Green Dot’s Bioplastic helps 100,000 Comcast Employees Represent Global Citizen at Comcast Cares Day
Green Dot supplies Comcast with over 100,000 Global Citizen street identifier bracelets made with the Green Dot’s Terratek® BD bioplastic.
Green Dot Creates Bioplastic Identifier for Global Citizen Festival
Green Dot has created a wearable identifier for global citizens in advance of the 2015 Global Citizen Festival. This simple accessory can be worn for years, and when its useful life has ended, it can be returned to nature when place in a composting environment.
Bioplastics Magazine introduces WillowFlex from BioInspiration and Green Dot
The magazine introduced its audience to WillowFlex, a new flexible and compostable 3D printing filament that was the result of a collaboration between Berlin-based BioInspiration and Green Dot.
When BioInspiration, an organic materials company based in Eberswalde, Greater-Berlin, Germany, first began exploring the market opportunities for renewably-sourced materials, one area especially stood out – that of filaments for 3D printing.
Flexible filaments had been seen as an area of opportunity since shortly after the advent of 3D printing technology itself. And already, numerous flexible filaments were available on the market. BioInspiration discovered, however, that what did not exist was a material that was both flexible and made from compostable raw materials – a need the company sought to fulfill.
The result is WillowFlex, a new flexible filament for 3D printers that offers unmatched superior performance with greater temperature resistance, better adhesion and faster printing speeds. The filament is made with a bioplastic called Terratek® Flex, a compostable elastomeric bioplastic made by Green Dot (Cottonwood Falls, KS).
BioInspiration prides itself on identifying materials that “follow nature’s lead”, i.e. are compostable, upcyclable, harmless, innovative and resilient. In the course of the search for a material that could meet these requirements, BioInspiration learned about Terratek® Flex, Green Dot’s compostable elastomeric bioplastic. It was a good fit: Green Dot had already been experimenting with ways to put their plastic into 3D Printing for a number of years.
“When BioInspiration approached us, ready to take the reins on developing a 3D print form of our materials we moved forward immediately. This brings together two merging branches of Plastic Development – next generation bioplastics and 3D Print integration” said Green Dot CEO, Mark Remmert.
Green Dot, BioInspiration and 3dk.berlin Partner to Create WillowFlex, a New Flexible Filament for 3D Printer
BioInspiration introduces WillowFlex, a new flexible filament for 3D printers that offers unmatched superior performance with greater temperature resistance, better adhesion and faster printing speeds. The filament is made with Green Dot’s Terratek® Flex compostable elastomeric bioplastic. Green Dot has just published a case study detailing the project and the unique physical characteristics of the material.
Plastics Today features Green Dot, Pearl Jam collaboration
Plastics Today took a deep dive into the relationship between Green Dot and Pearl Jam, what went into the band’s decision to make a gift for their fans from a compostable bioplastic, and what it might mean for the future of environmentalism for this story.
Green Dot and Bixby International Partner To Develop Environmentally Friendly Plastic Solutions
Bixby International is a custom thermoplastic sheet extruder and laminator offering one of the industry’s broadest polymer and substrate selections. The company delivers practical solutions to the most challenging plastic mono- and multi-layer film and sheet applications.
Over the past several years, Bixby has been working with Green Dot, a full-service bioplastics company dedicated to meeting the growing demand for biobased and compostable materials. The company’s mission is “Science-based. Style driven. Socially conscious.” As a bioscience social enterprise, Green Dot’s goal is to bring new, exciting, more sustainable options to the world of plastics.
Together the companies are developing environmentally friendly plastic solutions for the future.
Green Dot recognized early on that its success relied on the need to collaborate with industry partners who shared its passion for new ideas, new technology, and new ways of doing things. Bixby is one of those companies.
Green Dot reached out to Bixby in late 2012 for one overwhelming reason: to work with Marc Gagnon, Bixby’s Vice President R&D/Product Development. Green Dot’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Remmert, praised Gagnon by saying, “Marc is not only a recognized leader in plastics technology and plastics processing, but he is also the rare blend of knowledge, experience, energy, passion, and honesty. Marc never tires of explaining processes and investing his time in understanding customer needs and struggles. He is a great guy to work with.”
Several months after connecting, Green Dot and Bixby ran their first development prototypes for making elastomeric-coated textiles. Since then, the programs developed by the companies have focused on renewable/biodegradable products in textiles, wood-filled composites, foamed extrusions, extrusion coated natural fibers/fabrics, natural fiber reinforced sheet, and elastomeric film and sheet. The development cooperation between Bixby and Green Dot, which is quite special, goes a long way in helping generate environmentally friendly plastic solutions that have a positive impact on Green Dot’s customers, as well as on our planet.
