brooklyn new york u.s. 2003 2003 website http www.icestoneusa.com icestone llc is a brooklyn new york manufacturer of durable surfaces composed of recycled glass and cement . icestone s eponymous surface is marketed as a sustainable alternative to conventional stone surfaces and is typically fabricated into countertops backsplashes and bathroom vanities . icestone is one of twenty companies in the world and the only durable surface manufacturer to hold a cradle to cradle gold certification . the surface is currently on display at the cooper hewitt national design museum s 2010 triennial exhibition . 1 2 3 contents 1 history 1.1 foundation 1.2 growth 2 sustainability 2.1 product 2.2 facility & employees 3 criticism 4 references 5 external links 6 see also history edit foundation edit icestone llc was founded in 2003 by brooklyn entrepreneurs miranda magagnini and peter strugatz who discovered a struggling company that had developed a terrazzo style material made of recycled glass and cement but had never brought it to market . after securing the rights to the company at a public auction they dubbed the new enterprise icestone for the glossy appearance of the surface and began renovating a 55 000 square foot 5 100 m2 factory in the brooklyn navy yard . 4 with capital from angel investors such as ben cohen from ben & jerry s activist dal lamagna and greg steltenpohl from odwalla strugatz and magagnini developed the product filed for a patent on the manufacturing process and began branding icestone for commercial distribution . 4 growth edit the first test batches of icestone were initially prone to cracking due to product development challenges . however the company quickly refined their formulas to eliminate these problems established a color palette of eighteen colors and began marketing the slabs to local showrooms . by late 2003 icestone had been specified for several projects in the new york area benefiting from increasing demand for green building projects in the u.s. led by government incentives . 5 a combination of press from its first projects and increased demand enabled the company to expand its operations to achieve nationwide distribution a broader color palette currently 29 colors and a larger workforce . in 2006 icestone was named one of inc. magazine s green 50 companies and in october 2007 icestone was featured on the pbs show this old house . 6 7 icestone s refined collection of colors received a 2009 best of year merit award from interior design magazine and a 2010 bloom award for innovative materials from asid and interiors & sources magazine . 8 9 icestone has developed its customer base to include starbucks nasa the ritz carlton whole foods and amazon . icestone was specified for the bank of america tower in midtown manhattan which was completed in 2009 . 10 the gates foundation also specified icestone for its new seattle headquarters to open in 2011 . 11 sustainability edit product edit depending on the color icestone is 68 % 75 % recycled glass 15 20 % white portland cement and small percentages of pigments and proprietary ingredients . 4 the glass used is 100 % recycled . 10 the surface contains no petrochemicals resins or vocs ; icestone s marketing material distinguishes its product from engineered stone countertops like quartz surfaces which are typically made with synthetic resins . 12 according to the care & maintenance guidelines on icestone s website the surface is semi porous due to its cement content and requires regular application of a penetrating sealer . 13 facility & employees edit icestone operates out of a day lit 55 000 square foot 5 100 m2 facility in the brooklyn navy yard . the company maintains a low heat manufacturing process with a greywater recycling system that reclaims approximately 90 % of the water used . 10 it also uses soy based lubricants for its machines to reduce dependence on petroleum . 3 icestone promotes itself as a triple bottom line company and is described as such by curator matilda mcquaid of the cooper hewitt design museum . she writes besides health benefits and living wages workers receive immigration assistance and life skill training programs . monthly town meetings further enhance the culture of inclusion . 3 icestone is also a founding member of the certified b corporations . criticism edit icestone has received some minor criticism over its maintenance guidelines which recommend that the surface be resealed twice a year and waxed three times a year to avoid etches and stains . 13 new york house magazine gave icestone an honorable mention in recycled content and design for its 2010 innovative green design awards but the award description suggests that icestone s required maintenance is too frequent . 14 icestone maintains that it requires no more care than natural stone surfaces . references edit salant katherine . new environmentally friendly countertop materials add green to your kitchen . the washington post . 9 january 2010 . pg . 2 . 1 cradle to cradle certification . mcdonough braungart design chemistry . web . retrieved 13 july 2010 . 2 a b c mcquaid matilda . why design now new york cooper hewitt national design museum may 2010 . pg . 13 . 3 a b c tucker molly farrell . becoming the world s coolest recycler . in business . sept. oct. 2006 vol . 28 no. 5 pg . 14 . web version christie les . green building goes big . cnnmoney.com . 1 june 2006 . web . retrieved 21 july 2010 . 4 the green 50 . inc. magazine . 1 nov. 2006 . pg 93 . web version underwood anne . project green this ecofriendly house . newsweek . oct. 11 2007 . 5 best of year merit awards eco products . interior design . 1 dec. 2009 . web . retrieved 15 july 2010 . 6 refined collection by icestone . interiors & sources . may 2010 . web . retrieved 14 july 2010 . 7 a b c fletcher derek . in brooklyn following broken glass to sustainable profit . apollo news service . 15 march 2009 . 8 auerbach sarah . green dreams eco friendly countertops . harvard business school alumni bulletin . june 2010 . pg . 12 web version davies jennifer . green living remodeling supplies . the san diego union tribune . 9 january 2010 . 9 a b care & maintenance guidelines . icestone . web . retrieved 21 july 2010 . 10 herendeen emily . honorable mentions . new york house magazine . june 2010 . pg . 22 . web version external links edit icestone official website mbdc cradle to cradle certification a flooded manufacturer rebounds after hurricane sandy april 12 2013 businessweek images of rebuilding after hurricane sandy see also edit recycled glass countertops vetrazzo retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title icestone & oldid 726520969 categories sustainable buildingbuilding materials companies of the united statescompanies based in new york city navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 22 june 2016 at 18 27 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view