Neil Diamond sang “I’d much rather be Forever in blue jeans.”



Ford Motor Company will answer that song by using old blue jeans and other recycled cottons to make carpet backing and sound deadening material in the 2012 Ford Focus. The redesigned Focus is due out in early 2011 in the North American and European markets.

“Ford is continually looking for greener alternatives,” said Carrie Majeske, Ford product sustainability manager. “One of our key goals is to use more recycled or renewable materials without compromising performance or durability. Recycled content is a way to divert waste from landfills and reduce the impact of mining virgin material.”



Ford is already using a variety of green and recycled materials in manufacturing. These include soy foam seat cushions, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fiber plastic for interior components. In the Focus, the recycled cotton will amount to about 2 pairs of jeans per car.
Ford has made it a corporate mission to not only produce more fuel efficient vehicles, but to reduce manufacturing CO2 emissions and increase the use of both recycled and recyclable materials in its cars and trucks. Those old jeans will rock on!



This article first appeared on greencarbuzz.com