Manufacturer of certified organic mattresses and sleep accessories, Naturepedic, headquartered in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, has partnered with two other companies to create a new formula for renewable polyethylene foam.
The partners are Braskem, a producer of thermoplastic resins and biopolymers with U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, and Sealed Air Corp., a packaging, cleaning and hygiene solutions company based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The first application of the renewable polyethylene foam is in Naturepedic’s mattresses. Naturepedic was responsible for introducing Sealed Air to Braskem while searching for an alternative to polyethylene made from petroleum for its crib mattresses.
Barry Cik, founder of Naturepedic, said, “I firmly believe that making choices with the future in mind is the right, responsible behavior we all should strive for. Using renewable materials decouples us from fossil-based plastics, and this is a key tenant of our company’s purpose.”
Braskem’s I’m Green Polyethylene is a bio-based resin made from ethanol, a renewable and sustainable resource produced from Brazilian sugarcane and a drop-in substitute for conventional oil-based polyethylene. Cultivation of sugarcane uses CO2 and releases O2, which means the material has a negative carbon footprint, the company said in a news release.
