NewGrass is proving that in addition to being highly adaptable for various landscaping needs, it is also very fashionable.

NewGrass artificial grass will border the runway of the upcoming Thread Show, a major two-day fashion and design show in San Diego that is taking a turn toward being green, even including an “Eco/Green/Good” section for exhibitors.

“As the leading supplier of quality synthetic lawn in Southern California, which we all know has been hard-hit by drought and faces serious water restrictions, we’re excited to be a part of Thread,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner. “NewGrass is truly a green product, is recyclable and we donate to the Carbon Fund.”

Thread will be at the San Diego Wonderhaus Dec. 5-6. NewGrass will “definitely be a centerpiece of the show,” said Carlye Wund, a green events planner in her first year with Elle Communications, which promotes and helps stage the Thread show. NewGrass synthetic lawn will be used at least to border the fashion show’s runway and may in fact be used for the runway itself, and possibly for an entrance area to the show, Wund said.

“There’s such a negative perception of ‘being green’ in design and fashion, and we’re trying to break down that perception and show that green can be fashionable, it can be organic,” Wund said. NewGrass is also is 100% polyethylene (no nylon), lead safe and recyclable.

Wund is an events planner who encourages, plans and designs events to embody green concepts - reducing waste, promoting re-use and reducing the carbon footprint, for all kinds of events, from weddings to bar mitzvahs, and now, fashion and design shows. In addition to looking natural and lush with next to no maintenance, and not requiring watering, NewGrass can be easily removed and stored for later use.

Although NewGrass is new on the fashion circuit, it has a history of being a safe, removable and long-lived set application for designers and photographers. Professional photographers and stylists including those for Neiman Marcus and JC Penney have chosen NewGrass artificial lawn as an easy-to-use, no muss, no fuss, natural-looking outdoor setting in the studio year-round.

NewGrass was also the perfect solution for a unique landscape challenge for the TBS television show Movie & A Makeover. NewGrass was selected to help transform a barren downtown rooftop into an attractive outdoor living space.

Fort Worth, TX – NewGrass®, the brand name leader in the booming synthetic grass industry, is now offering enhanced distributorship opportunities nationwide under the strategic direction of a recognized leader in franchise and distributorship marketing.

The artificial grass market is currently growing at 20 percent annually, according to industry statistics. That number is expected to hold, if not grow, as an increasing number of communities and water districts nationwide restrict outdoor water use and more homeowners seek more environmentally friendly ways to enjoy outdoor landscaping without pesticides, fertilizers or expensive upkeep.

In its first years of business, NewGrass focused its sales through only a small handful of distributors, while the company developed its brand, established its product line and fine-tuned its manufacturing and supply chain. NewGrass then began to gradually offer distributorships to quality-driven landscapers seeking to expand their menu of services and to veterans in the synthetic lawn industry.

“Now we have everything in place to dynamically expand our reach in a top-quality way and bring more consumers an eco-friendly, water-wise alternative to turf grass,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner.

Authorized NewGrass® Distributors receive a NewGrass® sales territory; the most preferred NewGrass® pricing; proven marketing support including samples and marketing materials and strategic consultation; installation training for distributors and their teams, and other advantages to ensure success.

Goehner stressed that joining NewGrass® is a chance for savvy landscapers, as well as professionals in related businesses or qualified entrepreneurs, to tap into the synthetic grass market with a premier brand, supported by a jump-start marketing program.

“Yes, it’s a financial commitment on their part, but it’s a financial commitment that opens doors to incredible opportunity and brings a very strong, very deep commitment from us,” Goehner said.

To support its distributors and expand its market footprint, NewGrass has added a brand development team. Advising NewGrass with over 25 years experience in franchising and franchise sales, marketing and training is Paul Crump, formerly with RadioShack, where he negotiated agreements for RadioShack’s franchises in Canada and also had been the company’s Franchise Director for New Store Development.

According to Crump “There’s huge potential for everyone involved when you combine a reputable company with a great product, consistent supply, strong customer and distributor support, and a definite market with pent-up demand as well as future demand.”

To learn more visit www.newgrass.com/distributorships/

With California’s largest water rebate program $24 million in the hole and the program on hold, NewGrass is offering rebates from July 15 until the end of the summer to continue supporting the battle for water conservation in the Golden State and nationwide.

NewGrass is offering customers from coast to coast a rebate of 30 cents for every square foot of natural sod grass they replace with NewGrass, in support of water conservation not only in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, but nationally.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that together provide drinking water to nearly 19 million people in parts of Los Angeles, and Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernadino and Ventura counties.

