TESSCO SELECTS ROTUBA’S NATURACELL® FOR NEW IPHONE CASES
Eco-friendly biopolymer continues to help companies produce innovative, sustainable consumer goods
Linden, N.J. – November 12, 2008 – Rotuba, a custom extruder and compounder, is pleased to announce its eco-friendly biopolymer Naturacell® was selected by TESSCO Technologies to make a new line of iPhone clip-on cases. Manufactured by Ventev, the Element iPhone 3G Case is made with 100 percent Naturacell and is now available for consumer purchase.
Naturacell is an innovative biopolymer that can help companies quickly and easily pursue their sustainability initiatives. Ideally suited for a wide range of consumer products including toys, jewelry and tools, Naturacell arrives at a time when manufacturers are looking for ways to meet growing consumer demand for sustainable, “green” products.
“The functionality of Naturacell is ideal and the entire ‘green’ story holds a lot of weight in the market right now,” said Dee Dee Tsamoutalis, director of global sourcing for TESSCO. “We wanted to create an environmentally-friendly phone case that we could offer our customers who were interested in this type of product and our partnership with Rotuba has helped us realize our goal.”
Naturacell’s base, Cellulose, is derived from sustainable natural resources – trees and cotton planted and harvested specifically for making this material. In addition, it also possesses extraordinary physical properties such as tough impact strength, superior clarity and high surface gloss.
The growing trend of consumer demand for more environmentally-friendly products was a main factor that led Rotuba to create Naturacell. Research has shown that consumers prefer to purchase products that can be recycled, are made with renewable or sustainable resources and don’t harm the environment during production. It was also important for the company to produce a biopolymer that was durable, easy to incorporate into production, and free from any special tooling or capital investments.
“Consumer demand for environmentally-friendly products continues to grow and manufacturers have been challenged to find a more efficient, affordable way to capture this opportunity,” said Adam Bell, president of Rotuba. “We are excited about our partnership with TESSCO and look forward to working with them to create other sustainable products in the future.”
For more than 60 years, Rotuba has been an industry leader in custom compounding, with its brands including Auracell and Naturacell, and in custom extrusions for the lighting and point-of- purchase sectors. Today, Rotuba is at the forefront of the shift to a greener industry with Naturacell®, an environmentally friendly polymer that works with existing tooling, so customers can start processing it right away. Derived from trees and cotton, a sustainable natural resource, Naturacell is a durable, attractive plastic that can be made transparent and can be reprocessed, recycled and reused in most applications. Rotuba and Naturacell are the smart choice for processors looking to meet increasing green demands around the world.