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Ingeo bottle recycling - a five-year journey detailed in a new timeline 
In a recently written report, NatureWorks details its more than five-year journey to research the issues and technology involved in recycling Ingeo natural plastic bottles. NatureWorks describes its research and overall activities as well as its close involvement with stakeholders during this journey. "This new timeline shows us just how far we've come in the last five years in terms of a responsible introduction of an important new material," said Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO of NatureWorks. "Not only that, the timeline tells the story of how manufacturers and industry stakeholders are helping to make this a more sustainable world." Read more.
California awards $1 million to a pilot project in 21st century sustainable packaging  In mid-November, the California Department of Conservation approved a $1,047,000 grant for an 18-month pilot project to test the economic, social, and environmental advantages of recycling bioresins such as PLA. Businesses are contributing an additional $800,000 toward the project, bringing the total budget to nearly $2 million.
The Future 500, a nonprofit network of major corporations and NGOs, will coordinate the efforts of the project's multi-sector stakeholder partners. Partners will include the major recycling technology companies in California; NatureWorks, the manufacturer of Ingeo natural plastic, the leading PLA-based resin; Noble Juice and Primo Water, companies producing products in PLA containers; and a number of other from brand owners to plastic processors to waste advocates and single stream recyclers. By developing the capacity for recycling organizations to separate bioresins from other recyclables using optical sorting technology, organizers of the pilot project hope to establish California as a leader in 21st century sustainable packaging. The pilot project will seek to assess both the short-term issue of effectively separating bioresins from the PET recycling stream and the long-term social and environmental impacts and economics of the adoption of recyclable and refillable renewable plastics. Watch this newsletter for future developments in the Industry Alliance for 21st Century Sustainable Packaging Recycling pilot project.
Textiles made from plants 
Italian textile manufacturer Miroglio Group signed an Ingeo Master License Agreement (MLA) in October. The Miroglio Group will develop Ingeo yarns for a variety of its own textiles, and will market and sell yarns and fibers globally to other textile companies. Read more.
Ingeo biopolymer was the world's first manufactured fiber made from 100 percent annually renewable plants, not oil. Ingeo fiber combines strength, resilience, and comfort. Read more. In addition to the Miroglio Group, a number of other companies entered into new MLAs for fibers. These included:
Huvis, a Korean fiber producer, is launching its commercial Ingeo fiber products with a full range of both staple and filament fiber. Huvis predicts a 30 percent annual growth in Ingeo nonwoven fiber sales for automotive, apparel, and home textiles applications. CL Chemical Fibers, a Chinese spun bond producer, is the first licensed Ingeo spunbond producer to offer a full range of 100 percent Ingeo fabrics for hygiene, medical applications, shopping bags, and landscape textiles. Palmetto Synthetics LLC, a U.S. fiber producer, is expanding its product range to include Ingeo nonwoven and apparel applications. DS Fibers. Based in Belgium, DS Fibers is adding Ingeo to its nonwoven landscape textile and exhibition carpet offerings.
Wall Street Journal covers bioresins The dramatic rise in oil prices last summer prompted the Wall Street Journal to write an article on the growing demand for bioresins. The October 22nd article, Bioplastics Hopes to Mold More Products, presented a thoughtful look at this emerging industry. Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO of NatureWorks, was quoted, as was Dave Burke, president of the Primo To Go division of Primo Water, which makes bottles from Ingeo bioresin. Read more.
Awards  Blue Lake Citrus Products and its line of Noble organic juices won the first annual Impact Award: Excellence in Produce Packaging from the Produce Marketing Association. The award was in the Best in Environment/Sustainability category. The Noble 100 percent pure tangerine juice package - label, bottle, and cap - were all manufactured using Ingeo natural plastic, making the entire package compostable or recyclable. Blue Lake Citrus was the first company in the world to package juice in an Ingeo™ bottle. Read more.
Blue Lake Citrus' innovative packaging also caught the eye of judges at the 2008 Gravure Association of America Golden Cylinder Awards. SleeveCo took home the award in the Film Labels/Wrappers category for its vibrant graphics on the Noble 100 percent pure tangerine juice label. Read more.  At the same ceremony and in the same category - Film Labels/Wrappers - the Seal-It Division of Printpack took home an award for its work on Agro Labs Naturally's line of nutraceutical beverages. The eye catching label was printed in up to nine colors. The label was made from Plastic Suppliers' Ingeo-based Earthfirst® film. Read more.
 At the sixth annual Food Service Packaging Awards sponsored by the Foodservice Institute and QSR magazine, the Dyne-A-Pak Nature™ foam meat trays took third place in the Product Manufacturing Innovation Category. The company reports the Ingeo natural plastic trays use 65 percent less fossil fuel energy to produce and 50 percent less water compared to conventional polystyrene. Read more.
