Synthetic grass made from U.S. soybeans is just one of many different soy-based products supported through soy checkoff-funded research. United Soybean Board Director and Indiana farmer Tom Griffiths says there are more than 1,000 products with soy available on the market.
“Today for example, you can wear soy-based Skechers shoes to your car. That car might have soy-based foam in the seats. That car might be riding on a soy-based Goodyear tire that sits on a road that’s held together with a soy-based asphalt binder. If that road’s concrete, it might be protected by an environmentally safe, soy-based concrete durability enhancer PoreShield. These are just a few examples of some of these partnerships.”
One partnership is with SYNLawn, the largest manufacturer and innovator of artificial grass in North America.
“Since 2008, SYNLawn has installed 162 million square feet across 250,000 installations in the U.S. and 119 other countries. We also like the fact that SYNLawn’s parent company was recently rated number one for environmental, social and governance in the Sustainalytics’ relevant category. Anytime the USB can partner with an environmentally conscientious company and have a return back to farmers it’s a win.”
For SYNLawn, there’s an important environmental benefit – soybean oil displaces 60 percent of the petroleum-based polyurethane in common artificial grass products. Griffiths says you can find SYNLawn in a variety of places.
“The Indiana Soybean Alliance kicked off a partnership with the Indianapolis Colts last season using SYNLawn grass for pregame and educational programs with remarkable success. SYNLawn can also be seen at the Kennedy Space Center, FBI buildings and various military projects. It can be seen at New York Central Park, Boys and Girls Clubs of Harlem. The list goes on and on.”
Learn more about soybean checkoff investments online at unitedsoybean.org.