Company Profiles

Teijin

Japan

Teijin Limited is one of the world's largest producers of polyester fiber, and also makes films and plastics, as well as pharmaceuticals and home health care products. Teijin developed the world's first recycling technology for polyester, which allows PET bottles to be converted into new polyester raw materials equal in quality to those made from petroleum. The company has historically been a chemicals company, however, it recognizes the negative environmental affects associated with chemical manufacturing and use. Teijin is devoting significant resources to its research and development initiatives, enabling the company to begin shifting its products toward more innovative materials, each with a smaller environmental footprint. For example, Teijin produces polycarbonate resin and carbon fiber, which are both very lightweight materials and provide considerable energy efficiency benefits in a wide range of applications, including automobiles and trains. Teijin uses life-cycle analysis to assess the impacts of various materials and processes, and has developed several important recycling technologies. For instance, ECO CIRCLE is a "fiber to fiber" recycling system for polyester that recycles old Patagonia clothing into new polyester fibers for the manufacture of new clothing. Portfolio 21 has asked Tejiin to expand its R&D efforts to include a program for making improvements to existing products, in addition to the work it is already doing in the development of new environmentally preferable products.

To the best of our knowledge the above information is accurate and was obtained from sources we believe to be reliable. Neither the information presented above nor any opinion expressed shall be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy the security. The views expressed are those of portfolio management as of 8/31/07 and may not reflect current opinions or subsequent events.