In Michigan, Ford’s soy-based foam is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The first soy-based seat cushions rolled off the assembly lines with Ford’s 2008 Mustang, and since then at least 18.5 million Ford vehicles have included a soy-based component. The company says it has consumed 578 billion soybeans, which in the process has prevented 288 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Ford began to look at biobased alternatives in 2008 when oil prices rose sharply, but still made the foam standard in its vehicles. The automaker is also eying other renewable materials, including tomato peels, agave fiber, dandelions, bamboo, and algae. The company’s iconic F-150 trucks have also featured upholstery made out plastic bottles