The products to be manufactured from March 2011 onward will incorporate bioplastic, marking the first effort among OKI Group companies to use bioplastic in products.

The bioplastic is based on polyactic acid, a plant-based renewable resource.

OKI Data president Harushige Sugimoto said that plant-based renewable bioplastics reduce environmental impact by reducing CO2 emissions and the petroleum resources consumed.

"OKI Data is proactively developing products and technologies to reduce environmental impact, and compared to traditional plastic, bioplastics offer formidable challenges in the areas of flame resistance, strength, heat resistance, and formability," Sugimoto said.

OKI Data specializes in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of business printing solutions.