The Mitsubishi Chemical Group (the MCG Group) has announced that its plant-derived bioengineering plastic DURABIO™ was selected by PopSockets, a global lifestyle brand, for their iPhone 16 cases, grips and wallets, the products were launched on Sept. 25 on their online shop and subsequently in retail stores in Japan.
The new material helps reduce the consumption of petroleum, a finite non-renewable resource, and contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases since the plants that provide the raw materials absorb CO2 as they grow. DURABIOTM exhibits outstanding impact and scratch resistance, and color development properties and is being used in a wide range of fields, including automotive interior and exterior parts, components for optical and electrical devices, and other products used in everyday life.
In 2014, PopSockets was founded by philosophy professor David Barnett as he was looking for a way to prevent his earbud cord from becoming tangled and soon after, the prototype for the PopSockets grip was born. Today, PopSockets has sold over 280M+ of its iconic phone grips in 30+ countries and has built a diversified product portfolio that includes accessories, cases, and mounts. PopSockets has utilized DURABIOTM since 2021 on account of its high impact and scratch resistance, design features, and high transparency — the same value-added features that have led them to use it again for their iPhone 16 accessories. The growing use of DURABIOTM for these applications reflects the excellent fit between the features of this bio-based plastic and the PopSockets mission to produce environmentally-friendly sustainable goods.
