Car seats

DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 20, 2008 - The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner are even more earth-friendly for 2009, thanks to class-leading fuel economy and new soy-based foam seat cushions wrapped in 100 percent recycled fabric, the first such seats in the automotive industry.

2009 Ford Escape

"As Ford continues to migrate soy-based foam seat inserts across many vehicle platforms, we're improving our environmental footprint by conserving limited resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions," said Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Ford Plastics Research.

In addition to the Escape and Mariner, the Ford Mustang, F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator also feature soy-based foam seat cushions.

Johnson Controls Receives Environment Award 2007
AVK (German Federation of Reinforced Plastics) confers 3rd place on new natural fiber product Dual FaserTec

Burscheid – 6 November 2007. Johnson Controls, one of the world's leading suppliers of automotive interior systems, electronics and batteries, has taken 3rd place in the AVK Innovation Award 2007. The company received the award in the Environment category for its particularly comfortable car seat pads made out of natural fibers. Compared to conventional manufacturing methods, it requires fewer process steps and materials – making it more economical to produce, too. The use of completely unmixed materials also makes it easier to recycle and reduces the overall volume of emissions during production.