Here’s What Participants Are Saying. . .
Sometimes BioPreferred Program participants just say it best. Here’s some of the latest feedback we’ve received.
“Your teams’ help is unquestionably a godsend.”
“Wow, that is really swift reply on this application.”
“I would like to thank you all for your prompt responses, thorough work, help and support us during and after our USDA BioPreferred applications. Your kindness and dedication are so much appreciated.”
“When considering response times / usefulness, I sure would like to see more government functions performed by people like you!”
“Thank you very much for the great news, and for everything you do for us! We appreciate you, and all your efforts to always assist us to make things go smoothly and properly, so very much! If there were more people in the world like you, the world would be a better place!”
Need Help?
Have a question or need help? Find answers and guidance on our FAQ page, or email us at help@usdabiopreferred.net.
Look for Labels:
The Importance of Ingredient Education
In a blogpost on its company website, Program participant Seventh Generation, encouraged consumers to become label detectives. As the article noted, “Many of us have gotten used to flipping over food items in a grocery store to check the label for things like sugar, calories, protein, fiber—and to keep an eye out for ingredients like trans fats or high-fructose corn syrup. But when was the last time you checked out the ingredients in your shampoo or makeup products? We get it; there are a lot of foreign-sounding ingredients used in personal-care and beauty products, so it’s hard to know what elements you need to care about.”
The BioPreferred Program has also encouraged consumers to “Do the Twist” and become label detectives, as they search for the USDA Certified Biobased Product label and identify products made with renewable biobased materials that help to reduce carbon emissions and our reliance on petroleum.
If you missed our campaign, watch it now.
What Do Your Customers Look for?
Do you encourage your customers to look for your product’s biobased certification label? Send us examples or tag us on Twitter @BioPreferred so we can share!
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A Step in the Right Direction!
 In only a few short years, the BioPreferred Program has gone from having just a single shoe in the catalog, to now more than 43 shoes that are USDA Certified Biobased. From flip flops to women’s pumps to athletic shoes, companies like Reebok, Okabashi, and VeroVerde are taking steps in the right direction to develop sustainable, planet-friendly products. Biobased materials for these products vary. Reebok has used cotton and corn in many of its models, as well as castor bean oil; the Floatride Energy Grow athletic shoe was the first ever shoe to be certified.
How Much Better?
Recently the Plant Based Products Council (PBPC) published an article that explored whether plant- and biobased products are better for the environment. Several BioPreferred Program participants were cited. Here’s an excerpt:
“The statistics behind products made by PBPC members like Virent and NatureWorks speak for themselves. The raw materials used for Virent’s biopolyester are 100% renewable, plant-based resources, including beet sugar, cane sugar, corn starch, bagasse, corn stover, grasses, and sorghum. Biopolyester performs identically to traditional polyester because it is chemically identical, all while leading to a greater than 50% decrease in CO2 footprint.
When NatureWorks manufactures their Ingeo polymers, the process produces approximately 80% less greenhouse gases and uses approximately 52% less non-renewable energy than traditional polymers. As another example, DuPont Sorona’s biobased fibers are 37% renewably sourced by weight — using 30% less energy and producing 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional nylon. Products like these demonstrate the immediate impact that plant-based products have on our environment, today.”
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 USDA Certified Biobased Product SYNLawn Rated #1 for ESG Performance in Building Products Category
Sport Group’s rating for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk places it number one in the Building Products category and 318 out of 15,082 companies rated by Sustainalytics worldwide.
Congratulations to BioPreferred Program participant SYNLawn LLC on receiving recognition and top ratings for its SYNLawn products, which use a combination of soy in the coating and sugarcane in the fibers. SynLawn LLC’s family of USDA Certified Biobased Products and systems are certified to contain up to 88 percent biobased content.
Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company and a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings and data, recently evaluated the activities of all Sport Group manufacturing and installation companies, including SYNLawn, AstroTurf, Polytan, Melos, and APT (Advanced Polymer Technologies) and examined the Group’s global product brands including LigaTurf, Rekortan, Poligras and Laykold.
Independent ratings by Sustainaytics, just like independent product certification labels, help customers make informed buying decisions and sustainable choices for their everyday lives.
Other News You May Have Missed. . .
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Acucote has introduced a line of 25 USDA Certified Biobased Products as consumer brands increasingly demand sustainable labels on their packaged goods without added material costs. The company specializes in pressure sensitive adhesives and labels.
- According to the latest research study, the demand of global Biobased Materials Market size and share was valued at approximately USD 14 Billion in 2020 and is expected to reach a value of around USD 87 Billion by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 26.5% during the forecast period 2021 to 2026.
- Detergent polymer is a type of new generation polymer that is used in detergent cakes and powders as a replacement of the conventional phosphates. Due to its biodegradable and eco-friendly nature, demand for detergent polymersis expected to increase between the 2020 to 2030 forecast period.
- BioAccelergy Ventures has signed a joint-development agreement with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (ExxonMobil) to progress development of a new biobased stock for lubricants manufacturing from seed and vegetable oil.
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