Media Coverage

At the annual Saranak Lake Winter Carnival: “…the volunteers will put down a layer of EcoTraction, a nonslip material, to make it safe for guests.”

Following up on a tip from one reader about the use of volcanic rock as a gripping agent, we discovered a product called EcoTraction, which is manufactured by Toronto-based Earth Innovations. EcoTraction, which was featured on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, is made of “hydrothermal volcanic mineral” that not only provides grip in ice and snow, but also “contains no salt, chlorides, chemicals or dyes.”

Their product Ecotraction, made from a volcanic mineral, sticks to the top of the ice without melting it, giving the ice the texture of sandpaper and providing traction. Coates said Ecotraction is more expensive than salt, but that less of it is needed to stop slips and slides. Plus, it stays in place even if the ice melts and refreezes with the weather. It also doesn’t cause the expensive damage to infrastructure, he said.