Honda has developed a plant-based fabric for use as a material for car interiors.

The Japanese manufacturer says the ‘bio-fabric’ offsets all carbon dioxide emissions produced during the disposal stage of the car, through the CO2 absorption that occurs during the growth stage of the plants used as the raw materials.

“The bio-fabric developed is a soft and smooth material appropriate for the surface of car interiors, with high durability and resistance to sunlight to prevent colour fading after prolonged use,” says Honda.

In addition to seat surfaces, the bio-fabric can be used for the interior surface of the doors and roof and for floor mats. Honda will install these bio-fabric interiors to the company’s new fuel cell vehicle which will be introduced to the market within the next three years.

Due to the use of a corn-based ingredient in the production of raw materials, the newly developed bio-fabric will enable Honda to reduce energy used during the production process by 10 to 15% compared to the production of petroleum-based polyester materials. The use of a plant-based ingredient can reduce the CO2 emissions of each car by 5kg.

The new fabric does not require changes in existing fabric production processes, and is suitable for mass production.