In order to modify the brittleness and flame retardant properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a series of flame retardant toughened PLA composites were prepared using poly(ethylene glycol) 6000 (PEG6000) as a toughening and charring agent together with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) as an acid source and blowing agent. The fire and thermal behavior of PLA/PEG/APP composites was evaluated by limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94, cone calorimeter, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the PLA/PEG/APP system had good charring ability and could improve the flame retardancy of PLA. When the content of APP in the composites was more than 5 wt%, all samples could reach UL‐94 V‐0 rating. The results of mechanical property tests demonstrated that the brittleness of PLA was also improved after blended with PEG6000. All the PLA/PEG/APP composites with an APP content of less than 10 wt% showed an obvious neck and fracture behavior, that is, the tensile behavior of PLA was changed from brittle to ductile. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Environmental surroundings are highly shaped by consumer choice. Eco-label has been discussed as an effective tool for promoting such environmental product information from the producer to the consumer in relevant literature; however, the young generation has seldom been examined in previous research. Additionally, studies on the structural process of eco-label’s impact on green purchase remain limited, especially the mediation effects within the process. Regarding this research gap, the current study empirically tested the effects of eco-label on product attributes, environmental attitude, environmental concern and consequent purchase behavior from the young Chinese generation perspective. The intermediary role of product attribute is first investigated in the labeling-driven purchase, and the environmental attitude and concern are tested respectively to better understand the young generation’s awareness, compared to previous relevant studies. Based on the appropriate sample collection (N = 699), a structural equation model (SEM) was used, and results statistically showed the impact of eco-label mediated by product attributes on environmental attitude and environmental concern, and how green purchase behavior was influenced through this process significantly. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also discussed in this study.

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The flame retardancy of a novel intumescent flame‐retardant polypropylene (IFR‐PP) system, which was composed of a charring agent (CA), ammonium polyphosphate (APP), and polypropylene (PP), could be enhanced significantly by adding a small amount (1.0 wt%) of an organic montmorillonite (O‐MMT). The synergistic flame‐retardant effect was studied systematically. The thermal stability and combustion behavior of the flame‐retarded PP were also investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical burning test (UL‐94), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and cone calorimeter test (CCT). TGA results demonstrated that the onset decomposition temperatures of IFR‐PP samples, with or without O‐MMT, were higher than that of neat PP. Compared with IFR‐PP, the LOI value of IFR‐PP containing 1.0 wt% O‐MMT was increased from 30.8 to 33.0, and the UL‐94 rating was also enhanced to V‐0 from V‐1 when the total loading of flame retardant was the same. The cone calorimeter results showed that the IFR‐PP with 1.0 wt% of O‐MMT had the lowest heat release rate (HRR), total heat release (THR), total smoke production (TSP), CO production (COP), CO2 production (CO2P), and mass loss (ML) of all the studied IFR‐PP samples, with or without O‐MMT. All these results indicated that O‐MMT had a significantly synergistic effect on the flame‐retardancy of IFR‐PP at a low content of O‐MMT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.