Ford Builds on Eco-Friendly Products and Process as More Consumers Live Sustainable Lifestyles

DEARBORN, Mich., May 21, 2009: Although consumers are more cost-conscious during these stressed economic times, many remain committed to more sustainable lifestyles and products, evident by the growing demand for items such as organic foods, clothing, personal-care and cleaning products. In fact, goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice and sustainable living represent a $209 billion marketplace in the U.S. Ford's use of more bio-based, recycled and reclaimed materials for vehicle interiors gives the company further leverage with this expanding consumer segment that's living green.

Ford designers and researchers are taking a total green approach to vehicle development and design, stepping beyond just fuel efficiency and what's under the hood and incorporating more sustainable materials and processes inside the vehicle, too.

Ford's award-winning soy-based foam seat cushions and backs, for example, will be on more than 1 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by the end of this year, leading to a total reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 5 million pounds. Most recently, Ford announced that the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ will feature sustainable interior materials such as seat fabrics made with varying degrees of post-industrial yarns, suede-like material created from plastic pop bottles, chromium-free leather and engineered ebony wood, all of which reduce waste, energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

To ensure these greener material measures resonate with customers, Ford designers are gaining a deeper understanding of the different levels of green consumerism. Statistics show that one in four adults in the U.S. are living more sustainable lifestyles; interested in companies that are more socially responsible and buying products that are healthier for people and the planet.

Designers also are examining what's the most expressive way to use these materials in vehicle interiors and how do they best represent the vehicle brand. Customers, for example, expect suede to look and feel like suede even if it's made from plastic bottles. Interior wood accents, a common luxury-car cue, must exhibit rich colors and textures, whether it's derived from a natural veneer or a more eco-friendly reconstituted wood veneer.

Ford researchers are challenged with developing alternative interior materials that perform without compromise to functionality or durability, can be manufactured in a more eco-friendly manner, decrease our dependence on foreign oil and are cost effective. No interior application is off limits on the research front, with plastics, rubber, foam, film and fabric under the microscope. No material is discarded as a possible substitute, either, from recycled items such as old blue jeans and plastic pop bottles to bio-based sources such as hemp, wheat straw, corn and soybeans.

The goal is to provide the company with as many sustainable material choices as possible for interior components front to back, from seat cushions and fabrics to underbody and impact shields, headliners, trunk liners and more.

In Vehicles Today

Ford's imaginative use of sustainable materials for vehicle interiors in North America includes:

  --  Award-winning soy-based polyurethane foams on the seat cushions and
      seat backs, now in production on the Ford Mustang, Expedition, F-150,
      Focus, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner and Lincoln Navigator
      and Lincoln MKS. Within a year after its 2007 introduction on the
      Mustang, Ford was using soy foam seats on more than 1 million
      vehicles, which results in a reduction of petroleum oil usage by 1
      million pounds annually. This year, Ford is expanding its soy-foam
      portfolio to include the industry's first application of a soy-foam
      headliner on the 2010 Escape and Mariner.
  --  100 percent post-industrial recycled yarns in seat fabrics. The 2008
      Ford Escape was the first vehicle in the U.S. to use seating surfaces
      made from 100 percent post-industrial recycled fabric. The 2010 Fusion
      and Mercury Milan Hybrids feature 85 percent post-industrial yarns and
      15 percent solution died yarns. The use of 100 percent post-industrial
      yarns represents a 64 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 60
      percent reduction in CO2 emissions.
  --  100 percent post-consumer recycled yarns in seat fabrics. The 2010
      Ford Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKZ utilize fabrics made from pop bottles
      to further reduce consumer waste and at the same time maintain the
      luxurious hand and appearance required for luxury vehicles. Each meter
      of this micro denier suede is made from 20 recycled plastic pop
      bottles.
  --  Underbody systems, such as aerodynamic shields, splash shields, and
      radiator air deflector shields, made from post-consumer recycled
      resins such as detergent bottles, tires and battery casings. In 2008,
      nearly a dozen Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products featured these
      applications, diverting between 25 and 30 million pounds of plastic
      from landfills. For the 2009 model year, all North American products
      will use the recycled resin.
  --  Engineered ebony wood. Recycled and reassembled grain by grain, this
      wood is stained with a water-based stain to give it the warm, rich
      appearance luxury vehicle owners expect without destroying additional
      trees. The wood is featured on Lincoln products, including the
      Navigator, MKX and MKS. For 2010, the Lincoln MKZ will also offer
      interior leathers tanned with a more earth-friendly, chromium-free
      process.

  On the Horizon

Ford's holistic and sky's-the-limit approach to using more sustainable materials means that researchers are hard at work developing new implementations of other renewable materials to help reduce resource burdens, waste and emissions as well as help reduce the weight of vehicles and improve their fuel economy. Applications on the horizon include:

  --  Corn-based, compostable and natural-fiber filled plastics. Under
      development are, for example, natural-fiber composites as a potential
      substitute for the glass fibers traditionally used in plastic
      automotive components to make them stronger.
  --  Polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic derived completely from
      the sugars in corn, sugarbeets, sugarcane, switch grass and other
      plants. Plastic parts made from PLA can biodegrade after their life
      cycle in 90 to 120 days versus up to 1,000 years in a landfill for a
      traditional petroleum-based plastic.
  --  The replacement of petroleum-based fillers with soy protein fillers in
      rubber for items such as door seals, floor mats, gaskets and splash
      shields.
  --  Experimentation with nanotechnology, including nano-filler materials
      in metal and plastic composites to reduce weight while increasing
      strength.

 

"Ford is committed to offering customers affordable, environmentally-friendly technologies in vehicles they really want. We are focused on providing solutions that can be used not for hundreds or thousands of cars, but for millions of cars because that is how Ford truly can make a difference."

- Alan Mulally, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company

"Wherever petroleum-based materials exist - in plastic, rubber, foam, film or fabric - we are looking to minimize its proportion and replace it with a sustainable material."

- Dr. Cynthia Flanigan, Technical Expert/ Ford Plastics Research

"When we consider incorporating a sustainable material into an interior, we have to be sure that it supports the brand, that it can be manufactured in such a way that conserves energy, natural resources and reduces CO2 emissions, and, most importantly, that it provides the appearance, quality and durability that our customers expect."

- Carol Kordich, Designer/ Ford Corporate Design