Being Green Doesn’t Always Yield Green

Last week’s annual Earth Day ecology fest had companies coming out of the woodwork to boast of their environmental policies and Earth-friendly products. Problem is, customers don’t always

want them.

Just ask Terry Ashton, general manager of the Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort. A few years ago, the Huntington Beach hotel transformed a couple of rooms into “environmental rooms” complete

with water filters, air purifiers, live plants and all-natural toiletries. The rooms are scrubbed only with biodegradable and hypoallergenic cleaning products, but demand for the green

spaces has been underwhelming at best.

“They aren’t as popular as we’d like,” Ashton admitted. “We wanted to appeal to people interested in saving the environment, but it has been disappointing.”

Marla Dickerson covers tourism for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5670 and at [email protected].