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Chemistry, Materials & Packaging

The latest developments in safe and sustainable chemicals, new materials, fuels, and more.

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DuPont and EOS Climate Commence CFC Buyback Program

DuPont Refrigerants and EOS Climate have announced a new buyback program to incentivize the return of recovered chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants by paying contractors and business owners for the safe disposal of polluting substances.

GE Introduces New Membrane To Purify Tough-to-Treat Water

GE has developed a new membrane to purify tough-to-treat water such as wastewater from industrial processes that can reduce time between cleanings by as much as 50 percent.

Refrigerant Revolution: EOS Climate Turning GHGs from Liabilities to Assets

Each week leading up to the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) finals on June 5th, where the runner-up will be decided via live online public vote, we will feature articles introducing our semi-finalists. This week, meet EOS Climate.Joe Madden, Todd English and Jeff Cohen met at graduate school in 2009, and created their company EOS Climate with the objective of tackling climate change by managing greenhouse gases with market-based approaches.

Reusable Transport Packaging: Good for the Planet, Operational Efficiency and Brand Protection

Packaging. The term evokes images of wrappers, tubs, pouches and other types of product encasements we see on store shelves every day. Meanwhile, transport packaging such as pallets, cardboard boxes and plastic stretch wrap remain largely hidden from shoppers’ view.

Bridgestone Americas and Yulex Develop Renewable Alternative to Rubber

A little-known perennial shrub called guayule (pronounced why-u-lee), native to the Southwestern United States, has been tapped as a potential alternative natural source for rubber by Bridgestone Americas and agricultural-based biomaterials company, Yulex.

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Producing Steel Without GHGs? And That's Not Even the Cool Part

In easily my favorite sustainability story of the week, researchers at MIT have developed a process to manufacture steel without any greenhouse gas (GHG) byproducts.

New Antimicrobial Fruit and Vegetable Treatment from Ecolab Protects Against Foodborne Illness

Ecolab has introduced a breakthrough product to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks related to ineffective produce washing in foodservice operations.

BASF Licenses Genomatica Process for Creating BDO from Renewable Feedstock

Chemical technology company Genomatica has announced a new partnership with BASF. The chemical giant has licensed Genomatica’s patented new manufacturing process for a renewable form of the organic compound 1,4-butanediol, more commonly known as BDO.BDO and its many derivatives are used for the production of plastics, solvents, electronic chemicals and elastic fibers.

BASF, DuPont Commit to Increased Product Safety Standards

BASF, DuPont, Honeywell, Dow and other members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) this week launched a new Responsible Care Product Safety Code to increase chemical safety standards beyond regulatory requirements.

Dell's Cube, Content, Curb Approach to Packaging

If you’re a long-time Dell customer, you’ve probably noticed that our packaging looks far different than it did just a few years ago. It’s smaller, easier to recycle, and may even contain some materials you’re more likely to associate with your garden than your computer.

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What Is the Role of Packaging in a Sustainable Product System?

What is the appropriate role for packaging in a product system? As a product designer, I ask myself this question often. As a design professor, I ask my students what role packaging should play in a particular product system ... now, in the future, within compromised systems and within idyllic systems. What would an ideal product system even look like?

Waitrose To Cut Packaging in Half By 2016

Waitrose last week pledged to slash its packaging in half by 2016, announcing three major changes to its product ranges that will help achieve this target and altogether save nearly 100 tons of packaging each year.

Sustainable Packaging: A Call for Better Design

One of the things I love about the Sustainable Brands community is its diverse mix of sustainability experts, designers, innovators and entrepreneurs coupled with brand and marketing specialists. It makes for a heady mix of often differing views on related sustainability challenges.

What Is Sustainable Packaging?

Welcome to Sustainable Brands' Issue in Focus on sustainable packaging!

Monadnock Develops Eco-Friendly Label for Craft Beers

Monadnock Paper Mills, which manufactures technical and specialty printing and packaging papers, recently announced the availability of an uncoated product designed specifically for craft beer made from 100 percent FSC-certified, post-consumer waste fibers.Made in New England, home to many iconic craft brews, Monadnock says its Envi Label offers American brewers a home-grown source for label stock that upholds brewers’ commitments to quality and sustainability with no compromises in performance or aesthetics.

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Rennovia Develops Process To Produce 100% Bio-Based Nylon

Rennovia last week announced that it has created a process to make bio-based nylon materials that are nearly 25 percent cheaper to produce and emit half as much greenhouse gas emissions as conventional petroleum-derived substances.

Nike, NASA, State Department & USAID Seek Innovations To Revolutionize Sustainable Materials

Nike last week partnered with NASA, USAID and the U.S. Department of State to bring together some 150 materials specialists, designers, academics, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and NGOs to catalyze action around one of the world’s biggest challenges — the sustainability of materials and how they are made.

The New Three Rs: Reuse, Recycle, Radiation?

The question of what to do with nuclear waste is as old as our ability to harness nuclear energy. Up until now, all nuclear byproducts have just been placed in storage facilities that will slowly decay over the next few hundred thousand years. Now it seems we are starting to make some progress.

The Co-Operative's Lighter Wine Bottles Save Hundreds of Tons of Glass and CO2

UK grocery chain The Co-operative has just announced significant reductions in the weight of its private label wine bottles. With the help of its supplier, Kingsland Wines and Spirits, the Co-operative achieved reductions that amounted to a savings of 725 metric tons of glass and 556 metrics tons of CO2. Not only does a major reduction such as this use fewer resources and save energy, the biggest reduction comes from having less weight to transport and therefore dramatically lower fuel costs. By the end of 2013, the Co-operative plans to reduce its packaging weights by a further 15% and increase its carrier bag reduction target to 75%.

New Global Classification System Provides Clear, Consistent Information on Hazardous Chemicals

The Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals is a new worldwide initiative for the standardized classification of hazardous chemicals and a communication system for conveying information regarding their proper use and handling.

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