Eastman

The challenge

Regulatory concerns threatened to force a toy manufacturer out of the European Union (EU) market. Its toys were coated with a thermoplastic acrylic substance containing nitrocellulose. The EU Toy Safety Directive limits how toys are made, including the presence of potentially hazardous materials and their flammability. Under these rules, nitrocellulose’s flammability and difficulty of use make it a material of concern. Without a compliant coating, the company would have been barred from selling its toys in the EU.

The Eastman solution

Eastman Solus™ performance additives offer a safer, naturally derived alternative to nitrocellulose. The nonflammable nature of Solus™ allows manufacturers to reduce fire hazards in the workplace and bring peace of mind to consumers. Solus™ additives are also versatile and easy to handle, allowing them to be used for coatings on wood, plastic, and metal toy parts and accessories. And because Solus does not contain any materials of concern, such as nitrocellulose, it enables formulators to make compliant toy coatings.

The result

Solus™ was leveraged in a co-resin/isocyanate coating system that met EU regulations, allowing the manufacturer’s toys to remain on the market. Additionally, the formulator found that the coatings powered by Solus™ demonstrated superior performance than the previous formula. The anti-blocking and fast-drying properties of Solus™ allowed for improved efficiency, and its adaptability allowed for viscosity adjustments to optimize surface properties.

Solus™ is backed by Eastman experts who leveraged their market and regulatory knowledge to offer the customer powerful insights. Eastman’s input allowed the manufacturer and formulators to achieve compliance without compromise.

Connect with an Eastman expert to learn more about how Solus performance additives can deliver a safer, more sustainable alternative for a wide range of coatings applications.

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Eastman

Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2023 revenue of approximately $9.2 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA.

About Eastman in the circular economy: In 2019, Eastman became the first company to begin commercial-scale chemical recycling for a broad set of waste plastics that would otherwise be landfilled or, worse, wind up in the environment. Eastman's molecular recycling technologies can process waste plastics traditional mechanical recycling methods cannot—including polyesters, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene—derived from a variety of sources, including single-use plastics, textiles, and carpet. These technologies provide a true circular solution of endless recycling for materials, allowing them to be reused repeatedly.

To learn more about how we’re working to make a more circular economy visit eastman.eco.

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