DALTON, GA., (October 21, 2020) — SYNLawn®, the largest manufacturer and unrivaled innovator of synthetic grass in North America, announced today that it has earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label. The product, SYNAugustine 547 Bio-Based System, is now able to display a unique USDA label that highlights its percentage of biobased content.
The following SYNLawn products have earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label:
- SYNRenew with 47% biobased content
- SYNAugustine 547 with 19% biobased content
- SYNAugustine 547 Bio-Based System with 70% biobased content
Third-party verification for a product’s biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program, an initiative created by the 2002 Farm Bill (and recently reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill). One of the goals of the BioPreferred Program is to increase the development, purchase and use of biobased products.
The USDA Certified Biobased Product label displays a product’s biobased content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source, such as plant, animal, marine, or forestry feedstocks. Utilizing renewable, biobased materials displaces the need for non-renewable petroleum-based chemicals. Biobased products, through petroleum displacement, have played an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that exacerbate global climate change.
Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.
“We are proud to be partners with the USDA and appreciate their efforts to help support biobased products,” said George Neagle, executive vice president at SYNLawn. “We are excited to offer a unique biobased System with 70% biobased content.”
“We applaud SYNLawn for earning the USDA Certified Biobased Product label,” said Kate Lewis, USDA BioPreferred Program. “Products from SYNLawn are contributing to an ever-expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities, and decreases our reliance on petroleum.”
According to a report that USDA released in July 2019, biobased products contributed $459 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 (a 17% increase from 2014) and support, directly and indirectly, 4.6 million jobs. The report’s research team estimates the reduction of fossil fuels and associated GHG emissions from biobased products equivalent to approximately 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) prevented as of 2016. The increased production of renewable chemicals and biobased products contributes to the development and expansion of the U.S. bioeconomy – where society looks to agriculture for sustainable sources of fuel, energy, chemicals, and products.
ABOUT SYNLAWN®
SYNLawn® is the largest manufacturer and unrivaled innovator of artificial grass in North America. As part of the SportGroup Holding® family of companies, SYNLawn, along with sister surfacing brands – Astroturf, Rekortan, APT and Laykold – delivers the best products available on the market. SYNLawn’s product offerings also include Calico Greens™, an upscale line of artificial wall displays. SYNLawn’s turnkey network of 100 distributors seamlessly combines environmental stewardship with industry-leading innovations. Manufactured in Dalton, GA, SYNLawn uses bio-based ingredients, such as soy and sugarcane, and consumer-conscious additives such as antimicrobials to meet customers’ wide range of needs. With more than 200,000 residential and commercial installations, the company is raising the bar for global synthetic turf standards and transforming the idea of grass. For more information, visit www.SYNLawn.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube.
ABOUT THE USDA BIOPREFERRED PROGRAM AND CERTIFIED BIOBASED PRODUCT LABEL
The BioPreferred Program is a USDA-led initiative that assists the development and expansion of markets for biobased products. The BioPreferred Program is transforming the marketplace for biobased products through two initiatives: mandatory purchasing requirements for Federal Agencies and Federal contractors and voluntary product certification and labeling. Biobased products span a diverse range of applications, such as lubricants, cleaning products, chemicals and bioplastics. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label communicates a product’s biobased content. Expressed as a percentage, biobased content is the ratio of non-fossil organic carbon (new organic carbon) to total organic carbon in a product. New organic carbon is derived from recently-created materials. The total organic carbon in a product consists of new organic carbon and old organic carbon that originates from fossil carbon materials, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas. More than 3,500 products have earned the
USDA Certified Biobased Product label. To learn more about the USDA Certified Biobased Product label, please visit www.biopreferred.gov, and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/BioPreferred.
