CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Garland Company, Inc. announced in February its Green-Lock Plus^® membrane adhesive has earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Certified Biobased Product Label, which makes the product attractive for projects seeking to meet sustainability goals or local requirements.

A low-odor, 100% solids, fast-curing membrane adhesive containing zero VOCs, Garland is eager to begin placing the USDA label on its Green-Lock product, highlighting its biobased percentage content. Third-party verification for a product's biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred® Program to increase biobased product development, purchase, and use.

Garland touted the benefits of Green-Lock and other biobased products as another way to help address climate change through renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products, which, the company says, are generally safer for people and the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts; and represent incredible technological advances and innovations.

“Green-Lock Plus shows you don’t have to sacrifice high performance for sustainability," Matt McDermott, president of Garland’s U.S. Roofing Division, said in a statement. “The Biobased Product Label reminds architects, building owners, and roofing contractors that the product they are working with delivers value far beyond its outstanding performance as an adhesive. We are excited and honored to have attained this certification.”

The USDA’s biobased product label program is part of the federal government’s effort to reduce overall carbon emissions through various programs. According to department spokesperson Vernell Thompson, the USDA-Certified Biobased Product Label is among those initiatives.

"The label is intended to help spur economic development,” Thompson said, adding that, “[It] creates new jobs, and provide new markets for farm commodities … The Garland Company joins an expanding list of businesses combatting inaccurate marketing claims and the practice of greenwashing while also contributing to a thriving bioeconomy that decreases our reliance on petroleum."

In the latest Economic Impact Report released by USDA, the biobased products industry supported 4.6 million American jobs and contributed $470 billion to the U.S. economy. Biobased products also have a substantial environmental impact, displacing about 9.4 million barrels of oil annually.

The Garland Company has been producing roofing and building envelope solutions for the commercial, industrial and institutional markets for more than 125 years. For more information, visit garlandco.com.