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Biobased Products Industry Growing

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that in 2014, the biobased products industry contributed $393 billion and 4.2 million jobs to America’s recovering economy. The report also indicates that the sector grew from 2013 to 2014, creating or supporting an additional 220,000 jobs and $24 billion over that period.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “When USDA released the first-ever Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry last year, we were thrilled to see what a positive impact this sector was having on our economy, and this updated analysis shows that the sector is not just holding strong, but growing.

“America has an appetite for everyday products-including plastic bottles, textiles, cleanings supplies and more-made from renewable sources, and that demand is fueling millions of jobs, bringing manufacturing back to our rural communities, and reducing our nation’s carbon footprint. As this sector is strengthening, so is the economy in rural America, where this year the unemployment rate dropped below six percent for the first time since 2007. USDA is proud to see such strong returns on our investment into the biobased products industry.”

In addition to their contribution to the rural economy, innovative biobased materials also have key environmental benefits including the reduction of the use of fossil fuels and reduced associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Today, USDA’s BioPreferred Program, which was created by the 2002 Farm Bill and reauthorized and expanded as part of the 2014 Farm Bill, has an online catalog of more than 15,000 products, of which 2,700 have been certified to carry the USDA Biobased Product label.

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