Interest in NewGrass Skyrocketing, Expected to Continue
May 9, 2010
From California to New York, interest in NewGrass artificial lawn has grown dramatically – a trend the synthetic grass leader expects will continue, especially with spring here and summer just around the corner.
The heightened interest is even more significant because NewGrass has not relied on promotions or special marketing in the past few months that would artificially have increased the number of requests for information, said NewGrass President Greg Goehner.
“So we assume the heightened interest we’re seeing is more organic to what we offer, more tied to the mission we’ve been following for four years now,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner.
NewGrass continues to be the alternative to natural turf grass for homeowners and others who believe that being eco-wise and environmentally conscious are as important as having more green grass to enjoy year-round.
“The number of emails and phone calls we’ve received from people first visiting our Website is up more than 300 percent in the last month and the first quarter of this year was up 80 percent over a year ago,” said Goehner, adding that the company has never seen that kind of increase.
He added that the interest is coming from homeowners nationwide. But as is common in the fake grass industry, most of the interest is from homeowners in California and the Southwest, parts of the Western U.S., and in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Goehner also said that the heightened interest in NewGrass comes as the company is expanding its distributor network and states nationwide continue to enforce or expand water restrictions to conserve the precious commodity and deal with ongoing drought conditions.
No CommentsWhat’s More Green, NewGrass or Turf Grass?
March 29, 2010
If you think natural sod grass is greener than artificial grass, you ought to think again. If being green means being environmentally conscious while saving and protecting natural resources, NewGrass synthetic lawn gets the green vote.
Think about the amount of water a turf grass requires. Traditional turf lawns such as Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and Bermuda grass drink up as much as 60% of a homeowner’s water consumption. NewGrass and other fake grasses require no water. That’s a major consideration everywhere today, but particularly in so many of the areas, like California, facing ongoing drought conditions.
Then think about the gasoline used to fuel a power mower (whether you do it or pay a yard service), not only costing you money but devouring a non-renewable resource and spewing carbon gas emissions into the air. Even if you use an electric mower, well, you’re using electricity usually generated by coal or nuclear fuel. You never need to mow a NewGrass lawn.
What about keeping your lawn free of weeds and insects? Keeping a lawn well-maintained usually means applying synthetic fertilizers, poisons and other chemicals green. These don’t stay on the lawn, but often find their way into the storm water runoff. A properly installed NewGrass artificial grass requires no insecticides or herbicides.
Even the U.S. Green Building Council thinks synthetic lawns like NewGrass are greener than turf grass. The Council includes artificial grass in its suggestions for landscaping alternatives that can help a building project meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which qualifies builders and cities for tax credits.
The bottom line, financially speaking: A NewGrass synthetic lawn installed in Southern California, for example, can be expected to show a return on investment in less that 4½ years, based with data from actual customers, according to Greg Goehner, NewGrass president.
One NewGrass family in the Los Angeles area broke down their annual expenses for maintaining their old 600-square-foot turf lawn like this:
Watering ($.009 per gallon, estimating 50 gallons per square foot annually): $270
Gardner ($145 per month total yard; $40 allocated to backyard): $480
Fertilizer ($6 per month average): $72
Weed killer ($4 per month average): $48
Bug killer ($6 per month average): $72
Irrigation repair/ parts ($3 per month): $36
Tearout and resodding ($1.25 per square foot, or $750 every two years): $375
Total Sod Lawn Maintenance Cost per Year: $1,353
Total Cost of Maintaining Sod Grass over 4.5 Years: $6,088
The environmental return on investment is meanwhile measured by the amount of water it saves, by the synthetic fertilizers and insecticides it prevents from entering local water systems, and the carbon emissions eliminated when gas-powered lawn equipment isn’t used.
