PHILADELPHIA, PA, February 28, 2019 — Inolex has obtained USDA Biobased certification for 55 of its products in the USDA BioPreferred® Program, making it the largest portfolio of Personal Care ingredients to be offered under the USDA Certified Biobased Product label.

Managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the USDA BioPreferred Program defines biobased as those products derived, in whole or in significant part, from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials not derived from petroleum. The USDA BioPreferred Program manages the USDA Certified Biobased Product label. A USDA Certified Biobased Product is a product that has achieved third-party verification of biobased content and has earned USDA certification and approval to display the label. Inolex products were processed through the SEI Biobased Certification Program which includes testing for biobased content in accordance with an approved ASTM test method (D6866) at a certified ASTM laboratory.

Of the Inolex products USDA Certified Biobased, more than half contain 100% certified biobased content and 90% contain 80–100% certified biobased content. This accomplishment is further evidence of Inolex’s commitment to create leading, innovative technologies with an emphasis on plant-based and sustainable ingredients.

“Consumers are very interested in buying natural beauty products, but there is a lot of noise in our industry about what “natural” means. It’s an issue that our industry is working hard to resolve. At Inolex, we define our products as “natural” when they contain 100% plant-based carbon and are made using green chemistry principles. Having a portfolio of natural certifications provides additional support to our definition of natural. We are excited to add the USDA BioPreferred Program to our portfolio of certifications as an important step in defining natural or biobased with scientific credibility,” said Rocco Burgo, Chief Scientist at Inolex.

The company’s adoption of the USDA BioPreferred Program standards will help customers identify which ingredients best fit their formulation needs and facilitate obtaining USDA Biobased certification for their end consumer products. Inolex’s USDA Certified Biobased Products span numerous ingredient categories. They include:

• The cationic conditioning agent Emulsense™ HC, which contains 100% USDA certified biobased content.
• Alternatives to cyclomethicones LexFeel® WOW and LexFeel® WOW DT, which both contain 100% USDA certified biobased content.
• The readily biodegradable film former for sun care LexFilm® Sun Natural, which contains 100% USDA certified biobased content.
• Caprylhydroxamic Acid-based preservation alternative Spectrastat™ G2, which contains 100% USDA certified biobased content.

These ingredients provide the performance and sensory benefits of synthetics, while providing a better sustainability profile compared to traditional materials. This certification enables Inolex’s customers to bring certified biobased innovation to their consumers and meet the continuously growing global market demand for natural products.

Inolex’s inclusion in the program supports the USDA BioPreferred Program’s mission to further reduce the Personal Care industry’s reliance on petroleum-based products. It is a transparent example of the company’s commitment to promote high performance, safe, and natural ingredients, adding to its existing certification platform that includes Ecocert, COSMOS, and NSF/ANSI 305.

About the USDA BioPreferred Program and Certified Biobased Product Label

The BioPreferred Program is a USDA-led initiative that assists the development and expansion of markets for biobased products. The BioPreferred Program is transforming the marketplace for biobased products through two initiatives: mandatory purchasing requirements for Federal Agencies and Federal contractors and voluntary product certification and labeling.

Biobased products span a diverse range of applications, such as lubricants, cleaning products, chemicals and bioplastics. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label communicates a product's biobased content. Expressed as a percentage, biobased content is the ratio of non-fossil organic carbon (new organic carbon) to total organic carbon in a product. New organic carbon is derived from recently-created materials. The total organic carbon in a product consists of new organic carbon and old organic carbon that originates from fossil carbon materials, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas. More than 3,000 products have earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product label. To learn more about the USDA Certified Biobased Product label please visit www.biopreferred.gov and follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BioPreferred.