Honda's New Plant-Based Automobile Fabric
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 05.26.06
TreeHugger has seen plant-based plastic in cars and plant-based fabric before, but never plant-fabric in cars...until now. Honda has succeeded in developing bio-fabric, a plant-based fabric with excellent durability and resistance to sunlight, for use as a surface material in automobile interiors. Bio-fabric offers the benefit of offsetting CO2 emissions produced during incineration in the disposal stage with CO2 absorption that occurs during the growth stage of the plants (also known around here as "climate-neutrality") that are used as raw materials. Concerns about limited durability and aesthetics have kept the fabric out of commercial use, until now; Honda's new fabric has a soft and smooth material appropriate for the surface of automobile interiors, with high durability and excellent resistance to sunlight to prevent color fading after prolonged use. In addition to seat surfaces, this bio-fabric can be used for the interior surface of the doors and roof and for floor mats. Honda will install these bio-fabric interiors to the company’s all-new fuel cell vehicle which will be introduced to the market within next three years. ::Honda via ::Green Car Congress
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Sounds like a big step in the right direction. Kudos to Honda for taking the initiative, however upon reading the honda press release (http://world.honda.com/news/2006/c060525BioFabric/) I noticed that it states, "A polyester material called PPT (polypropylene terephthalate) is the basic material of the bio-fabric." Anyone know if the tetraphthalate is related to the phthalates we are hearing so much about these days? Is there an associated health risk possible? I'm sure it's exponentially better than the fabrics that are being used currently, but it causes me to wonder....
I can't believe the dudes at Honda left their bong in the picture! Oh my god, how much bio-fabric did they smoke!?!
(I take it back--great post)
may i have a job working with you. markesha cotton 2057.898221