FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Geoff Geils
Email: ggeils@icestoneusa.com
Telephone: (718) 624-4900
Made-in-USA with Certified Green Difference Offers Solution to Obama’s Challenge for Re-Making America — Creating Jobs at Home, Stimulating the Economy and Saving Energy
Brooklyn, NY, February 17, 2009 – IceStone, the Brooklyn-based maker of green, durable surfaces made from 100% recycled glass in a non-toxic cement base, announced today a new line of colors and textures, the Refined Line –boasting nine new colors with smaller and more refined pieces of glass. The company also added one new color in its Classic Line, making a total of 29 colors in all at IceStone.
Founded five years ago and based in a day-lit factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, IceStone is creating a ‘counter-culture’ of new green, durable surfaces in the US to be used for countertops, bar-tops, commercial desks and surfaces, flooring and many other applications with state-of-the-art technology and certifications for product and processes. At a time when the Obama administration is looking to invest in long term solutions for creating green collar jobs, investing in sustainability and creating green infrastructure, IceStone’s product mix is offering a new direction – counter to conventional thought. The product is designed to replace mined stone counter-tops (such as marble or granite) or engineered stone (such as products made with quartz or other material, in a base of resin or petrochemical mix). This new approach offers architects, designers and home owners the opportunity to buy Made-in-the-USA, truly green (100%recycled content made without toxins or VOCs), from a company that is focusing on sustainability throughout its product line and within its company.
“The Refined Line came about as architects and designers praised the green aspect of our line but some wanted a more uniform look and a design tailored with smaller pieces of glass,” said Miranda Magagnini, Co-CEO. “So while we created new colors like Snow Flurry, Mocha Ice or Manhattan Grey for neutrals, we realized that color – as a statement creator – is catching on from the response we are getting to hues Persimmon, Green Tea and Gelato,” she added.
The company, growing more than 300% over last year, is experiencing the growth seen in the green building industry. CO-CEO Peter Strugatz said, “as the country moves into an era of focusing on real solutions under President Obama – for jobs, for energy, for communities and resources, we see our company as a model for many businesses – using waste to create a high design product, made here in the USA, and in a company that values workers with a view on long term returns.”
IceStone’s growth and expansion comes at a time when experts in government and industry are calling for a recovery and a stimulus plan that will put Americans back to work — in green collar jobs, around energy independence and in building with LEED points. Trends from several independent research studies show growth in the green building segment as follows:
- 75% of commercial real estate executives – developers, building owners, brokers, architects and engineers say the credit crunch will not discourage them from building green. (Green Building Barometer, Turner Construction, 2008)
- 83% said they would be “extremely” or “very” likely to seek LEED certification for buildings they are planning to build within the next three years.
- 70% of homebuyers are more inclined to buy a green home over a conventional home in a down housing market; ( McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2008 SmartMarket Report)
- More than 80% of commercial building owners have allocated funds to green initiatives this year, according to “2008 Green Survey: Existing Buildings,” a survey jointly funded by Incisive Media’s Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
- LEED-certified projects are directly tied to more than $10 billion of green materials, according to a Greener World Media study on green building. That could reach more than $100 billion by 2020, contributing to an industry that could drive an economic recovery.
IceStone is the nation’s leader of green counter-tops and the only durable surface to achieve Gold level Cradle to Cradle certification. Given by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), this certification shows that IceStone’s company and products have passed stringent manufacturing standards that measure toxic ingredients, emissions levels, water and energy usage, renewable investments, on-going data collection systems and recyclability, as well as a code of corporate ethics and labor standards. IceStone is a founding member of B Corporation, which designates the company’s commitment to meeting comprehensive social and environmental standards. Visit www.icestone.biz.
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