6 Oct 2005
NatureWorks LLC offers customer choice with source options program
NatureWorks LLC announced today a new source options program for customers who view field maize source as an important market issue. The source options program is available to customers purchasing NatureWorks® PLA, the world’s first greenhouse-gas-neutral polymer derived from 100-percent annually renewable resources, such as corn.
As part of the new three-tiered program, customers can:
• have the NatureWorks PLA resin they order certified as having no genetic content;
• participate in a source off-set program for non-genetically modified (GM) field maize purchases; or
• purchase identity-preserved NatureWorks PLA with specified seed-to-finished-product traceability. Minimum order volume and multi-year supply contracts are required for the manufacture and delivery of identity-preserved NatureWorks PLA.
“NatureWorks is committed to offering meaningful options and delivering valuable solutions to customers,” said NatureWorks LLC Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Dennis McGrew. “By allowing customers to select the option that best fits their specific requirements, this new program makes it even easier for retailers and brand owners to adopt NatureWorks PLA, benefit from this technology and help lead the change from petroleum-based plastics to those made from annually renewable resources.”
Customer Programs
The new program provides customers with three choices related to the feedstock source for their polymer. Each option carries a varying price premium assessed per pound of PLA for sourcing, administration and documentation.
• Third-Party Certification: NatureWorks offers third-party certification that verifies and documents that there is no genetic material in the PLA resin customers order. Technical analysis and paperwork is provided by GeneScan, Inc., which is internationally recognized by governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) as the leading authority for testing food, feed and raw materials. This program can be tailored to meet specific customer documentation requirements.
• Source Offset: This program is similar to other established and accepted environmental models designed to impact market demand such as renewable energy certificates. For every pound of NatureWorks PLA delivered to the participating customer, NatureWorks will purchase the amount of non-GM field maize needed to produce it – approximately 2.2 pounds (3.0 kilograms). Delivery of the offset amount will occur within one calendar year of an order, to account for growing seasons and the required source verification. As part of the program, farmers are compensated at a premium for delivering the agreed-upon amount of conventional corn to the wet mill.
• Identity-Preserved NatureWorks PLA: NatureWorks offers large-volume customers with multi-year supply contracts and under agreed-upon terms an opportunity to select identity-preserved NatureWorks PLA. This product grade allows customers to verify the source of the dextrose and the absence of any genetic material from the point of origin (delivery of the specified maize to the wet mill and segregation of materials at each manufacturing phase) through all steps of production of the resin. Minimum order sizes are required for the manufacture and delivery of identity-preserved NatureWorks PLA. This product grade is produced according to agreed-upon customer volumes and market economics.
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Notes for editors
About NatureWorks PLA
NatureWorks LLC’s proprietary process for manufacturing NatureWorks PLA centers on the fermentation, distillation and polymerization of dextrose, a simple plant sugar made from field maize. The company essentially harvests the carbon stored in the sugars to make polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer with similar characteristics to traditional thermoplastics.
In addition to the appeal of its annually renewable feedstock, NatureWorks PLA offers many other environmentally preferred benefits. It is the world’s first greenhouse-gas-neutral polymer.* In addition, from cradle to resin, its production uses 68 percent less fossil fuel resources than traditional plastics. Products made from NatureWorks PLA have the flexibility to be disposed of in several manners, including commercial composting.
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 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.
NatureWorks, Ingeo and the EcoPLA design are registered trademarks of NatureWorks LLC
*Based on the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates by NatureWorks LLC.