GreenFixes

As I was about to log into my iTunes account to use a gift card that I received over the Holidays, I noticed a little symbol right above the scratch off redemption code. It said, "ingeo - plant-based card". In seeing this, my interest was piqued and I put my investigative hat on to conduct a little more digging. I was pleasantly surprised to see that "ingeo" is a natural plastic that is produced by a company called NatureWorks. It is apparently made from plants instead of oil.

According to the website, NatureWorks' goal is to produce a plastic that is "derived from 100% annually renewable resources such as plants" and their product, Ingeo™ "is the world’s first polymer showing a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions." It can be used today in order to produce clothing, electronics, appliances, and many other products currently using plastics. To see a full list of companies or partners leveraging Ingeo™ you can take a look here.

As this Target product listing also states, "Ingeo™ Fiber is an environmentally friendly, renewable resource that is at the heart of the Pacific Coast Ingeo™ Fiber Natural Living Fiberbed. The creation of raw material-based Ingeo products requires about half the energy needed to make polyester, and it emits 50% fewer greenhouse gasses than polyester production." These are pretty impressive stats and if this product catches on it could really make a large impact in reducing carbon emissions and our dependence on oil.

Apple has gotten a bad rap in recent months and we even discussed a while back about Dell's apparent unhappiness with their marketing tactics, but this is another sign that Apple is attempting to reduce the negative environmental impact that their products and services generate by partnering with innovative companies like NatureWorks. Kudos to both companies for partnering together.