Protects the since from scratches and just generally makes it nicer for dishes and things. The old one had a plastic coating, which made it softer for delicate glass for example, but after a dozen years there was mold growing inside the plastic. The new one is bare metal (stainless steel I think), so not soft but more sanitary in the long run (we just put them in the dishwasher to clean them). I got a pretty good price on ebay for an open-box item, but the regular retail price is fairly outrageous.