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                                                                  Exhibit 99.1

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   SOLUTIA'S CATEGORICAL INDEPENDENCE STANDARDS FOR NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS

               The Board shall have a majority of "independent directors" as
               defined in Section 303A of the New York Stock Exchange Listed
               Company Manual (as amended from time to time). The Board makes
               an affirmative determination regarding the independence of each
               director annually. A Director may be deemed independent only if
               the Board affirmatively determines the Director has no material
               relationship with the Company (either directly or as a partner,
               stockholder or officer of an organization that has a
               relationship with the Company). Material relationships may
               include commercial, industrial, banking, consulting, legal,
               accounting, charitable and financial relationships or any other
               relationships the Board deems material.

               The Board of Directors has adopted the following categorical
               standards to assist it in determining whether Directors are
               independent.

               A Director shall not be deemed independent if the Director:

               1)   is or has, during the last three years, been an employee
                    of the Company;

               2)   is a current partner or a current employee of the
                    Company's internal or external auditor or within the last
                    three years was (but is no longer) a partner or employee
                    of such firm and personally worked on the Company's audit
                    within that time;

               3)   is or has, during the last three years, been employed as
                    an executive officer by a company for which an executive
                    officer of the Company concurrently served as a member of
                    such company's compensation committee;

               4)   has an immediate family member (as defined below) who
                    falls within the foregoing criteria; provided, however,
                    that with respect to employment by the Company's internal
                    or external auditor, the Director's immediate family
                    member may be currently employed by the Company's auditor
                    but may not participate in the firm's audit, assurance or
                    tax compliance practice (participation in the tax planning
                    practice is not covered by this standard) and, with respect
                    to employment by the Company, the Director's immediate
                    family member may serve or may have served as an employee
                    but not as an executive officer of the Company during the
                    last three years;

               5)   has received, or has an immediate family member who has
                    received, more than $100,000 in direct compensation from
                    the Company in any 12-month period during the last three
                    years (other than director and committee fees; pension or
                    other deferred compensation for prior service, provided
                    that such compensation is not contingent in any way on
                    continued service; and compensation paid to a Director's
                    immediate family member for service as an employee, other
                    than as an executive officer, of the Company);

               6)   is a current employee of, or has an immediate family
                    member who is a current executive officer of, a company
                    that made payments to, or received payments from, the
                    Company for property or services in any of the last three
                    years in an amount which, in any single fiscal year,
                    exceeds the greater of $1 million, or 2% of such other
                    company's consolidated gross revenues; or

               7)   is or has been, or has an immediate family member who is
                    or has been, an executive officer, trustee or director of
                    a tax exempt or non-profit organization to which the
                    Company's contributions exceeded the greater of $1 million
                    or 2% of such organization's consolidated gross revenues
                    during the last three years.

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