Next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver will have a different look and feel with candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton front and center. So will the keys used to unlock hotel rooms throughout Denver, the host city.

Sustainable Cards partnered with manufacturer CPI Card Group to donate 70,000 biodegradable wooden key cards in an effort to reduce waste and promote the new product. Traditional key cards create 1,300 tons of plastic waste annually, the company says, the equivalent in weight and density of seven 777 airplanes.

The new cards are made from sustainable harvested wood and will be emblazoned with the Denver 2008 Host Committee logo, making them a souvenir of the historic event.

The convention runs from Aug. 25-28 and an anticipated 35,000 hotel guests will use the wooden Sustainable Cards for the first time in the U.S.