{"id":16773,"date":"2024-02-28T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=16773"},"modified":"2024-05-09T10:42:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T16:42:07","slug":"pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/","title":{"rendered":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DiFOLD<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all familiar with the epidemic of single-use plastic bottles plaguing the environment. EarthDay.org estimates that Americans alone purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year \u2013\u2013 for an average of some 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.<\/p>\n

This is driving efforts by many to promote the use of reusable water bottles. Based on the above statistics, doing so could save 156 plastic bottles per person per year. A study by Grand View Research<\/a> values the global\u00a0reusable water bottle market at $9.28 billion in 2023\u00a0and projects it will grow 4.4 percent a year from 2024 to 2030.<\/p>\n

Blending Origami with Eco-materials <\/strong><\/p>\n

One firm trying to make a difference is a Bulgaria-based design tech startup called DiFOLD<\/a>. It has developed what it calls \u201cthe first foldable bottle made of plant-based material.\u201d It combines the ancient Japanese paper-folding art of origami with modern, eco-friendly materials to make a reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

DiFOLD co-founders Petar Zaharinov and Radina Popova (All images courtesy of DiFOLD)<\/em><\/p>\n

Radina Popova, a former ad agency executive, and Petar Zaharinov, an architect and designer, began working together in mid-2018 when each was accepted into the Climate-KIC<\/a>, an accelerator for clean-tech startups.<\/p>\n

They jointly explored commercial and product applications of various foldable geometrical patterns that Zaharinov had previously discovered and learned could be patented. DiFOLD later got utility patents in Europe, the U.S., Canada, and India for its foldable designs. The firm also has patented a portfolio of other foldable designs in the U.S. and EU.<\/p>\n

Overcoming Obstacles
\n<\/strong>The pair turned to Kickstarter in June 2020 to crowdsource its original Origami Bottle design. It took only four hours to fully fund the campaign and raised more than $136,000 in 30 days.<\/p>\n

They then had to fight their way through mass-production challenges and COVID-related delays, before finally bringing their Origami Bottle to market in July 2022.\u00a0 It was then that they were able to ship more than 6,500 bottles to all of those who backed its Kickstarter effort.<\/p>\n

Despite being foldable, the Origami Bottle remains very rigid and sturdy and offers the stability of traditional water bottles, according to Zaharinov. The bottle, which holds 25 ounces of water (and other noncarbonated liquids), is designed for frequent flyers, commuters, hikers, runners, and anyone else with an active life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The founders promote their foldable bottle as perfect for the adventurous.<\/em><\/p>\n

The pair acknowledges there are many collapsible bottles already on the market. But most, they say, \u201cdo not perform well across important parameters such as stability, ergonomics, odors and sustainability. Most of them are made of silicone<\/a> or other soft, non-recyclable materials, which makes them very unstable and unpleasant to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Discover Prospector Premium, learn more here<\/a>!<\/h3>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

Using Envalior\u2019s Biopolymer <\/strong><\/p>\n

The injection molded Origami Bottle is the first in the category to be made using recyclable, plant-based materials<\/a>. For the bottle\u2019s body they opted for a biopolymer called Arnitel Eco<\/a> produced by Envalior<\/a>. \u00a0Lanxess AG<\/a> and Royal DSM NV combined their engineering materials businesses in 2023 to form Envalior<\/a>, based in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany.\u00a0 Arnitel Eco is a high-performance thermoplastic copolyester (TPC)<\/a> made partially from renewable rapeseed oil in place of mineral oil that significantly reduces CO2<\/sub> emissions from cradle to gate.<\/p>\n

This polymer is food-grade, BPA- and BPS-free, and does not leach any chemicals even when filled with hot water.\u00a0The bottle\u2019s body is made entirely of TPC resin<\/a>, 43 percent of which is the bio component sustainably sourced from rapeseed. The balance currently is consisting of Envalior\u2019s petroleum-based Arnitel resin<\/a>. DiFOLD says it expects to be able to increase the biopolymer component in the future.<\/p>\n

The compound is closed-loop recyclable, meaning it can be recycled without losing its properties. The category of this polymer is TPC, TPE-E, No. 7. The body is durable and capable of resisting 100.000 folds without any damage to the folding creases.<\/p>\n

The bottle\u2019s neck and cap are made of stainless steel, with gaskets made of food-grade silicone. The folds are on the outside, so the inside surface is smooth. The mouth is 1.37 inches wide, making it easy to clean with a bottle brush. It retails<\/a> for roughly $32.<\/p>\n

