WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued the following statement on news that Procter & Gamble's Tide detergent will soon release Tide PurClean, a recently "certified biobased" product through USDA's BioPreferred Program:
"Biobased products pump $369 billion into the U.S. economy each year and support 4 million jobs, directly and indirectly, in rural and small towns across the United States. At the same time, biobased products help us reduce our consumption of petroleum by focusing instead on renewable resources. Everything from plastics and packaging, to cross-laminated timber for residential and commercial building, to textiles, are part of today's biobased economy, benefitting farmers, ranchers, producers and working families in America's rural communities. I applaud Procter & Gamble for integrating renewable materials into Tide detergent, a classic, everyday American product that now carries the USDA Certified Biobased label. American families want to invest their hard-earned dollars in products that are good for them, the environment and our economy, and that's why USDA's BioPreferred program has continued to grow by leaps and bounds, with a catalog of more than 2,500 biobased products today. The USDA Certified Biobased label and USDA's BioPreferred program help consumers make informed decisions about their purchases, giving them assurances that their product was made using renewable materials, such as plants or forestry materials. Procter & Gamble's commitment to these standards is encouraging for the growing biobased sector, and we anticipate greater interest in the BioPreferred program as a result."
To learn more about USDA's BioPreferred Program and what it means to be certified biobased, read our fact sheet or visit www.biopreferred.gov.
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