The BioDesign Newsletter

Issue #016

Why is there hesitation to fund material innovators, when fashion brands are looking for sustainable materials to lower their carbon emissions and offer sustainable products?

Treekind® receives the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label

Biophilica, a London-based company, has achieved a USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for its flagship material Treekind®. Treekind® is a material made from lignocellulose, a compound found in dry plant matter and a biobased adhesive or simply put – they turn leaves into leather. The vegan leather alternative has been used to make accessories, shoes and bags, offering a sustainable material that uses 0.1% of the water associated with leather production.

What is a USDA Certified Biobased Product Label?

The USDA Certified Biobased Product label is one of the two key initiatives under the Biopreferred Program led by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Launched in 2002 and expanded in 2014, the program is designed to reduce the reliance on petroleum products and encourage the use of renewable agricultural products. This label gives consumers confidence that a product contains a threshold amount of renewable materials, whether sourced from forests, plants, agriculture or marine environments. 

Achieving the certification requires verification of the biobased content of a product through an independent third party. Once certified, the product will be included in the Biopreferred Program catalogue. 

The Weeds of Green Certifications: A Standardisation Challenge

While Treekind®’s certification is certainly a notable accomplishment, the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label is not the only certification label available. The European Union’s Ecolabel is a similar certification that considers a product’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle. Although both certifications involve independent verification, they employ different methodologies and criteria.

The lack of standardisation in definitions and methods across these ‘green labels’ can pose challenges for the growing number of next-gen materials like Treekind®. Navigating these varying regulations and criteria can be both complex and resource-intensive as companies look to juggle scaling production in addition to regulatory standards. Perhaps incoming legislation could act as a framework to guide the sector towards a harmonised set of definitions, criteria and methods. 

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