Furniture

Biobased Solutions

Over the past few years, a quiet transformation has begun to take shape within the furniture industry. Most people probably have not thought about the fact that the cushions in their favorite chair, sofa or ottoman, and the foam in their mattress, contain petroleum. The good news is that the amount of petroleum in this cushioning is rapidly decreasing as more and more furniture manufacturers turn to an environmentally friendly alternative–foam made from soybean oil.

Read about furniture manufacturers who are using soybean oil in their furniture foam.

Click here for a listing of furniture and bedding companies that use soy-based foam in their products.

Furniture made with soy foam cushions

Soy-based foam Soy-based foam used in chairs

chair

Plywood cabinets, paneling and more made with a soy bonding agent

DOE’s Solar Decathlon Homes

Every two years, colleges and universities from around the world compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon contest of cutting-edge energy efficiency and renewable energy innovation.  Teams from The Ohio State University, University of Kentucky and Virginia Tech extensively utilized decorative hardwood plywood that uses soy as a bonding agent in kitchen cabinets, wall paneling and more. An advantage of the soy product is that it does not emit harmful fumes from urea formaldehyde.  Learn more about its uses.

Soy-based foam used in mattresses
Cabinet wall unit Cabinets using soy polyols

Carpet Backing

A soy polyol is used to make high performance polyurethane carpet backing systems, replacing a portion of the petroleum based polymers used in the backing.  The artificial turf industry uses this same soy polyol in backing for synthetic landscape grass and sports turf systems. Carpet  

According to Universal Textile Technologies, the company that works with the carpet and turf manufacturers to supply the finished product, there are many environmental benefits.  They include:

  • Made of rapidly renewable and recycled materials – over 50% green by weight
  • Manufactured with a secondary backing of 100% post-consumer recycled PET plastic
  • Replaces over 90% of the petroleum-based polymers with bio-based polymer derived from domestically-grown soybeans
  • Improves environmental air quality
  • Makes a smaller footprint – carpets last longer so less end up in landfills.

Contact Information:

Doug Giles, Universal Textile Technologies, (706) 279-3801 x6104, douggiles@universaltextile.net

Case Studies

Georgia Association of Counties

Biobased Carpet Available for Residential Use