Amyris and Method partner to develop renewable ingredients for personal care products

As part of the development agreement, Amyris will use Biofene, a renewable compound derived from sugarcane to produce ingredients like solvents and surfactants, senior vice president, External Relations of Amyris, Joel Velasco told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.

As a renewable alternative to petroleum-based chemicals, Biofene can be used either directly in product applications or modified chemically to form additional ingredients, he added.

In line with this, Method will use the renewable ingredients in its personal care products such as hand wash and shower gels.

Sustainable strategy​

The agreement to develop renewable ingredients is part of Amyris’ business strategy for sustainability.

“Amyris is committed to bringing innovative, sustainable products to the consumer packaged goods market. By eliminating any tradeoffs in performance for renewability, Amyris and Method can jointly grow consumer adoption of renewable products​,” commented CEO John Melo.

The sugarcane used by the Californian company is sourced from Brazil, as it is “the most abundant source of plant sugars at low cost and with relative price stability​”, according to Amyris.

In addition, Amyris claims the benefits of sugarcane-derived products are high productivity, efficient land use and significantly lower GHG emissions in comparison to petroleum-derived products.

Sugarcane needs little fertilizer and the production process results in a by-product that is used to generate green power in the form of electricity.

The two companies are to follow up the development partnership with a supply agreement.