Mom squad creates soybean car seat

Fri, Dec 19 2008 at 12:56 PM

Ford recently announced its latest effort to go green and give its struggling line-up an eco-boost...soybean car seats. Designed by a "mom-squad" of bioengineers, these car seats are composed of natural hemp and soybean fibers that degrade within 90-120 days in a compost pile. They are also 20-30% lighter than traditional plastic composites, which can help drivers get a boost in their fuel economy as well. Ford has already begun replacing the 30 pounds of petroleum-based foam in each of its vehicle's seat backs, seat cushions, armrests, instrument panels and headliners and hopes to have soy-foam in one million cars by the end of 2009.

According to Ford's website:

"With soy foam in seats on one million vehicles planned, Ford expects to decrease its use of petroleum oil by one million pounds and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by five million pounds annually."

What do you think of Ford's soybean car seat? Is it green or greenwashed?

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