Coke, Ford, Nike, others partner for bio-based PET

Five of America’s biggest brand owners are banding together to develop and use plant-based PET plastics in products including bottles, apparel, footwear, automotive fabrics and carpets.

The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, H.J. Heinz Company, Nike, Inc., and Procter & Gamble have announced the formation of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC), a strategic working group they say will focus on accelerating the development and use of 100 per cent plant-based PET materials and fiber in their products.

It’s not entirely new ground for some of these brand owners. Ford already uses soybean foam for its upholstery; other companies are producing petroleum-free memory foam mattresses, detergents, candles and more. Coke has been using its PlantBottle technology, a PET resin made with bio-based monoethylene glycol, since 2009.

Members of the new PET collaborative said they hope to find new uses for the plastic while backing life-cycle studies and standardized terminology for companies and consumers.

“This new collaborative was formed to support new technologies in an effort to evolve today’s material that is partially made from plants to a solution made entirely from plants,” the companies said in a joint press release. “By leveraging the research and development efforts of the founding companies, the PTC is taking the lead to affect positive change across multiple industries. PTC members are committed to researching and developing commercial solutions for PET plastic made entirely from plants and will aim to drive the development of common methodologies and standards for the use of plant-based plastic including life cycle analyses and universal terminology.”