By comparison, the stone industry is quite small compared to other building sectors. We aren't an industry made up of a lot of large-scale corporate entities, and I don't think any stone companies are going to be visited by the fools from "Occupy Wall Street" anytime soon. Despite this, however, we have some very effective trade associations, and each has its own unique strengths and specialties. Beyond that, we have the Natural Stone Council (NSC) to generically promote natural stone. In one of the organization's most noteworthy initiatives, it is working to establish an ANSI Dimensional Stone Standard for Sustainability.
When you look at the direction of the building trade today, it is undeniable that a standard like this is absolutely necessary for our industry. It is in place for so many other building products (ones with much larger promotional budgets), and if we don't advance with the times, we will lose valuable market share to these other products. I have attended several sessions detailing the progress of this standard, and believe me, these folks have been thorough in their research and development.