MINNEAPOLIS, May 21, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIC) today announced that it has launched www.naturbag.com for online retail sales of the company's Natur-Bag(tm) and Natur-Ware(tm) lines of biodegradable / compostable plastic products.

NTIC's Natur-Bag and Natur-Ware branded biodegradable / compostable plastic products are manufactured using NTIC's patented and proprietary Natur-Tec(r) bioplastics technologies and are intended to replace conventional petroleum-based plastics. The Natur-Tec(r) compostable plastic product line includes shopping and grocery bags, lawn and leaf bags, can liners, pet waste collection bags, and disposable cutlery, and is engineered to completely biodegrade in a composting environment within 180 days.

Don't be fooled! Conventional plastic products made from polyethylene or polypropylene cannot be made 'biodegradable' by mixing them with 'oxo-degradable' additives. The addition of 'oxo-degradable' additives merely causes standard petroleum-based plastics to disintegrate into smaller plastic fragments that continue to pollute the environment. By contrast, Natur-Bag biodegradable / compostable plastic products are made from completely new materials designed to fully biodegrade into water, CO2 and biomass as specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6400 standard for compostable plastics. For more information, visit www.natur-tec.com.

About Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary environmentally beneficial products and technical services either directly or via a network of joint ventures and independent distributors in over 50 countries. NTIC's primary business is corrosion prevention. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST(r) and EXCOR(r) rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military and retail consumer markets, for over 25 years. NTIC also offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion issues. NTIC's technical service consultants work directly with the end users of NTIC's products to analyze their specific needs and develop systems to meet their technical requirements. In addition, in fiscal 2008 NTIC launched a new product line of compounds and finished products based on a portfolio of proprietary bio-plastic technologies under the Natur-Tec brand. NTIC also is in the advanced stages of commercially launching plastic waste to fuel conversion technology and is in various stages of development with respect to several other emerging businesses.

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Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the future market demand for and sales of NTIC's ZERUST and Natur-Tec (bioplastics) products, the success of NTIC's other emerging new businesses, including its process technology that converts plastic waste into fuel and the application of its corrosion inhibiting technology into the oil and gas industry, the effect of NTIC's recent cost control measures and such other statements which can be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "will," "would," or words of similar meaning and any other statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of NTIC's management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, in no particular order: NTIC's dependence on the success of its joint ventures and technical fees and dividend distributions that NTIC receives from them; NTIC's relationships with its joint ventures and its ability to maintain those relationships; risks associated with NTIC's international operations; exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the current financial crises affecting the U.S. and worldwide banking system and financial markets; contraction of the U.S. and worldwide economies, including in particular the U.S. automotive industry; the level of growth in NTIC's markets; NTIC's investments in research and development efforts; acceptance of existing and new products; increased competition; the success of NTIC's emerging new businesses; the costs and effects of complying with changes in tax, fiscal, government and other regulatory policies, including rules relating to environmental, health and safety matters, NTIC's reliance on its intellectual property rights and the absence of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others and current and potential litigation. More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect NTIC's operating and financial results is described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. NTIC urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the company faces. Additionally, NTIC undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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SOURCE: Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation 
          Matthew Wolsfeld
          763.225.6600
          mwolsfeld@ntic.com

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