(PARSIPPANY, NJ) -- How 'green' can the workplace get?  How far should business go towards 'saving the planet'?  For one answer, check out Wyndham.

Jeff Wagoner

Bellboys, desk clerks, concierge captains, maids and backroom support staff at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts worldwide today are all wearing plastic-made suits.

Wyndham president Jeff Wagoner says the company is "the first national upscale lodging chain to implement the eco-friendly uniform initiative."

For its effort, Lodging Hospitality magazine has presented Wyndham with a Chain Leadership Award, which honors the best in innovation, creativity and business-building  in the U.S. hotel industry.

Wyndham Green Uniform - Blue Suit

Cincinnati, OH-based Cintas Corp. designed and manufactured the eco-friendly uniform initiative. The ultra-soft fabric contains polyester fibers spun from post-consumer products such as recycled plastic beverage bottles.

"By using recycled materials, the hotel chain helps to keep plastics out of landfills," says Wagoner.

Explains Faith Taylor, Wyndham Worldwide vice president of sustainability and innovation:  "These trendy garments can be modified and mixed and matched for a more personal, fashionable suit that is cost-effective and extremely comfortable."

The new Wyndham uniforms come in blue and brown colors. "Sustainability has morphed from a 'nice have to a must have,'" adds Taylor.

Wyndham Green Uniform - Brown Suit

She says the garments do not require professional laundering, "minimize the use of chemicals during cleaning and provide a cost savings to hotel operators."

Wagoner says that besides its ecologically-friendly  uniforms, the Wyndham chain's 'green' initiatives include installation of energy-efficient compact fluorescent lighting; low-flow water practices; an Earth Smart guest linen reuse program and numerous other recycling efforts.

In another major innovation, the Parsippany, NJ-based hotel company launched the Wyndham ClearAir initiative last year. Wagoner says that effort made Wyndham "the first national upscale lodging chain to feature allergy-friendly rooms."

Following a system created by New York-based PURE Solutions NA, Wyndham ClearAir rooms are "designed to improve air quality following a multi-step cleaning process to remove up to 98 percent of allergens," adds Wagoner.  

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