Marc Gagnon affirmed, “Bixby has been very excited to work with Green Dot because of their unique bioplastic resin technologies. Their polymers have allowed us to explore and compete against conventional plastics with both elastomeric and rigid extruded applications where their biodegradability brings enhanced value to the applications of our end-users.” Gagnon continued by declaring, “The most exciting fact is that we have not had to sacrifice on performance – either in physical properties or processing – in order to deliver the additional benefits of a true biopolymer. If you add to that the support of a great team and the creativity of Green Dot’s people, we feel like we’ve hit a home run in this business relationship.”
Mr. Remmert echoed Gagnon’s sentiments, “Bixby has tremendous product development capabilities. They can go from idea, to concept, to prototype, very quickly. The product development staff has the experience, equipment, and material know-how, to help customers turn their imagination into reality. And do it quickly.”
About Green Dot Bioplastics
Green Dot Holdings LLC is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The company serves the plastics industry and style-conscious consumers with a full line of biobased and compostable materials sold under the Terratek® brand name. Green Dot aspires to improve the environment in which we live by building a more sustainable world with renewable biobased resins and promoting their use through invention, creation and research.
About Bixby International
Bixby International Corporation is a custom thermoplastic sheet extruder and laminator offering one of the broadest polymer material and substrate selections in the industry. Now in its second century of manufacturing in the USA, the company specializes in delivering practical solutions for the most challenging mono- and multi-layer plastic sheet applications in the world. Bixby leverages their core competencies of material, process, and application expertise to meet the most demanding design, engineering and manufacturing challenges of their customers in markets ranging from agriculture to energy and mining to medical devices.
Plastics News spotlights Green Dot’s Pearl Jam partnership
The industry publication took a look at Pearl Jam’s decision to make a gift for their fans from a new compostable bioplastic material.
Green Dot Helps Pearl Jam Create Better Products with Bioplastic
Pearl Jam and Green Dot, working together with Sea-Lect Plastics, have created a biodegradable luggage tag manufactured locally in the Seattle area. The tags were made as a special gift to members of the band’s popular fan organization, the Ten Club.
Pearl Jam’s dedication to their fans and the environment is well known. Their initiatives to offset CO2 emissions, environmental conservation efforts, and their campaign to promote small-scale renewable energy projects throughout the U.S., are only a few examples of these values put into action. So, when the members of Pearl Jam wanted to make more sustainable products for Ten Club, they turned to Green Dot.
Green Dot is a bioplastics manufacturer that helps designers and manufacturers make plastic products that are not just greener – they’re better. Green Dot offers a full line of biobased and biodegradable plastics made from renewable, reclaimed and recycled materials. From beautiful furniture made from reclaimed wood fibers and recycled plastic to soft plastic iPhone cases that will biodegrade in a backyard compost, Green Dot helps make products that allow consumers to contribute to a more sustainable world.
Green Dot was asked to create a biodegradable luggage tag exclusively for Ten Club members. Green Dot developed a bioplastic formulated to meet the demands of the project. The luggage tags are designed to withstand the rigors of a worldwide tour, and when their useful life has ended, the materials can be returned to nature. Of course, we doubt that fans will want to part with the collectible memento any time soon. No worries, the material will not begin to biodegrade until it’s placed in a composting environment.
Stone Gossard, guitarist for Pearl Jam spoke to the importance of not filling landfills with goods that could be made using smarter materials. “The need for better, compostable plastic goods is just so evident,” he said. “And it’s amazing that the materials already exist. We’re just marching against resistance to implementation at this point.”
Tim Bierman, head of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club, is also in charge of merchandising for the band. “We’ve always been an organization that has provided unique merchandise items to our fans,” he said. Bierman added that, for the band’s hardcore followers who often travel to multiple shows on a given tour, luggage tags were both a functional gift and an acknowledgment of the band’s ideals.
Making products that are more sustainable is not just about the materials used; where and how a product is made is also important. Green Dot introduced Pearl Jam to Sea-Lect Plastics, a plastics molder just outside Seattle. The team worked together to design, create tooling, and manufacture the luggage tags locally in the Seattle area.
“Green Dot is science based, style driven, and socially conscious,” explained Mark Remmert, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re here to help designers and manufacturers lighten the environmental impact of their products. This project epitomizes everything that’s important to us. Making it locally is the icing on the cake.”
Green Dot has published a case study of the project available on their website at www.GreenDotPure.com. The study demonstrates how product designers and manufacturers can create more sustainable plastic products, using bioplastics and biocomposites. The study details the stages of product development from concept design, to material selection, to tooling and molding.
Pearl Jam has delighted fans while protecting the earth for over 25 years. Green Dot is proud to partner with them to take that commitment a step farther. Together we can improve the environment in which we live by building a more sustainable world through invention, creation and research.
