The Green Spa Network...The Spa Industry's Response for the Growing Demand for Sustainability

The Green Spa Network...an answer to my prayers?

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Among my favorite things in the world are spas.Let's face it...if spas were heroin, I'm a junkie.

If you've never pampered yourself at a destination spa, or even a day-spa, you really should try it.

I realize it's not in everyone's budget, often not in mine either, but when it's time for a treat, a birthday, a life-changing spiritual experience, (ok, I'm getting carried away), there's no better way to spend your money. It leaves me feeling healthy, refreshed and with a new attitude.

The concern I've always had about spas was with their wastefulness. They use a lot of natural resources and products. The ideal spa would be environmental and conduct fair business practices.

I think we're finally on the right path!

In April of 2007, six eco-spas in North America joined and formed the Green Spa Network, a tax-exempt, not for profit, trade association, dedicated to:

* To bring sustainable operating practices to the spa industry.

* To facilitate education, research and alliances in sustainable business practices.

* To promote the natural connections between personal well being, sustainability and health to our planet.

The spa industry is one of the largest factions of the travel industry with 14,000 facilities, generating 9.7 billion in annual revenues in the United States alone.

The "greening" of spas is long overdue. While there have been a few spas dedicated to sustainablility, this is now, thankfully, becoming a growing trend.

The spa industry typically uses an excess of environmental resources for water-based treatments, laundry services, landscaping, golf courses and pools, making it a major consumer of precious natural resources.

Conservation raises guest awareness, saves the resorts money, protects the environment and creates an overall healthier spa environment. Isn't that what we're here for anyway?

Some great innovative ideas from the Network include it's Green Spa Toolkit designed as a guide to greening a spa's operation, and they also offer a Sustainability Assessment Tool developed specifically for the spa industry.

For anyone interested in visiting a green spa or becoming a green spa, check out the Green Spa Network.