Ford Ditches Petroleum-Based Seats For Soy; Green Production Cuts 600,000 lbs. of CO2
Ford Motor Company will be replacing up to 40% of their petroleum-based seat cushions with a new material made from soybean oil. “Soy foam” costs roughly the same to manufacture as traditional petroleum derivatives, but requires less energy to produce and may reduce environmental impacts by 75%.
The new material was developed by Ford’s own researchers, and made its debut in the 2008 Ford Mustang. Soy foam has also already been incorporated into the seat cushions of Ford F-150 pickups, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigator SUV’s. By the end the year, Ford says it will have 45,500 soy-foam vehicles on the road.
According to lifecycle analyses conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (as cited in the press release), soy-based products reduce environmental impacts by 75% when compared with petroleum-based materials.
More facts about Ford’s Soy Foam:
- Ford is using 2.2 million pounds of soy foam for Mustang production, which amounts to about 1 gallon of soybean oil per car.
- Ford estimates that the Mustang project alone will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 605,000 pounds annually.
- Ford is looking to make other materials out of soy foam too, like dashboards, armrests and sound-deadening foams.
I’ve poked some fun at Ford lately (see this year’s April Fools post on Coal Powered F-350s), but this seems like a legitimate effort to green the many toxic materials used in auto manufacturing.
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Source: Ford Motor Company (Apr. 9, 08): FORD EXPANDS ECO-FRIENDLINESS WITH SOY
Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company
Where is Ford getting the soy beans to produce this? If it is from Brazil then they are not doing as much good as it seems. Soy farmers in Brazil are clearing the rainforest to grow the crops which is putting CO2 back into the atmosphere. i wonder if this is factored into the 75% reduction in environmental impacts.
Too bad its only 5% soy, and only 40% of the material will be made of this polyol.
What about those who have soy allergies? Is there enough here to be an issue?
I agree about the soy allergies. I can’t even be across the street from a soybean field without having an allergic reaction. Guess I’ll be avoiding Fords in the future too.
I’m trying to find out if people who are allergic to soy will have a reaction to the soy cushions.
My husband is allergic to soy, peanuts…well legumes in general and even the smell of them will sometime give him some sort of reaction, ranging from rash to vomiting. People that are allergic to soy are allergic to the protein in it. And I can’t find anywhere what part of soy the cushions are made of. Has any research been done on it?
Thank-you