Material Substitution and Modification for Plastics

An expert response to an ongoing global need 

Plastic manufacturers and users continue to encounter numerous difficulties in fulfilling customer orders for essential items such as electrical components and consumer products. Whether these challenges are due to the economy, long-lasting global pandemic issues (production shutdowns, transportation delays and supply chain problems) or because of new restrictive chemical regulations that require plastic materials substitution or modification, the results are the same: higher costs, increased production times, longer paths to market and, ultimately, frustration all around.

Plastic materials substitution, modification and certification

Our services can help you find and source alternative plastic materials to eliminate the need to recertify or, at minimum, shorten the path to certification. Specifically, we offer the tools and expertise you need to meet global compliance requirements, reach sustainability goals, verify performance, minimize business disruptions and solve supply chain challenges so you can access global markets as quickly as possible.

Whether it’s supply chain or regulatory issues driving you to seek alternatives in raw materials, we can help your business:

• Find material alternatives to keep production flowing.
• Meet regulatory requirements for safety and global market access.
• Reduce testing times and complexity.
• Confirm performance and material integrity.

Program tools designed for success

When faced with the challenge of sourcing and accessing suitable replacements for plastic materials that will keep production and distribution on track, we offer tools not found elsewhere, including:

Performance credentials

Our Plastics Recognition Program, also known as the UL Solutions Yellow Card™, is a globally recognized safety and quality assurance program that helps you demonstrate that your plastics meet performance credentials. It plays an essential part in our material substitution and modification for plastics service as it differentiates materials and allows downstream manufacturers to save time certifying end-products.

A Yellow Card lists multiple safety and performance-related properties for a polymeric material that UL Solutions has certified to appropriate standards. It can also include more performance credentials, like Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) or non-halogenated (non-Hal), which verify industry requirements. A Yellow Card demonstrates that a recognized material is appropriate for the defined applications. It also provides confidence that comes from knowing you are using a proven material and that an independent certification body regularly monitors that material.

Global safety science expertise

As a leading global provider of plastics testing, we’re proud of our reputation in the world of safety science. We offer cost- and time-saving integrated plastic materials testing, certification and assessment to help you reach regulatory compliance and meet your business goals.

Material substitution and modification for plastics with UL Solutions advances access to Yellow Cards in the UL Product iQ^® and UL Prospector^® databases, allowing everyone from engineers to suppliers to easily find UL Recognized materials. The end result: Showing Yellow Cards with the UL Recognized Component Mark reduces repetitive material testing, can help shorten certification paths and increases your speed to market.

Find a smoother path to market

Whether you’re a plastics user or a plastics manufacturer, material substitution and modification for plastics offers UL Solutions tools and expertise that can help manage and mitigate supply chain disruptions as well as your specific challenges. Contact us to learn more.