NEW METRICS -
Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic and renewable bio-based household, baby and personal care solutions, called on Congress last week to strengthen the country's outdated chemical policy.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A consortium of companies in the European process industry including biotechnology, renewable resources, chemistry, process engineering, equipment and research organizations launched project PRODIAS (PROcessing Diluted Aqueous Systems) this week. The project aims to decrease production costs for renewable-based products via increasing the efficiency of raw material use and production processes.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
It’s been 53 years since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a shocking exposé of chemical pollutants and their impact on the Earth's ecosystems.
PRESS RELEASE -
Kingsport, TENN., March 9, 2015 – Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) announced today that it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company® for its efforts to continually raise the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behavior.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Dunkin’ Brands, Dunkin’ Donuts’ parent company, has agreed to remove titanium dioxide, a whitening agent that is a common source of nanomaterials, from all powdered sugar used to make the company’s donuts. As a result of this progress, the advocacy group As You Sow has withdrawn a shareholder proposal asking Dunkin’ to assess and reduce the risks of using nanomaterials in its food products.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
McDonald’s announced on Wednesday that it is committing to serving chicken raised without antibiotics used in human medicine in all of its U.S. restaurants within two years.The company isn’t going completely antibiotic-free — but will cut the use of antibiotics that contribute to “superbugs” or drug-resistant bacteria that can also harm humans. Often, these human antibiotics are fed to livestock to maximize growth, rather than to treat illness.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
To the uninitiated, persuading those living in malaria-prone parts of the world to buy low-cost insecticides seems simple: Explain the benefits and the products will, to use the old phrase, “sell themselves.”For many years, the traditional theory for selling to bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) consumers, 4 billion of whom earn less than $1,500 annually, has espoused, “low price, low margin, high volume.”
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Last week, Sustainable Brands participated in and helped support an important meeting in Berlin, hosted by BASF, entitled "Steering a Portfolio Toward Sustainability." A gathering of almost 150 chemistry industry stakeholders — including customers and colleagues such as DOW, AkzoNobel, DSM, Eastman Chemical, Solvay and Sabic — participated in the day-and-a-half-long discussion.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Walmart, Target and Forum for the Future (FFTF) have established three working groups to take forward actions agreed at last year’s beauty and personal care (BPC) product sustainability summit, according to ChemicalWatch. The groups will focus on aspects of chemicals in products.Working Group 1 — Supply Chain Information Sharing
CLEANTECH -
Chemical giant BASF is on a mission to connect people and ideas in six locations worldwide with the Creator Space™ tour, a yearlong event series aiming to address challenges in the areas of energy, food and water, and urban living. The first stop, in Mumbai, India, will take place from January 16-23 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum), with a focus on water sustainability.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Pesticide manufacturers are pushing back against increasing consumer and environmental advocacy group demands for disclosure of the chemicals in pesticide formulations—claiming the information is proprietary.Of particular interest are the so-called inert ingredients such as chemicals in pesticides that perform functions other than controlling pests. Examples include emulsifiers, solvents, aerosols, fragrances, dyes and other chemicals that are not necessarily benign, according to those calling for mandatory labeling of inert ingredients in pesticides.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Researchers have developed a new chemical method applied to a byproduct of cashew nuts that could make it easier to trap tsetse flies and open new revenue streams for nut producers in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Late last month, global cosmetics giant Revlon announced it will remove some long-chain parabens and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from its products, in response to a petition circulated last year by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) that to date has rallied support from over 109,000 consumers.Long-chain parabens can act as estrogens and have been linked to endocrine disruption. Formaldehyde is a potent allergen that has been classified as a carcinogen.EWG executive director Heather White called the move a step in the right direction.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A team of researchers from Purdue University's Center for Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels (C3Bio) has developed a new catalytic process that converts biomass waste into chemical products that can be used in fragrances, flavorings or to create high-octane fuel for racecars and jets, Phys.org reports.The process uses a chemical catalyst and heat to spur reactions that convert lignin—a durable and complex molecule that gives the plant cell wall its rigid structure—into valuable chemical commodities.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Eastman Chemical Company today announced it will join chemical giants such as BASF, AkzoNobel, Henkel and Clariant as a member of Together for Sustainability (TfS), a European initiative dedicated to the sustainable procurement of chemicals. Eastman and TfS have confirmed acceptance of Eastman’s application to the consortium as the first U.S.-based company to join, with plans to finalize Eastman’s membership in early 2015.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A research study released today finds that top retailers of holiday decor continue to sell seasonal products containing hazardous chemicals. The research found that two-thirds of tested products had one or more hazardous chemicals that have been linked to serious health effects. The study is an update to and expansion of research done in 2010 and 2013 by HealthyStuff.org (a project of the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit organization, the Ecology Center), which found high levels of chemical hazards in string lights, garlands and other decorative products.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The traditional business model of chemical suppliers selling their products in the largest possible quantities, while profitable, encourages the overuse of chemicals and places a strain on human health and the environment. But another model has emerged that decouples payment from consumption.Chemical leasing is a business model in which chemical manufacturers and distributors charge for the function that the chemicals perform rather than selling chemicals. Companies that use the chemicals pay for the service that the chemicals provide instead of buying the chemical. The model reduces the waste and inefficiency that often occur with the conventional approach to buying and handling chemicals.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A group of corporate and NGO leaders today released a new tool for assessing leadership in corporate chemicals management.The Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) provides the first-ever common metric of its kind for publicly benchmarking corporate chemicals management and profiling leadership companies. The CFP will enable purchasers to preferentially select suppliers and investors to integrate chemical risk into their sustainability analyses and investments. Its results enable brands to market their progress and success in using safer chemicals.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
BASF and recycled cardboard company Schuster have announced they are working on a solution for a combined migration and grease barrier on recycled cardboard.The biopolymer ecovio® PS 1606 is applied to recycled cardboard in an extrusion coating process. This enables the proportion of recycled paper fibers in fast food packaging to be increased while simultaneously making it industrially compostable. The polymer coating applied to the cardboard is several times thinner than a human hair, but provides the packaging with good protection against potential migration of undesired substances while also offering high greaseproofness and liquid tightness. This cardboard is more than 90 percent biobased, recyclable and industrially compostable.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has announced it is developing an affordable and environmentally friendly alternative for polystyrene from PLA bioplastic, which is derived from organic sources.Although expanded polystyrene (EPS) is currently used all over the world as a light packaging and insulation material, it poses a significant waste problem. The annual production volume of EPS is 5 to 6 million tons per year, and the non-biodegradable material typically ends up on waste tips or is disposed of by burning, which results in toxic compounds.