Natural Ire

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Schwartzkopf

It’s even a fighting word for some. So, I’ll have to don the gloves and go a few rounds here, because sustainability is the theme of this month’s Stone Business.

No, it’s not the whole issue, although you’ll see the concept pop up throughout. That includes the Fabricator Focus, where this month’s shop – which works mainly with stone – is branching out and even inventing new countertop surfaces, including one incorporating recycled walnut shells.

You don’t have to ask the obvious question; I will. Hey, are we nuts?

No, we haven’t gone loopy over the parade of materials getting an eco-friendly stamp of approval. Although it’ll make some of you see red, we’re talking green because it’s finding its niche in our market.

Over the years, I’ve heard plenty from folks in the stone trade about the green movement. For some, it’s just a fad. Others wonder how quarried stone – about as natural a material you can use – gets such low marks in sustainability tests. A few smell a set-up by competing forces charming their way into the green crowd by taking snarky pot-shots at granite, marble and other natural materials.

Backers of sustainability often see these arguments as a lot of hot air from disgruntled businesses. And that’s a bit of green arrogance; all of the points may not be gospel truth, but they have some merit.

Granite, in particular, does get kicked around as cold and colorless, as if every countertop is Uba Tuba, Baltic Brown or Santa Cecelia. Arguments decrying stone’s carbon footprint often provide hand-standing logic to dress up other surfaces. And green’s impact with the general population may be vastly overrated, or the misidentification of thrifty habits in post-recession spending. (Those of us seeing CLF light bulbs burning out faster than those “wasteful” incandescents don’t see the savings in natural resources or our wallets.)

However, there’s one set of opinions that really matters. A growing band of customers is searching for environmentally responsible products, including materials for countertops. And, they tend to be higher-income consumers looking to renovate current properties – the small-but-serious first wave in the recovery of the construction trade.

That’s where the stone trade comes into play. Some of you can survive just fine by sticking solely with stone and an almost-recession-proof clientele. The vast majority of fabricators and installers, however, need to roll with that first wave of customers, and don’t want to see them head down the street to greener showrooms.

In the past couple of years, stone shops rooted out those sample boards of – to toss another fuel-laden word out there – quartz surfaces from back storerooms and desk drawers to give customers fewer reasons to go elsewhere. Don’t be surprised to see all sorts of recycled, reconstituted and self-proclaimed renewable materials join those displays in the years ahead.

It’s important, though, to keep stone in plain view as a product with some sustainable credentials, namely its natural origins and a lifecycle that stretches longer than any other material in the market. The Natural Stone Council continues to lead this effort, particularly in the commercial market, and it’s making inroads that need the industry’s support.

The stone trade needs to be vigilant on the consumer side as well. While it’s asking too much to track down every article, blog post and Website offering varying levels of informed advice on sustainable goods for countertops and other hard-surface residential areas, it’s imperative to keep current on major sources your potential customers may consult.

One of the biggest in the future may well be the Green Home Guide, now in “beta” status, from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) at greenhomeguide.com. The USGBC, as the developer of the LEED® guidelines on sustainable commercial/public buildings, will likely be seen as an important starting point for consumer education – especially as it develops LEED standards for residential construction.

At least one article – “Choose the Best Countertop Material for Your Home and the Environment” – is sure to raise some eyebrows, if not a few hackles, with these statements in its stone section:

• “Stone is a natural material, but is not renewable or recyclable; it can only be downcycled into smaller slabs for other applications.”

• “Placing very hot materials on stone counters may damage the sealer used to increase water- and stain-resistance. Without being sealed, stone can easily be stained, especially by oils, and can be susceptible to bacteria if the type of stone is porous.”

To be fair, there are other wide-swath comments on other materials, although few make the howler of the limited “smaller slabs” recycling status or the tired old saw on how all stone needs to be sealed. (Although, for stone purists, there’s one bright spot; Quartz surfaces make no appearance here, although the material’s mentioned elsewhere on the Website.)

The point here is that stone’s going to get these sloppy shoves, and its our job – and that’s all of us, whether we’re all in for green or not – to keep people honest. You may not like hearing the s-word, but there’s no reason to allow some shaky uses of it to trump your main product.

Finally, don’t blame me if those recycled-shell surfaces take off in the market, because I’m not providing any raw materials. I hate walnuts.

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Emerson Schwartzkopf can be reached at emerson@stonebusiness.net. You can read his blog at Stone Business Online and stonebusinesseditor.wordpress.com. And don’t forget to keep up with Stone Business on Twitter and Facebook.

© 2010 Western Business Media

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