About Green Dot Bioplastics
Green Dot is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The company serves the plastics industry and style conscious consumers with a full line of biobased and compostable materials sold under the Terratek® brand name. Green Dot aspires to improve the environment in which we live by building a more sustainable world with renewable biobased resins and promoting their use through invention, creation and research.
Green Dot To Sponsor “Zero Waste” Fashion Show at the Plastics Industry’s Most Important Trade Event
Company Sponsors Main Event at NPE2015: The International Plastics Showcase
Green Dot, a bioscience social enterprise serving the plastics industry and style-conscious consumers, is proud to sponsor the “Zero Waste Fashion Show” at this year’s NPE: The International Plastics Showcase on March 23, 2015.
The fashion show is a new addition to the NPE trade event, where over 60,000 of the industry’s top professionals meet to discuss the latest innovations and trends in plastics. The event is organized by SPI, the plastics industry trade association, and features a variety of activities including exhibitions from about 2,000 leading suppliers from all sectors of the plastics supply chain, including end-user markets and consumer brands.
The largest plastic industry event opens with the “Zero Waste Fashion Show,” which showcases garments created out of recycled, reused, compostable, or repurposed plastics by students at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Green Dot is the premier sponsor of this event.
“The vision and creativity of these designers are inspiring,” said Green Dot CEO, Mark Remmert. “Their ingenuity exemplifies our belief that sustainability does not have to sacrifice quality or style and we’re thrilled to have our compostable synthetic leather featured in the show.”
In addition to sponsoring the fashion show, Green Dot will also have an outfit created out of its synthetic leather material in the show. Attendees will also be able to visit Green Dot’s booth, Booth S19200, during the conference to view additional accessories, and talk to Green Dot representatives about what makes Green Dot bioplastics and biocomposites so durable and earth-friendly.
Following the opening day fashion show, the garments will be on display throughout the remainder of NPE2015 in the Zero Waste Zone, a special sector of the exhibit floor devoted to the plastic industry’s mandate to reduce, reuse or recycle its materials.
“We’re proud to sponsor the 2015 Zero Waste Fashion Show because we believe innovative design is the first step toward more sustainable products,” explained Remmert. “At Green Dot, we’re committed to helping designers and manufacturers create high-quality products that allow consumers to contribute to a more sustainable world.”
More than 60,000 plastics professionals from over 120 countries are expected to attend the triennial event, to be held March 23 – 27, 2015, in Orlando, Florida.
To register for NPE2015, or for more information, visit www.NPE.org.
About Green Dot Holdings LLC
Green Dot is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The company serves the plastics industry and style conscious consumers with a full line of biobased and compostable materials sold under the Terratek® brand name. Green Dot aspires to improve the environment in which we live by building a more sustainable world with renewable biobased resins and promoting their use through invention, creation and research.
About NPE: The International Plastics Showcase
The International Plastics Showcase is a triennial exposition owned and produced by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association. NPE2015 is the largest plastics industry event in 2015, hosting over 60,000 industry professionals from 120 countries and bringing the plastics industry together like nowhere else. It offers multiple educational programs and a world-scale trade show with 2,000+ exhibitors and over one million square feet of space (93,000 square meters). The event takes place Monday through Friday, March 23 – 27, 2015, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Visit www.npe.org for more information.
Green Dot to Present Findings on Terratek® Flex Bioplastic as an Impact Modifier for Polylactic Acid at GPEC 2014
Terratek® Flex, the market’s first compostable elastomeric bioplastic, can be used as an impact modifier for polylactic acid (PLA), increasing impact strength, elongation and flexibility without sacrificing compostability.
Green Dot’s Product Development Manager, Mike Parker, will present his findings on the efficacy of Terratek® Flex as an impact modifier for PLA at the Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Orlando, Florida on March 13, 2014. Mr. Parker analyzed the physical properties of PLA modified with Terratek® Flex over a range of loading ratios. He will discuss how levels of Terratek® Flex can be customized to achieve desired cost and performance.
Terratek® Flex is the market’s first elastomeric bioplastic to be certified to meet U.S. (ASTM D6400) and E.U. (EN 13432) standards for compostability. The rubber-like material is strong, durable and pliable. It has been tested by NSF International laboratories to be free from phthalates, bisphenol A, lead and cadmium. When compounded with PLA, Terratek® Flex can enhance physical properties, increasing impact strength, elongation and flexibility without sacrificing compostability.
GPEC is presented by the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) Plastic Environmental Division (PED). The conference focuses on the unique blend of recycling, reclamation and bioplastics.
About Green Dot Holdings LLC
Green Dot is a bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The company serves the plastics industry and style-conscious consumers with a full line of biobased and compostable materials sold under the Terratek® brand name. Green Dot aspires to improve the environment in which we live by building a more sustainable world with renewable biobased resins and promoting their use through invention, creation and research. Learn more at http://www.GreenDotBioplastics.com.
