers. While sustainable practices do add a cost to products, true wellness practitioners understand that the best experience comes from a holistic approach. It is counter-intuitive to provide a wellness session where a customer breathes in toxic fumes from foams that have not been regulated on a table built with wood that hasn’t been responsibly processed.
Do you think the wellness sector places enough emphasis on sustainability? There isn’t enough emphasis yet to the urgency of regenerative practices and their impact on health and wellness. The challenges are both philosophical and practical, where perceived costs and the reluctance to take more “robust” risks prevent companies from adopting sustainable practices.
The good news is that we will be hearing more and more about these programmes in the near future. The Global Wellness Institute, through its Sustainability Initiative, is already planting the seeds.
KEYWORD: Oakworks
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Promotional feature: Oakworks
Dafne Berlanga, vice president of international business
development of Oakworks, discusses the importance of sustainability
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Dafne Berlanga, vice president of international business development of Oakworks
How important is it for the spa industry to be sustainable? Vitally important. There should be no separation between personal wellbeing and sustaining the health of the planet. Our individual wellness is directly dependent on our access to a healthy environment.
As a company, you place heavy emphasis on sustainability – could you tell us about that? Jeff and Linda Riach, the founders of Oakworks, have always been committed to sustainability. Since 1978, before it became a global trend, Oakworks took a step-by-step approach to ensure a high level of protection of the environment. Jeff hand-crafted our first portable table with regionally-sourced materials.
Today, we manufacture all tables and trolleys at our headquarters in Pennsylvania, which is an ISO 13485 certified medical facility. Materials are locally sourced when possible and are non-toxic – we use PVC-free fabric and water-based sealers and lacquers. We also partner with companies such as 3form, which provides recycled and responsibly-sourced materials.
Since January 2008, we’ve also been donating to Trees for the Future, a non-profit organisation. In 2017, we planted our millionth tree through the initiative.
Do you see being sustainable as a way of standing out in a competitive market? Any efforts to stop global warming and to reduce carbon footprints will be an advantage when talking to wellness customers. While sustainable practices do add a cost to products, true wellness practitioners understand that the best experience comes from a holistic approach. It is counter-intuitive to provide a wellness session where a customer breathes in toxic fumes from foams that have not been regulated on a table built with wood that hasn’t been responsibly processed.
Do you think the wellness sector places enough emphasis on sustainability? There isn’t enough emphasis yet to the urgency of regenerative practices and their impact on health and wellness. The challenges are both philosophical and practical, where perceived costs and the reluctance to take more “robust” risks prevent companies from adopting sustainable practices.
The good news is that we will be hearing more and more about these programmes in the near future. The Global Wellness Institute, through its Sustainability Initiative, is already planting the seeds.
KEYWORD: Oakworks
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Promotional feature: Oakworks
Dafne Berlanga, vice president of international business
development of Oakworks, discusses the importance of sustainability
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
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