MWD resources for a rebate program that included funds for replacing natural grass with artificial turf dried up in May, and the board turned off the spending tap until an audit is complete, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise and other media.

NewGrass, the eco-friendly synthetic grass choice, has several authorized and licensed representatives in the areas served by the MWD, including NewGrass Landscape & Design, San Diego Backyard Adventures and SmartScapes.

“We’re glad we can support customers of the MWD who are considering replacing their sod lawn with synthetic grass, many of whom may have been counting on rebates from their water district or city,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner. “And we’re excited to extend the same offer to NewGrass customers everywhere.”

For full details of the offer, Goehner urged interested homeowners to contact an authorized NewGrass representative, or they can contact NewGrass sales directly, by email (info@newgrass.com) or phone (866.583.5602, ext. 709).

Among the agencies served by the MWD, only four are still offering artificial turf rebates, and all of them are in the San Diego County Water Authority:

- Helix Water District
- Vallecitos Water District
- Santa Fe Irrigation District
- Vista Irrigation District

Customers of these districts should contact the SoCal Water$mart program for details about rebates. But they also are eligible for the NewGrass 30-cents rebate, Goehner said.

NewGrass is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and is proud to continue helping set high standards in the synthetic grass industry.

“It’s important to NewGrass that the artificial grass industry grows responsibly and that consumers can expect professionalism from dealers and installers no matter where they live or do business,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner.

“This is going to be especially important as more cities impose water restrictions and more of them offer rebates for synthetic lawn use, and a lot of fly-by-night companies will try to take advantage of consumers as a result,” Goehner said.

NewGrass is sold and installed internationally only through a network of qualified, properly licensed representatives. All NewGrass representatives are properly licensed, insured and bonded, based on the regulatory or legal entities where they do business, Goehner said.

California, for example, requires any contractor doing an artificial grass installation totaling $500 or more to be state-licensed. (The $500 cost includes the grass, labor and installation materials.) NewGrass Landscape & Design holds California Contractors License # 924382, for example.

The fake grass industry, like most home improvement or service industries, does not have agreed standards, or national or state guidelines that industry participants must meet or adhere to. But just as consumers evaluate a landscaper or carpenter before hiring them, they should also follow some good common-sense guidelines when it comes to hiring a synthetic lawn company, Goehner said.

The Association of Synthetic Grass Installers lists six benchmarks that any professional installer should meet. “NewGrass stands firmly behind these criteria,” Goehner said. According to the ASGI’s advice, a reputable synthetic grass company or installer should:

1. Provide proof of any required licenses, insurance and bonds.
2. Prove their experience with your type of project and site conditions.
3. Be on the job site before, during and after the installation is done, whether they do the work themselves or hire a sub-contractor to do it, and they should handle all unexpected changes or modifications promptly.
4. Provide you a complete and easy-to-understand set of all necessary documents, including change orders, in a timely manner.
5. Be trained professionals who know their products and their installation systems using best-business practices and be able to provide several customer referrals.
6. Be courteous, communicate clearly from start to finish, and give you a finished project that meets or exceeds your expectations.

Fueled by continually rising water rates, water-use restrictions and concerns about drought, homeowners and businesses up and down Colorado’s Front Range are turning to NewGrass artificial grass for naturally appealing, water-wise lawn landscaping.

“Year after year people pour money and time into their lawns, and every year our water rates go up, and we get water restrictions, and then we have a dry year, and all of that money and all of that time they’ve invested in that lawn is gone, wasted,” said Bart Stoneback, owner of Mile High Synthetic Turf, Colorado’s authorized NewGrass distributor.

Water rates in metropolitan Denver have increased an average of 40 percent a year the past three years, Stoneback said. In Denver, water restrictions meanwhile prohibit lawn watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and limit watering during other times to three days a week.

The newly redesigned and refocused Mile High Marketplace, formerly Mile High Flea Market, in Henderson, has opted for 5,000 square feet of NewGrass Premium Rye in its new farmer’s market.

NewGrass will also be the playing surface for the bocce ball courts the Marketplace is installing for its upcoming Italian Festival, and the facility plans to install up to 10,000 square feet of NewGrass as landscaping around its special events area, Stoneback said.

At least a dozen backyards from Erie to Boulder to Castle Rock now enjoy NewGrass artificial turf. So does a balcony deck outside an apartment on Blake Street in “LoDo,” the historic and rejuvenated Lower Downtown neighborhood.

