UPM ForMi and Tregren bring the sustainable garden into all homes

(UPM, Helsinki, 17 September 2013 at 10.00 EET) – Tregren, a Finnish company, introduces a new, more sustainable way of growing lettuce and herbs indoors. The new Genie kitchen garden is based on hydroponics and uses the UPM ForMi biocomposite developed by UPM. Hydroponics and adequate lighting allow the plants to grow up to three times faster than plants grown in a traditional flowerpot.

"The Genie kitchen garden is a completely new kind of Finnish product. We paid special attention to design and environmental responsibility when developing Genie. ABS plastic was replaced with UPM ForMi, which consists of up to 50% wood fibre. This provides a major competitive advantage. Furthermore, UPM ForMi's carbon footprint is more than 50% smaller than that of ABS plastic," explains Tregren's Development Director Markus Nilsson.

Consumers are more and more interested in the origins of their food, cleanliness and the environmental impact of production. The ease of hydroponics has revolutionised the cultivation of plants at home.
"You only have to add water and nutrients to your kitchen garden. Growing your own herbs is as easy as filling your fridge, and it's the best possible kind of local food," Nilsson describes the easy-to-use Genie kitchen garden.

UPM ForMi was selected for the garden base mainly for environmental reasons. With UPM ForMi, half of the oil-based, non-renewable raw materials could be replaced with natural renewable wood fibres that come from sustainably managed forests. At the end of its lifecycle, the kitchen garden can be burned and used as an energy source; a highly sustainable approach. The biocomposite will replace the food grade ABS plastic in all of Tregren's products.

"Environmental requirements are becoming increasingly stricter in all sectors, and this generates more demand for UPM ForMi. The Genie kitchen garden is another new application that will make our biocomposite even more well known globally," says the head of the UPM ForMi business, Stefan Fors.

The Genie kitchen garden will be introduced at the Habitare fair in the Helsinki Fair Centre on 18–22 September. Genie was designed by Sebastian Jansson. 

For further information, please contact:
Stefan Fors, Director, UPM ForMi, UPM, tel. +358 40 571 3338
Markus Nilsson, Director, Tregren, tel. +358 50 568 9770

UPM, Media Desk,
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Photos of Genie: http://www.upm.com/EN/MEDIA/Media-Centre/Image-gallery/Products/Wood-plastic-composite/Pages/default.aspx

UPM ForMi is a new, durable, high quality biocomposite material intended for use in injection moulding production. Made of renewable fibres and plastic, the compound is safe, odourless and uniform in quality. UPM ForMi is manufactured from pure polymers and pulp, and is ideal for industrial as well as consumer product applications. UPM's supply chain and the use of renewable raw materials ensure that the new composite also has a small carbon footprint. www.upmformi.com

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and Pulp, Paper, and Engineered Materials (until 31 October 2013). The Group employs around 22,000 people. The company is present in 67 countries and has production plants in 17 countries. UPM's annual sales exceed € 10 billion. UPM's shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.fi

GENIE kitchen garden is a sustainable and user-friendly herb garden that you can use both outdoors and indoors. Genie is designed for a variety of plants ranging from flowers to vegetables. Genie is based on a method called Active Growing Technology developed by Tregren. It allows plants to thrive without any extra hassle.

Tregren develops and manufactures consumer products intended for cultivation in urban areas, particularly indoors. The products are examples of a new kind of Finnish design where functionality and form support each other. Tregren's product philosophy is based on consumer-friendly functional design. Tregren operates in fourteen countries. The products are developed and manufactured in Finland. www.tregren.fi