LG Chem unveils eco-friendly bioplastic, supplies to US toy firm Mattel

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s largest chemicals maker, has unveiled a new eco-friendly high-performance bioplastic and supplied it to Mattel Inc., a US multinational toy manufacturer.

LG said on Monday it is launching a plant-based acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) product, a thermoplastic polymer used in cars, home appliances and construction materials as well as toys.

As Asia’s first to launch such a product using plant-based raw materials, the Korean company is supplying it to the US toy company under LG’s eco-friendly product brand LETZero.

The product has also obtained a global eco-friendly certification, the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC PLUS) – Asia’s first to do so, it said.

LG Chem, the market leader in ABS products with an annual production capacity of 2.4 million tons, said the latest plant-based ABS drastically reduces carbon emissions throughout the production and distribution processes.

Launching the new product as part of its long-term sustainability drive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, LG said it plans to expand its presence in the eco-friendly plastic market amid the environmental, social and governance (ESG) campaigns across industries.

“LG Chem will continue to lead the market with products based on eco-friendly materials to provide environmentally-conscious customers with a variety of goods,” said Roh Kuk-rae, LG Chem’s petrochemical business chief.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.