“People are just tired of trying to keep their turf grass alive here in Colorado,” Stoneback said.

NewGrass is also increasingly being installed for dog runs along the Front Range, Stoneback said. They average between 300 and 500 square feet.

“People go with synthetic grass for their dogs because it eliminated all of the problems that go with having a place for your dogs to live or play,” Stoneback said. “Sure, you need to wash down NewGrass to avoid odors. But dog droppings are easily scooped up and urine and drain right through. You don’t have dead grass or yellow spots from the urine. You don’t have mud holes or dirt tracked into your house. And it will last for years.”

NewGrass artificial grass continues to expand its network of trained, authorized representatives, acting on its mission to be the artificial grass of choice in the United States when being water-wise and eco-friendly are as important as having more green lawn to enjoy, regardless of climate or geography.

Experienced turf landscapers as well as veteran synthetic grass installation companies have joined the NewGrass team in 10 states reaching from California to South Carolina to New York.

Their situations may vary, but two reasons new partners continually cite for joining NewGrass are the way NewGrass supports its distributors and the company’s dedication to becoming a premier brand in the artificial turf industry, and no simply be another discount-priced retailer.

“The team at NewGrass has provided web site design and great marketing materials, including an entire trade show display on short notice, so that’s one big way they’ve supported me,” said Bart Stoneback, owner of Mile High Synthetic Turf, in Colorado, a veteran in the fake grass business and now an authorized NewGrass distributor. “But they also are incredibly committed to always having products in stock and delivered on time, and that’s huge in this business.”

“I knew when I chose to sell NewGrass that it wasn’t the least expensive grass on the market,” said Larry Reno, district manager for NewGrass Landscape & Design, in California. “But they are a top act in this game. They’re in it for the long haul and are determined to bring value to the name through customer service and quality products. That’s worth plenty.”

Stoneback, Reno and other NewGrass representatives were first drawn to NewGrass through its strong and robust Internet presence and a marketing prowess that has garnered the company national television and newspaper attention. As a result, NewGrass synthetic grass is today represented by an efficient, committed and growing distribution network of landscapers and lawn-service professionals in the following states:

• Arizona (four authorized representatives)
• California (five authorized representatives)
• Colorado
• Florida
• New York (two authorized representatives)
• North Carolina
• New Mexico
• South Carolina (two authorized representatives)
• Texas (three authorized representatives)
• Washington

If you thought you had to have the traditional single-family home to enjoy green space around where you live, it’s time to think again.

NewGrass®, the premier artificial grass brand for an array of typical landscaping applications, is also becoming the perfect answer to landscaping for townhomes, terraces, balconies and rooftops makeovers, says NewGrass president Greg Goehner.

“NewGrass® is proving it truly does offer the best available products for any urban landscape project,” Goehner says. “You can have a natural looking and water-saving piece of green even if you live in condo or a townhome, or if your only outdoor piece of real estate is your balcony.”

NewGrass® is 100% eco-friendly. Its blades are 100% polyethylene and lead-safe, and its backing is bio-based. It’s the artificial grass solution when being water-wise and eco-friendly are as important as having more green lawn to enjoy year-round.

With the increase in interest for NewGrass in small urban landscapes on hard surfaces, such as patios, terraces and balconies, NewGrass® has teamed with AirField Systems to offer customers AirDrain – the best choice for installing artificial turf grass on hard surfaces.

“We’ve looked for a long time for the right product to make NewGrass® drain better and look better over the long term on concrete or any other hard surface, and AirDrain is that solution,” Goehner says.

AirDrain is an innovative, ecologically sound solution for porous paving, drainage and erosion control on surfaces such as concrete. It’s a super-strong, highly versatile, lightweight and easily installed drainage system made from an environmentally friendly combination of polypropylene and polyethylene.

Another key reason NewGrass® can turn a balcony or terrace into a small green oasis is because it water drains through it at a rate of 30 inches per hour. Even wet, NewGrass® is safe for standard commercial and residential construction weight-bearing loads construction.

NewGrass® eco-friendly synthetic grass has teamed with AirDrain – the best choice for installing artificial lawn on hard surfaces.

“As water conservation and being eco-conscious become even more important while people strive to keep their homes and business properties beautiful and enjoyable, NewGrass is excited about this new alliance,” said Greg Goehner, president of NewGrass artificial lawns.

