What does the BioPreferred Label Mean?

In the last article, we broke down the meaning of the terms biomaterial, biobased, bioplastic, and biofabricated. Of these, ‘biobased’ is the only term that has a legal definition. So, we’re digging deeper into that definition.?

It is not easy to figure out what is in a biomaterial. One reason is that manufacturers want to retain their proprietary information. They have spent millions of dollars and years researching and developing new materials and want to keep their information private. To help consumers understand these new products and manufacturers preserve their intellectual property, The U.S. Department of Agriculture created the BioPreferred certification.?

Biopreferred.gov defines biobased products as “derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials and generally provide an alternative to conventionally petroleum derived products”(1). The USDA BioPreferred? Program was created by the 2002 Farm Bill and expanded as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The Program aims to increase the use of biobased products, which will create new jobs, provide new markets for farmers, and decrease America’s dependence on fossil fuels. Our podcast, Trace Material, investigates how the 2018 Farm Bill radically changed the New York State agricultural marketplace in the season 1 episode, Booms, Bills and Busts. Listen here.

A product can be awarded the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label from the BioPreferred Program if the manufacturer seeks it out and voluntarily applies. A company must have it tested, verified by a third-party, and meet the minimum biobased content requirements established by the USDA (2). ASTM D6866 is the Standard Test Method for Determining Biobased Content. It tests for the amount of biogenic carbon content (which can be differentiated from fossil-derived carbon).

Here is where it gets a bit confusing for consumers: each product category has different minimum biobased content requirements to be certified, and there are currently 139 product categories. Biobased carpet, for example, is required to have only 7% bio content, while lumber is required to have 25% bio content. However, minimum percentages are much higher for other categories. Wallpaper requires 62%, and shaving creams must have 92% bio content to be considered for certification. Since the minimum percentages vary widely, the BioPreferred label can mean many different things according to the product category. If a product does not fit in any of the 139 established categories, the minimum requirement is 25%.?

As we pointed out in our article Forging a Post Petroleum World: Biobased, Biofabricated, Biomaterial, What’s the Difference?, it is important to recognize that just because a product has a BioPreferred Label, it does not necessarily mean that it's healthier. There are many examples of products made with biobased content that contain toxics. Nevertheless, it’s good to understand how the United States Department of Agriculture prioritizes “biobased” materials.?

Healthy Materials Lab includes the BioPreferred Label as one of the metrics in our material collections. Get notified when collections are updated by signing up for our mailing list.

(Header image credit: Hempwool batt insulation from Hempitecture )

(1) USDA BioPreferred? Program FAQs

(2) The USDA defines “biobased content” as the ratio between new organic carbon to total organic carbon. New organic carbon refers to that which is derived from plants and other agricultural materials, whereas total organic carbon refers to new + old organic carbon. Old organic carbon comes from petroleum. The amount of new organic carbon factors into a product's sustainability attributes.? https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/pages/BiobasedProducts.xhtml