NatureWorks PLA is environmentally friendly alternative for Korean customers

SEOUL, March 22, 2006  --  Environmentally-aware consumers in Korea now have an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics for a range of food containers, packaging and fiber based products. NatureWorks LLC (www.natureworksllc.com) is the first company to offer a family of commercially available polymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources. The company applies its unique technology to the processing of a proprietary polylactide polymer, which is marketed under the NatureWorks® PLA and Ingeo® fibers brand names.

The technology used to produce NatureWorks PLA (polylactide) harvests the starch stored in these annually renewable resources (eg corn) into natural plant sugars. The sugar is then fermented into lactic acid which is used to create a clear plastic known as polylactide.

In Korea, NatureWorks PLA products are currently used in food courts and bakeries of shopping malls and department stores such as E-Mart, Wal Mart, Lotte, Carrefour and HomePlus. Customers in Korea -- including Toray Saehan Inc., Shin Sung Ind. Co., Ltd, Fine & G, SKC Co., Ltd, Channel DM Group and Ire Chemical Ltd -- are responsible for getting NatureWorks PLA parts into the marketplace using a wide network of local plastics processors.

NatureWorks LLC pioneered the launch of PLA-based Ingeo fiber as a responsible alternative for the textile industry. Ingeo fiber is the world's first man-made fiber from a 100% annually renewable resource, corn, and the first instance where a fiber company has offered the triple bottom line balance of economic viability, with social and environmental responsibility.

"NatureWorks PLA is 100 percent natural and plant based, not from petroleum", said Snehal Desai, Global Commercial Manager, NatureWorks LLC. "In addition, for environmental and health-conscious consumers, the production of NatureWorks PLA uses 68 percent less fossil fuel than traditional plastic. PLA is safer to manage in certain waste disposal systems (e.g. incineration), and produces less ecological toxicity relative to most oil-based plastics. We hope to see the benefits of NatureWorks PLA packaging reach people in Korea."

About NatureWorks LLC
NatureWorks LLC is a stand-alone company wholly owned by Cargill. Dedicated to meeting the world's needs today without compromising the earth's ability to meet the needs of tomorrow, NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available greenhouse-gas-neutral polymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with cost and performance that compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibers. The company applies its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer, which is marketed under the NatureWorks® PLA and Ingeo® fibers brand names. For more information about NatureWorks and its brands, please visit www.natureworksllc.com.

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NatureWorks and the EcoPLA design are registered trademarks of NatureWorks LLC.