“Finding a truly compatible and green solution for installing our products on concrete and any other hard surface opens new possibilities for homeowners and commercial property owners with non-traditional or challenging landscaping requirements,” Goehner said.

AirDrain is an innovative, ecologically sound solution for porous paving, drainage and erosion control on surfaces such as concrete. It’s a super-strong, highly versatile, lightweight and easily installed drainage system made from an environmentally friendly combination of polypropylene and polyethylene.

AirDrain’s interlocking, 1-inch-tall “honeycomb” design makes it the only geocell that incorporates a patented latching mechanism.

“This feature of AirDrain give it great latitude for expansion and contraction in all kinds of climates, which makes it a great compliment to NewGrass,” Goehner said.

And, its light weight helps keeps cost down. Nearly 100,000 square feet of AirDrain can be shipped in one trailer, according to the manufacturer.

AirDrain contains significant portions of post consumer recycled content, is recycleable. And is manufactured in the United States.

An environmentally conscious product, AirDrain also adds to a project’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) point certification. It can qualify in as many as 15 different credit categories under Site Sustainability, Water Efficiency, and Materials and Resources.

AirDrain has found wide acceptance as the perfect drainage solution over hard surfaces for grass and gravel paving, artificial and natural turf sports fields, golf greens, bunkers, tee boxes and cart paths, and even green roofing.

California’s schools are looking to go green, and they recently got a good look at how NewGrass® artificial grass can help them conserve water and still have safe, environmentally friendly and green landscaping year-round.

NewGrass® synthetic lawn was pleased to be among the exhibitors at the recent Green California Schools Summit and Exposition in Anaheim. The three-day event was organized by Green Technology, a non-profit initiative that seeks to inform government decisions toward sustainability and provide a forum in which government can communicate with the private sector.

The goal of this summit was to bring together school officials and contractors involved in implementing green building initiatives with businesses that can provide them with products and services. NewGrass, represented by NewGrass Landscape & Design, was proud to be among those businesses.

“We got a great response from the visitors and from the other exhibitors,” said Larry Reno, California District Manager for NewGrass Landscape & Design. “People liked it. They liked that we are lead-safe and don’t use crumb rubber infill. They’d heard about these issues and were wondering about them.”

NewGrass® also participated in a special seminar conducted the top green initiative representatives for the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district operates 1,072 schools, centers and occupational skill centers with more than 694,000 students, and it expects to build a school a month over the next two years.

“In addition to the green initiative and the environmental issues of new construction, they are looking at anything that’s going to save them money in the long run,” Reno said. “NewGrass® is a natural for meeting that challenge wherever they need grass.”

And the money is there for that work. When California voters passed Proposition 1D, they allocated $100 million dollars to help fund the design and construction of energy efficient, healthy school facilities for the California public school system.

“We expect to be a part of the solution of helping California build healthy, sustainable schools,” Reno said.

Fort Worth, Texas – With the recent addition of authorized representatives in Seattle, Northern California, both of the Carolinas, New York, NewGrass® announces a true coast-to-coast presence as the leader in the artificial grass industry.

In addition, NewGrass® has agreements pending with companies in Massachusetts, Florida, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada, said company president Greg Goehner.

In Arizona, strong sales and growing demand have meanwhile led NewGrass® to create a new position of Regional Southwest Manager to better serve that market.

The newest additions to the growing roster of high quality installers and distributors who feature NewGrass® are:

• Artscapes, in Redwood City, Calif., about 25 miles of San Francisco, serving the Palo Alto, and Menlo Park areas.
• Supergreen, serving Charleston, S.C. and the area’s resort islands: Kiawah, Seabrook, Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island.
• The Landscape Company, serving the greater Wake Forest/Raleigh, N.C., area.
• Keith Ackerson, an independent landscaper in Westchester County, N.Y.
• Jeff Shaw, in Seattle, who is also a PGA professional golfer.

“We are very excited about the potential with such great representatives in these areas,” Goehner said.

“Water conservation and environmental concerns are on the minds of a lot of people in all of these regions, but people also want a green lawn they can enjoy all year,” Goehner said. “These quality companies and NewGrass® really have a solution for people to meet those demands.”

Michael Patelis is the NewGrass® Regional Manager for Arizona.

“Michael has a great background in sales, and he has super organization skills,” Goehner said. “We’re fortunate to have him as we move into a new phase for the company in Arizona.”
Each of the new members of the NewGrass® lineup is customer-oriented and are locally owned and operated, Goehner said.