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Innovation Takes Root - a success on all levels
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Keynote speaker, Dr. Masatoshi Matsuda, Toyota
Keynote speaker, Ron Pernick, Author
Keynote speaker, Larry Wendling, 3M | An after-event survey revealed that NatureWorks' first technical conference - Innovation Takes Root, September 16-18 in Las Vegas - was judged a success by attendees and participants alike. The conference's success was based on several factors: (1) There was an unanimity of purpose - attendees wanted to learn more about the state-of-the-art in biotech materials, including Ingeo natural plastic. (2) The summit delivered on its promise to provide substantive information. (3) The presentations were high caliber and covered topics of interest. During the summit there were more than 20 presenters, including representatives from 3M, DuPont, Frito Lay, Ford Motor Company, Rohm and Haas, Samsung, and Toyota. Technical presentations focused on recent developments in enhancing the performance characteristics of polyactic acid and included such topics as: The reinforcement of polylactic acid by a new engineering mineral Paraloid modifiers Additives for improving processing and properties of polylactic acid Improving thermal dimensional stability of PLA thermoformed articles Prospects on PLA applications - clear barrier technology Ingeo stereocomplex crystallization and stereo complex fiber successes
For additional information click here. Watch for announcements of future summits.
Gift cards are the most popular gift 
According to a recent survey by Archstone Consulting, 55 percent of Americans want to receive gift cards this holiday season, which is more than any other type of gift. Since 2005 a growing number of those cards have been manufactured using Ingeo natural plastic. A wide range of natural plastic cards now provide gift opportunities at Aveda, Chipotle, Costco, LL Bean, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats, and more. The trend toward Ingeo natural plastic is extending beyond gift cards to include telephone cards and loyalty cards, as well as transaction cards. Anticipating the trend toward natural plastic cards, a number of card manufacturers are now offering Ingeo as an alternative to petroleum-based cards made from such materials as PVC and PET. Read more from the NatureWorks files.
Distributor News Ingeo natural plastic resin is sold to brand owners and plastics compounders through resin distributors. As global demand for Ingeo natural plastic has grown, so has the distributor network. Newest additions to the NatureWorks distributor network include: United States - ICO Polymers now distributing powdered resin United States - Jamplast is NatureWorks longstanding distributor of pellet resin in the U.S.
Shows and Conferences NatureWorks believes that involvement in conferences and shows is vital for telling our story and also for learning from others. Please make it a point to look us up at these events. Here is a recap of events just past and coming up:  Sana, September 11-14, Bologna, Italy. This is an annual international exhibition of natural products. Manufacturer Wip showed a range of Ingeo baby diapers and wipes in the Sana Kids pavilion.
 Bio Japan 2008, October 15-17, Yokohama. Marc Verbruggen, NatureWorks president and CEO, gave a presentation on the challenges bioplastics face today and the opportunities for growth tomorrow. In addition to having an exhibit at the event, NatureWorks supplied Ingeo lanyards for admission badges. Toray supplied Ingeo fiber-based carpeting used throughout the exhibition hall.
 European Bioplastic Conference, November 5-6, Berlin. Eamonn Tighe, European Fibers Business Development, NatureWorks, gave a presentation on the growing use of Ingeo nonwoven fabrics in the packaging and personal care industries. Italian bottled water market leader Sant'Anna introduced its new Ingeo package called the Biobottle. This package will be the highest volume Ingeo water bottle in Europe. The MID product design studio and Telecom Italia announced the new ECO, a cordless phone made from Ingeo bioplastic.
 Emballage 2008, November 17-21, Paris. A wide assortment of Ingeo-based lifestyle and packaging offerings were on display from such companies as Group Guillin, KYK, Netstal, Pack & Proper, Packtex/Subrenat, Polyfilms, and Sleever International.
 NatureWorks Marketing Seminar, November 18-19, Seoul, South Korea. More than 250 brand owners and suppliers attended this event on the state of the market for Ingeo biopolymer. Similar events will be held in a number of Asian countries in 2009.
Good and Green, December 3-4, Chicago. NatureWorks was a product showcase sponsor. Read more. Sustainable Brands International, December 9-11, Miami Beach. Steve Davies, global marketing director, NatureWorks, was a conference speaker describing the opportunities and challenges of introducing the world's first commercial plastic made from renewable resources. Read more. Clean-Tech Investor Summit, January 21-22, 2009, Palm Springs, Calif. Marc Verbruggen, NatureWorks president and CEO, will give one of the two corporate keynote presentations. Read more. Chimica Verde, May 29-31, 2009, Firenze, Italy. Chimica Verde is a year-long series of events in Italy designed to inform consumers about renewable materials, bioplastics, and sustainability. NatureWorks will have an exhibit at each event. The next in the series will be Terra Futura in Firenze, Italy.
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