Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter Toppan Printing; head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shingo Kaneko) has developed a prototype of "TANE-KAMICARD (R)", an environmentally-friendly paper-based card that has plant seeds inside the card. The name originates from the Japanese words for seed, "tane", and paper, "kami".

With this card, plant seeds have been added to the 100% degradable and environmentally-friendly KAMICARD(R) that Toppan Printing has sold since 2009. By inserting plant seeds into disposal gift cards or the section of mobile phone SIM cards (*) that is broken off and disposed of, it has become possible for users to enjoy nurturing plants by planting seeds in the ground to produce flowers. Adding to the environmental features of the already available KAMICARD(R), users can enjoy nurturing plants after the card has been used and directly experience making a contribution to environmental conservation.

As an environmentally-friendly card with added-value, this card was displayed and received considerable attention in the Toppan Group booth at the "Eco-Products 2010 Exhibition" held from December 9 to 11 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center. (Organized by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry and Nikkei Inc).

Focusing on commercialization, Toppan Printing plans to proceed with development, including the improvement of durability, and is aiming for test use in fiscal 2012 with an eye on applications such as mobile phone SIM cards and gift cards.

Copyright 2011 TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD.

Background
-As an ecological product that can contribute to the reduction of environmental burden, in April 2009 Toppan Printing launched sales of KAMICARD(R), a card with which the main constituents of the body are 100% natural materials, predominantly pulp.
-With heightening environmental consciousness, there was demand for an idea that did away with the waste produced by items such as disposable gift cards, cards that are only used for short periods, such as cards for events, and cards where some parts are disposed of, such as SIM cards for mobile phones.
-The results of an environmental survey performed by Toppan Printing in August 2010 showed that consumers tend to feel a stronger sense that they are contributing to the environment when they actually take action themselves.
("Survey on environmental awareness and purchasing trends")
http://www.toppan.co.jp/news/newsrelease1085.html))
-Therefore, this product was developed based on the concept that interest in environmental conservation could be enhanced by having consumers bury a 100% biodegradable card in the earth and nurture plants.

Overview of the TANE-KAMICARD(R)
-Size: Size of a regular card (Assumed dimensions: Height 54.0mm x width 85.7mm x thickness 0.76mm)
-A card with seeds inside (Patent pending)
-Examples of use:
-The section with the seeds is broken off and planted in the ground after use as a card for an event.
-Could be sent as a message card (not used as an IC card), with the recipient planting the card itself in the ground. In this case, it is possible to plant the card without any special processing.
-Potential applications: Mobile phone SIM cards, gift cards, cards for promotions, other items where the section with the seeds in is only used for a short time.

KAMICARD(R)
-A card that is sold by Toppan Printing as an ecological product that contributes to the reduction of environmental burden. The base material is comprised of 100% natural material which is predominantly pulp.
-As the base material is 100% natural, if planted in the ground, the card biodegrades into earth after a certain period of time.
-Due to the characteristics of the material, the calorific value produced from combustion is high and stable. This means that it can be bought by recyclers and used as an alternative to petrochemical fuels.
-Can be used for contact IC cards. Machine processing and affixation of a contact IC module mounting section is possible. ISO7816 standard durability has been basically achieved.
-Highly suitable for processing as SIM card and can be used for mobile phone USIM card.
-Used as a mobile phone SIM card and sold throughout Europe.

Future developments
Focusing on commercialization, Toppan Printing plans to proceed with development, including the improvement of durability, and is aiming for test use in fiscal 2012 with an eye on applications such as mobile phone SIM cards and gift cards.

* SIM card
A Subscriber Identity Model or "SIM" card is an IC card on which a unique ID number for identifying a phone number is recorded. SIM cards are used in mobile phones using standards such as GSM and W-CDMA.