Plastics Industry Trade Association Releases Report Simplifying Bioplastics

On April 1, 2016, The Plastics Industry Trade Association's SPI Bioplastics Division released a new report explaining and defining bioplastics. The report, Bioplastics Simplified: Attributes of Biobased and Biodegradable Products, educates consumers on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides), and what this means in terms of claims that companies make about the origin and degradability of their products. The report discusses the difference between partially and fully biobased or biodegradable plastics, and discusses the environmental benefits of each type. Current industry progress and goals are also covered, from the current 30 percent bioplastic based PlantBottle™ developed by the Coca-Cola Company, to the eventual goal of a 100 percent biobased bottle.