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August 10, 2009 -
Anatomic Global said today
that Tempur-Pedic CEO Rick
Anderson’s resignation as
chairman of the International
Sleep Products Association
(ISPA) shows “a chink in the
armor” of the company’s recent
lawsuit, and that the suit is
backfiring against the retailer
in the “court of public
opinion.”
“The industry has spoken loudly
and clearly in saying we have
had enough of Temper-Pedic’s
antics, and as a result, the
pressure for Anderson to remain
ISPA chairman was too great. He
saw he couldn’t lead the
industry because over the last
several weeks the court of
public opinion in the mattress
industry found the company
‘guilty’ and said enough is
enough,” said Anatomic CEO David
Farley.
He said that over the last
several weeks between numerous
blogs posts on trade publication
websites and three ISPA member
companies resigning their
support of the organization
--two of whom were large
supporters—that the industry was
finally beginning to coalesce
against Temper-Pedic and its
ill-founded “market clearing”
effort.
But Farley cautioned that even
though Anderson’s removal as
chairman was a step in the right
direction, it was still
unconscionable to keep him on
the ISPA board and even to allow
Temper-Pedic to remain a member
of the organization when they
were in violation of at least
three points in the group’s
ethics code.
“If you have an ethics code you
have to enforce it. Allowing
Anderson to have a voice in
industry decisions and the
company to still benefit from
industry programs and services
when it is considered a rogue,
still shows a tremendous lack of
leadership within ISPA,” said
Farley.
“I would strongly urge the
incoming chairman to look into
this matter and the enforcement
of the ethics code in general,
as a first priority of his new
administration. Until that is
done, we will not be reinstating
our membership,” he added.
“Rectifying this breach will
still require Tempur-Pedic
leaving ISPA or the withdrawal
of their lawsuit.”
Anatomic Global maintains that
ISPA officers and staffers have
violated three main points of
the organization’s Code of
Ethics:
-
Point
Two of the Code says that
member companies will
cooperate in every
reasonable and lawful manner
with the other members of
our industry for the
betterment of the mattress
industry;
-
Point
Three maintains that member
companies won’t do anything
that might cause the
industry adverse notoriety
or bring it into disrepute;
and
-
Point
Five says that member
companies will compete with
other mattress manufacturers
on an honorable and fair
basis.
Founded in 1989, Anatomic
Global, Inc. sets itself apart
by raising the bar on the
manufacture and supply of
“proudly made in the USA”
environmentally-friendly
mattresses and bedding. The
company upholds a 360-degree
green manufacturing commitment
in three ways – by developing
applications for its innovative
and sustainable plant-based
formulas; by leading the
industry with its zero-air
emissions manufacturing process;
and by applying the most
efficient direct-to-store and
consumer-direct delivery methods
for a reduced carbon footprint.
In 2008, the company launched
the Ecomfort Mattress brand of
mattresses featuring its
signature, patented
EcoMemoryFoam™ extreme open-cell
plant-based memory foam.
For more information, visit
www.ecomfortmattress.com. |
