American Standard Wins 2013 "Best of What's New" Award from Popular Science

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 13, 2013) – American Standard was recognized with a Popular Science “Best of What’s New” award for its SaTo sanitary toilet pan designed to increase access to safe sanitation in Bangladesh.

"For more than a quarter century, Popular Science has devoted its December issue to the year's most remarkable innovations. The Best of What's New Awards is our magazine's top honor, and the 100 awardees are selected from a pool of thousands. Each winner is handpicked and revolutionary in it's own way," said Cliff Ransom, executive editor of Popular Science. "Whether they're poised to change the world or simply your living room, the Best of What's New awardees challenge us to the see the future in a new light."

Worldwide, 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Every day, 2,000 people, mainly children, die from lack of proper sanitation. American Standard, a leading toilet manufacturer in North America, invented the SaTo (pronounced SAH-toh, derived from “Safe Toilet”) as a plumbing solution, after eight months of research and field testing in Bangladesh.

This hygienic toilet pan uses ingeniously simple mechanical and water seals to close off pit latrines from the open air, thereby reducing the transmission of disease through direct and indirect contact with waste. The company anticipates donating more than 500,000 SaTos to communities in Bangladesh during 2013, helping an estimated 2.5 million residents to improve their quality of life through safe sanitation facilities.

Earlier this year, American Standard launched the Flush for Good campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the global sanitation crisis and creating innovative solutions to help stop the spread of disease caused by inadequate sanitation facilities in developing countries. The company has partnered with organizations including BRAC, Save the Children and other NGOs to research, develop and distribute pioneering plumbing solutions that are easy to use and inexpensive to produce, incorporate local bathroom practices, and effectively reduce the transmission of disease.

Expanding upon this initial mission, American Standard will use a recent grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new toilet system that works in areas where water is scarce. Field research is currently underway focusing on the sanitation issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company's goal is to distribute 600,000 of this newly designed toilet product for use by an estimated three million people in the rural populations of Sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2017.

“American Standard has a proud history of advancing modern sanitation in the United States. We believe it’s important to continue building on that tradition by helping to end the sanitation crisis worldwide,” said Jay Gould, president and CEO of American Standard. "This recognition from Popular Science is further encouragement to us that healthy, cost-effective plumbing solutions are within our reach for developing countries, to give our global neighbors dignity and improved quality of life."

For more information on the Flush for Good campaign, visit www.flushforgood.com or www.americanstandard.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN STANDARD BRANDS

American Standard Brands make life healthier, safer and more beautiful at home, at work, in the community and throughout the world. Offering total project solutions for residential and commercial customers around the world with respected brands such as American Standard^®, Jado^®, Porcher^®, Safety Tubs^®, Crane Plumbing^®, Eljer^®, Fiat^® and Decorative Panels International^®. American Standard Brands is owned by Lixil Corporation (TSE Code 5938), a global building products company. Learn more at www.americanstandard.com, or follow us at twitter.com/AmStandard, www.facebook.com/AmericanStandardPlumbing.

SaTo^™ is a trademark of American Standard Brands.

ABOUT BEST OF WHAT'S NEW

Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year—breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners, the Best of What's New, are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1988. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 12 categories: Automotive, Aviation, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green, Entertainment, Security, Software, Home, Health and Recreation.

ABOUT POPULAR SCIENCE

Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world’s largest science and technology magazine; with a circulation of 1.3 million and 6.8 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports onthe intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what’s new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Bonnier Active Media, a subsidiary of Bonnier Corporation.

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