Leveraging a Novel Design <\/strong><\/p>\n

Zaharinov, the company\u2019s chief technology officer, explains that DiFOLD\u2019s design and engineering is what makes its folding technology unique. He reduced the number of polygons along the tube’s circumference to just four. \u201cIn this way,\u201d he said, \u201cthe structure works in two very different regimes. Firstly, it keeps its round shape natural and behaves like a non-foldable structure when unfolded. Secondly, it works like a classical rigid origami mechanism in a folded and semi-folded state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Its collapsible feature makes the bottle easy and less expensive to ship.<\/em><\/p>\n

In order to move from one state to the other, the user needs to press on particular spots on its creases of the structure. Additionally, it it can work not only with cylindrical shapes but also with conical ones and mixtures of the two. Practically every shape and container can become a collapsible one by applying\u00a0 this concept, he noted.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, DiFOLD calls the Origami Bottle its flagship product. That\u2019s because the company aims to apply its patented technology to a broad range of other products, to include bowls, boxes, jars, cups and mugs.<\/p>\n

Popova, the company\u2019s CEO, says, \u201cThe idea is that we apply these patterns for the creation of various foldable products, which can be made of different materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiFOLD\u2019s Origami Bottle has already earned several honors, including the IF Design Award, the Design Educates Award and the Red Dot Product Design Award \u2013\u2013 all just in the past year alone.<\/p>\n

The company currently sells its bottle directly to consumers online as well as to corporations and outdoor retailers. Meantime, Popova and Zaharinov \u2013\u2013 as they aim to broaden their product portfolio \u2013\u2013 are seeking to break into the packaging industry and also sell to coffee shop chains and other retailers that are embracing the increasingly popular reusable and refillable business models. They also hope to partner in future with companies such as Ireland\u2019s 2GoCup<\/a> and Germany\u2019s RECUP<\/a>, two large European players that operate deposit return systems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re all familiar with the epidemic of single-use plastic bottles plaguing the environment. EarthDay.org estimates that Americans alone purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year \u2013\u2013 for an average of some 13 bottles per month for every person in … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":16776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[607,21],"tags":[206,214],"ppma_author":[1244],"class_list":{"0":"post-16773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"category-plastics-2","9":"tag-sustainability","10":"tag-plastics","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nDiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DiFOLD has developed what it calls "the first foldable bottle made of plant-based material." Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prospector Knowledge Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bob Grace\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bob Grace\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bob Grace\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093\"},\"headline\":\"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1036,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/image001.png\",\"keywords\":[\"sustainability\",\"plastics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"Plastics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/\",\"name\":\"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/image001.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093\"},\"description\":\"Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/image001.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/image001.png\",\"width\":578,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/16773\\\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Prospector Knowledge Center\",\"description\":\"Welcome to the blog for UL Prospector, the most comprehensive raw material search engine for product developers.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093\",\"name\":\"Bob Grace\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg9c3cf61917eeafce529135a60aa75f87\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Bob Grace\"},\"description\":\"Robert Grace has been in business-to-business communications his entire career. He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. Email Bob or visit his website at www.rcgrace.com to learn more about how he can help you.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/author\\\/robert-grace\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester","description":"Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester","og_description":"DiFOLD has developed what it calls \"the first foldable bottle made of plant-based material.\" Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size","og_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/","og_site_name":"Prospector Knowledge Center","article_published_time":"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":578,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Bob Grace","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bob Grace","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/"},"author":{"name":"Bob Grace","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093"},"headline":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester","datePublished":"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/"},"wordCount":1036,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png","keywords":["sustainability","plastics"],"articleSection":["Articles","Plastics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/","url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/","name":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png","datePublished":"2024-02-28T13:00:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-09T16:42:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093"},"description":"Made from eco-friendly materials a new reusable bottle that can collapse down to 20 percent of its original size","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image001.png","width":578,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/16773\/pe-difolds-origami-water-bottle-uses-plant-based-thermoplastic-copolyester\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DiFOLD\u2019s origami water bottle uses plant-based thermoplastic copolyester"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/","name":"Prospector Knowledge Center","description":"Welcome to the blog for UL Prospector, the most comprehensive raw material search engine for product developers.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1ccb877b39b97b6edffea515566df093","name":"Bob Grace","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg9c3cf61917eeafce529135a60aa75f87","url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","caption":"Bob Grace"},"description":"Robert Grace has been in business-to-business communications his entire career. He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. Email Bob or visit his website at www.rcgrace.com to learn more about how he can help you.","sameAs":["http:\/\/ulprospector.com"],"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/author\/robert-grace\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1244,"user_id":23,"is_guest":0,"slug":"robert-grace","display_name":"Bob Grace","avatar_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16773"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=16773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}