Kathleen Merrigan, the U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary, has announced a list of 11 biobased products that got the approval to utilize the new product label of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) at the biobased product meeting.
DuPont’s renewably sourced fiber, Sorona, is one of the products included in the list.
Biobased products are mainly made of agricultural ingredients such as forestry, marine, animal or renewable plant materials. The new USDA label designates that the product has received independent certification by fulfilling the standards of BioPreferred program of USDA for biobased content. Use of biobased products can reduce petroleum usage in products and in turn reduce carbon footprint.
DuPont’s Sorona is a polymer made from renewable materials. It is used for producing fibers for textiles and carpets that are utilized in automotive, commercial and residential interiors. DuPont has developed several commercial products like Sorona under its Renewably Sourced Materials Program. Sorona reduces energy consumption by 30% and carbon emissions by 63% when compared to existing materials like nylon 6.
The US Secretary of Agriculture has selected 5,100 biobased products as preferred products that can be procured by federal agencies. Federal buyers can easily identify the products through the new label.