Entropy Resin Blog

Entropy Resins joined 1% for the Planet (1%), pledging to donate 1% of annual sales to support non-profit organizations focused on sustainability.

”Signing on to 1% for the Planet shows Entropy Resins has a strong commitment to investing in sustainability efforts,” says Terry Kellogg, CEO. “They're using business as a tool to engage and motivate their stakeholders while partnering with environmental organizations that complement their brand. We're excited to welcome Entropy Resins to our global network." Members of 1% for the Planet contribute one percent of annual sales directly to any of the approved non-profit environmental organizations in the network.  Non-profits are approved based on referrals, track record and sustainbility focus. Over 2,900 non-profits worldwide are currently approved.

“As we near our 10th anniversary we’re celebrating that our members have contributed nearly $100 million of critically needed funds,” comments Kellogg. “The understanding that brands can succeed financially by investing in the environment is clearly apparent, and consumer demand is driving a lot of this success. The average annual revenue growth of the companies in the 1% for the Planet network from 2008 to 2011 was over 50%, even though the overall economy has been struggling. There’s a paradigm shift happening here and we’re thrilled that so many innovative businesses are sling-shotting the movement in to high gear.”

About 1% for the Planet
Started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, 1% for the Planet is a platform of credibility and engagement for environmentally conscious brands that are truly committed to making a positive impact with their business. This growing global movement of over 1,400 member companies in 45 countries donate one percent of annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide. To learn more go to: www.onepercentfortheplanet.org.

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY - February 21, 2012

To buoy America's farmers and cut the nation's dependence on oil, President Obama is expected to issue rules today to expand the emerging market for biobased products that are just starting to appear on store shelves with a U.S.-approved label. Obama is scheduled to sign a presidential memo that requires the federal government to track and increase its purchases of products made from plants and other renewable agricultural materials — products such as hand soap derived from soybeans, furniture from sunflower hull wood or disposable spoons from potatoes.

"We want to get to the point where we're using everything we grow and everything we raise" to create jobs, help the environment and reduce petroleum use, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an interview. Obama is directing him to increase by 50%, within a year, the number of eligible products — now about 9,000.

These rules build on the Department of Agriculture's BioPreferred program, created by the 2002 Farm Bill. Last year, the USDA started a voluntary label that companies can place on their products if they prove a product is entirely or significantly biobased. The department has approved 500 products, many of which are now being repackaged to carry the "USDA Certified Biobased Product" seal.

"This is brand new," said John Replogle, CEO of Seventh Generation, which makes dozens of eco-friendly products such as laundry detergent derived partly from sugar cane. This month, some of its products began sporting the label, and he expects 95% of them will do so by the end of 2012.

Replogle welcomes the federal promotion of biobased products, saying it "encourages consumers to understand from what their products are derived." He said many don't realize that household products, including detergent, often contain petroleum.

"There are tremendous opportunities here to grow rural communities," Vilsack said, citing the plethora of petroleum-based products that could be produced from plants instead.

Yet, there are limits, especially with transportation fuels, said Alice Pilgeram, a research professor in plant biology at Montana State University. She found it would take millions of acres of camelina, an oil plant, to produce enough fuel to offset 10% of the fuel oil used at one major airport.

She also said some biobased products cost more. With a USDA study grant, she tested a lubricant made of canola oil that cost more than a petroleum-based alternative, but she said it performed much better. "You effectively use less, because you lubricate the chain saw less often."

To view the whole article Click Here.

Entropy Resins is pleased to announce that its Super Sap® 100/1000 System has been certified as a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) certified biobased product.

The USDA Bio-Preferred^SM Program is a voluntary labeling program used to certify consumer biobased products in the U.S. The certification uses the ASTM D6866 standard to measure the biobased carbon atoms in a product. "With so many products in the market place being sold as 'biobased', it's difficult today for customers to distinguish between what is real and what is green-washing", states Entropy founder and President, Desi Banatao. "With the ASTM certified 37% bio-based carbon measurement for our Super Sap 100/1000 system, and our calculated total biomass of 50% which includes the biobased oxygen and nitrogen atoms, we are walking the walk and setting the bar for our industry", states Banatao.

From their start in 2009, Entropy Resins has pushed the boundaries of what can be done with biobased materials to create strong, durable, and lightweight performance composites. Today, their customers range from artists and hobbyists, to sporting goods and wind energy manufacturers. Entropy Resins and the USDA BioPreferred Certification Program sets the next standard in verifying biobased content for sustainable performance composite resins.

January 25, 2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With its Super SapTM line of bio-derived epoxy systems, Entropy Resins, a California-based materials company, is enabling a new generation of companies to create environmentally friendly yet high performance composite products.

Over the past year, Entropy has partnered with several sporting goods companies to bring their Super SapTM technology to market. One such company, Utah-based Niche Snowboards, uses a proprietary version of Super SapTM across their entire snowboard line. “From the start we wanted to design and build a product where every component had some environmental improvement over the industry standard,” states Dustin Morrell, COO of Niche. “However, snowboards go through an incredible amount of abuse so we had to make sure these components were not only eco-friendly but also performed. Entropy Resins was able to deliver on both goals.”

For 2011, Entropy customers are introducing commercial products across other action sports, including alpine skis, skateboards, and surfboards. However, eco-friendly sporting goods are just the beginning for the materials company. Entropy Resins is expanding into the larger composites markets like wind energy, transportation, and civil engineering. “With new industry standards and government legislation focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maximizing the sustainability of our natural resources, we feel there are further opportunities for our bio-based technology.” states Desi Banatao, lead applications engineer for Entropy. Later this year, Entropy will introduce a line of coatings and adhesive products aimed specifically at the construction industry, as well as resin infusion systems for making large composite parts.

Entropy’s Super SapTM epoxy is based on a patent pending process that replaces petroleum-based chemicals with those sourced from bio-renewable feedstock and waste streams of other industrial processes. “By sharing bio-renewable feed stocks with other industries, like the paper pulp and bio-fuels industries, and using manufacturing processes that require less energy and water we can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our resins”, states Rey Banatao, Entropy’s lead biochemist. “Considering resins can be more than 50% of the volume in a composite structure, these savings can be environmentally significant.”

Because composites are integral to a product’s structure and integrity, performance has always been a priority for Entropy’s R&D efforts and is the key differentiator for their products. “Historically, bio-derived materials have been used in the resin industry as diluents or plasticizers in adhesives or coatings, which is usually opposite of what you want in a composite.” states Desi Banatao. “However from the beginning our goal has been to employ bio-derived technologies that not only match the performance of existing petroleum-based composites but surpass them in certain areas.” These areas include adhesion and elongation properties that can improve the longevity of composite structure and ultimately the end product.

About Entropy Resins, Inc.

Entropy Resins, Inc. is headquartered in Gardena, CA. For more information about Entropy Resins and their Super SapTM line of sustainable resins, please visit http://www.entropyresins.com or contact Desi Banatao at desi@entropyresins.com.