Responsible Living and STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam

The Trademark, the Tangible and the Intangible

In a discussion about the role of STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam in a world that increasingly demands accountability from manufacturers, Dow talks about its well known product, its trademark, and the tangible and intangible benefits of STYROFOAM Brand Foam.

The Trademark

Any discussion about STYROFOAM Brand Foam has to begin with its trademark. Sixty years ago, The Dow Chemical Company invented and trademarked the word "STYROFOAM", but unfortunately, the misuse of the trademark has led to generic plastic foam products often being mislabeled as "STYROFOAM."

STYROFOAM is a registered trademark of Dow. STYROFOAM Brand Foam is 100 percent pure, extruded polystyrene foam. It is widely available as a BLUE™ insulation material for residential and commercial construction, and also as assorted white and green shapes used in crafts and floral designs. Genuine STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam is used in the majority of applications specifying extruded polystyrene foam.

STYROFOAM Brand Foam is not used in the manufacture of disposable foam products, such as cups, coolers, meat trays and packing peanuts. These generic foam products are not made from STYROFOAM and are not made by Dow.

The Tangible

As an insulation material, STYROFOAM Brand Extruded Polystyrene Foam Insulation helps to create more energy efficient homes around the world. STYROFOAM brand insulation is an ENERGY STAR product, having earned the ENERGY STAR designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. In North America, more than two million homes are insulated with STYROFOAM™ brand insulation, resulting in $200 million per year in energy savings and a significant reduction in fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. One square foot of one-inch-thick STYROFOAM brand insulation can save up to one ton of carbon dioxide emissions over the average life of a house.

Reduce, reuse, recycle and recover are all part of responsible living, and STYROFOAM™ brand products used in both construction and floral and craft projects are part of these solutions:

Reduce: All production generated scrap of STYROFOAM Brand Foam is recycled back to prime production or re-extruded into pellets and shapes for the secondary market.

Reuse: STYROFOAM brand products are durable and can be reused. STYROFOAM brand insulation can be carefully removed and reused. The assorted foam shapes used in crafts and floral designs can also be reused.

Recycle: All STYROFOAM™ brand products are made of 100 percent polystyrene foam and are recyclable. To recycle white and green STYROFOAM Brand Foam, remove all decorations and place in a "plastic recycle" collection bin or as instructed by the recycling facility.

Recover: Some states and municipalities choose incineration as an option to waste management. STYROFOAM Brand Foam has high calorific value, and generates much higher energy contribution than paper and many other products.

The Intangible

Joy, creativity, sharing, family time, learning . . . How do you measure the intangible benefits STYROFOAM Brand Foam has brought to our lives for the last 60 years? Generations of families and school children have explored their world and their creativity with STYROFOAM Brand Foam. Millions have created solar systems, circus animals, puppets, and countless critters and creatures made with STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam. Holiday decorations, floral arrangements, and the special touches that make a house a home are regularly crafted from STYROFOAM Brand Foam. Beyond the everyday, well known artists use STYROFOAM Brand Foam to create artwork that celebrates our lives and our spaces. These experiences and memories are cherished for a lifetime. The benefits are intangible and immeasurable – in essence, priceless.

For more than 60 years, genuine STYROFOAM Brand Foam has been a tradition for all types of home décor accents, craft projects and floral designs.  STYROFOAM™ is a registered trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for its line of extruded foam products made from 100 percent pure polystyrene foam. STYROFOAM Brand Foam is not used in the manufacture of disposable foam products, such as cups, coolers, meat trays and packing peanuts. Blue™ STYROFOAM brand insulation creates more energy efficient homes around the world and in North America alone, over 2 million homes are insulated with STYROFOAM insulation, resulting in $200 million per year in energy savings and significant reduction in fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.  STYROFOAM Brand Foam can be reused and recycled, and all production generated scrap is recycled at the point of manufacture.

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.