Sony has announced they will be the first company in the industry to eliminate the use of polystyrene foam cushioning material for large TVs. The latest BRAVIA 9, the 85-inch 4K Mini LED TV will be using Kaneka Green Planet, which is set to be introduced in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Kaneka Green Planet is a biomass-derived biodegradable biopolymer material made by Kaneka Corporation, will be used for cushioning material. This material has biodegradability in a variety of environments, decomposing and returning to CO2 and water not only in soil but also in seawater, thereby contributing to solving the problem of environmental pollution caused by plastic.
Cushioning materials are moulded into complex shapes to match the product design and maintain the impact resistance of large and heavy TVs during transportation. In order to adopt Green Planet, Sony created a mould structure according to the characteristics of the material which differs from polystyrene foam, thus achieving both design that maintains impact resistance and stable production. At the same time, Sony leveraged its packaging design expertise cultivated over the years and simulation technology for endeavours, such as realizing simplifying the cushioning material shape and reducing the number of parts.