Sony announced that its latest DVD players, due out this fall, will be housed in a nonflammable, environmentally-friendly biomass plastic casing.

The plastic, co-developed with Mitsubishi Plastics, is as tough as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin, and delivers enough strength required for consumer products.

Sony has been actively promoting global environmental conservation through the use of a wide variety of biomass materials for its product casings and packaging materials.