Dive Brief:

• Safety-equipment maker MSA has devised a hart hat made of polyethylene derived from sugarcane rather than polymers from fossil fuels.
• The hat meets the same standards as the conventional product.
• Because it's sourced from vegetable matter, the hat is recyclable when its served its time.

Dive Insight:

Contractors who want a little extra cred for environmental responsibility can use the hard hats that are biodegradable when disposed of after their useful lives. The products meet standards for sustainability, too, because more cane grows than is harvested to yield the high-density polyethylene, the same plastic used in milk jugs. And no, they're not sweet.

[Editor's note: And we're sorry, you can't eat it.]