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(NC)-Sustainability is all the rage in interior design, with consumers opting for eco-friendly choices.
Companies are responding quickly to the demand, and sustainable materials are appearing everywhere - from the inside of your home and office, to the inside of your vehicle.
Sustainable or "green" materials are made from renewable sources like soy and bamboo, rather than non-renewable sources like petroleum.
These sustainable materials can now be found everywhere in new vehicles.
For example, an innovative soy-based polyurethane foam is replacing the petroleum-based foam traditionally found in vehicle seat cushions, seat backs, armrests and head restraints.
The lighter, soy-based foam, which made its industry debut in the 2008 Ford Mustang, is just as comfortable as the old foam coupled with the bonus of decreasing the vehicle's carbon footprint by 605,000 pounds a year.
"Green" innovations can also be found in the smallest details of your vehicle - it's increasingly common to make the paneling along doors and dashboards from recycled or reclaimed wood.
The recycled wood is ground up, processed and polished into smooth "new" wood without cutting down any additional trees.
Wood isn't the only material being recycled in car interiors as old is new when it comes to seat fabric as well. Fabrics are now being made from 100 per cent post-industrial waste.
This material, which comes from things like plastic pop bottles and un-dyed polyester fibres, is processed, spun into yarn and then woven into seat fabric.
Using sustainable materials in new vehicles provides real environmental benefits.
For example, by switching to post-industrial materials, the 2008 Ford Escape will conserve an estimated 2.2 million litres of water, 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents and more than 7 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
As vehicles become more eco-friendly, the interior of your fuel efficient car will soon be as "green" as the engine.