Ford Adds Soy Foam Seat Cushions to 2011 Ford Explorer

24 June, 2010 12:16:00

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Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that the 2011 Ford Explorer will feature soy foam in seat cushions and seatbacks.

The bio-based polyurethane foam will be one of the new, eco-friendly features in the 2011 Ford Explorer which goes in to production later this year.

The addition of soy foam in the Explorer expands Ford’s commitment to using more sustainable materials in all its vehicles. By year’s end, nearly 100 percent of Ford’s North American vehicle lineup will feature the eco-friendly material.

Ford was the first automaker to demonstrate soy-based foams could be formulated to pass stringent requirements for automotive applications, pioneering its use in seats for the 2008 Ford Mustang and in headliners for the 2010 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner.

Ford has more models with seats that use bio foam than any other automaker. The 2011 Explorer will become the 23rd model to feature soy foam. To date, Ford Taurus, Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Crown Victoria, Escape, Edge, Expedition and Econoline, as well as Mercury Mariner and Grand Marquis, Lincoln MKS, MKX, MKT and Navigator use the sustainable material. In addition to Explorer, the Fusion, Fiesta, F-250/F-350 Super Duty, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ will get soy foam by the end of 2010.

Soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 3 million pounds, and is up to 24 percent more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds as the biomaterial provides a 67 percent reduction in volatile organic compounds emissions.

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