On July 28, Dow and Tongyuan Industries, a Malaysian producer of plastic stretch wrap films, launched a new line of Bio-based polyethylene (bio-PE) stretch wrap films in the Asia Pacific region. This is a milestone in the commercialization of plastic products made from renewable raw materials in the region, enabling suppliers in the plastics industry to produce high-performance plastics while reducing their carbon footprint.

In the cooperative project, Tongyuan Industrial uses polyethylene resin made from renewable raw material extract provided by Dow as raw material to produce its products. The renewable raw material is derived from tall oil, a residue from the papermaking process. Unlike other optional renewable feedstock, this one does not affect the human food supply, nor does it take up additional land to produce.

"Dow adopts a quality balance approach to support sustainable plastics production systems by encouraging the use of sustainable raw materials," said Li Mingzhuang, Vice president, Asia-Pacific Commercial, Dow's Packaging & Specialty Plastics Business Unit. "This approach enables the industry to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels." He emphasized that to meet the new sustainability goals, Dow is committed to implementing and advancing technologies that reduce the use of resources in manufacturing processes, thereby helping Dow's customers reduce their carbon footprint. The introduction of Dow's first biobased polyethylene from renewable raw materials in the Asia-Pacific region is an important step in this direction.

Using Dow's biobased resin, the Nano Bio film achieves high performance while reducing the use of plastics to meet customers' business and sustainability needs, said Datuk Hung Ben-Chuen, chairman of Tongyuan Industries. The Nano Bio stretch film series is produced using the most advanced nanotechnology to improve its strength, flexibility and durability. In addition to being environmentally friendly, this optimised packaging ensures the stability of pallet loading and reduces damage and accidents during transport.