Origin Materials, Inc., the world’s leading carbon negative materials company, announced today that it has earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label.

The products, chloromethyl furfural (CMF) and hydrothermal carbon (HTC), are now able to display a unique USDA label that highlights their percentage of biobased content.


Third-party verification for a product's biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program, an initiative created by the 2002 Farm Bill (and recently reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill). One of the goals of the BioPreferred Program is to increase the development, purchase and use of biobased products.

The USDA Certified Biobased Product label displays a product's biobased content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source, such as plant, animal, marine, or forestry feed-stocks. Utilizing renewable, biobased materials displaces the need for non-renewable petroleum-based chemicals.

Origin’s CMF and HTC qualify for mandatory federal purchasing by meeting or exceeding the minimum biobased content requirements for one or more product categories identified by the USDA.

Biobased products, through petroleum displacement, have played an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that exacerbate global climate change. Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.

"Earning the USDA Certified Biobased Product label is a significant step in our mission to transition the world to sustainable, carbon-negative materials,” said Rich Riley, co-CEO of Origin Materials. “These materials touch countless products and markets, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, and toys. With this third-party certification of our cost-advantaged plat-form materials, CMF and HTC, Origin becomes a preferred supplier of biobased materials to the United States government. And we further strengthen our leadership position in renewable, carbon-negative materials that reduce the need for fossil resources.”

"We applaud Origin Materials for earning the USDA Certified Bi-obased Product label," said Vernell Thompson, USDA BioPreferred Program. "Products from Origin Materials will contribute to an ever-expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities, and decreases our reliance on petroleum."

According to a report that USDA released in July 2019, biobased products contributed $459 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 (a 17% increase from 2014) and support, directly and indirectly, 4.6 million jobs. The report's research team estimates the reduction of fossil fuels and associated GHG emissions from biobased products equivalent to approximately 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) prevented as of 2016.

The increased production of renewable chemicals and biobased products contributes to the development and expansion of the U.S. bioeconomy where society looks to agriculture for sustainable sources of fuel, energy, chemicals, and products.

www.originmaterials.com