What Is Polyvinyl Chloride Fabric

What s it got to do with sustainable fashion.

What is polyvinyl chloride fabric.

Pvc is used to make pipes polyvinyl flooring and siding hoses cable coatings medical devices and plumbing and automotive parts. Polyvinyl chloride pvc is a solid plastic material made from vinyl chloride. Pvc comes in two basic forms. It s that hard plastic piping you can see under your kitchen sink right.

It gained a more mainstream following in the 1950 s and 60 s and since then has been used in a variety of products from piping to apparel. The first is the emission of toxic and corrosive gases when melting the material. Polyvinyl chloride or pvc is a major source of phthalates which are the same dangerous plastic softeners banned from children s toys last year. Well the first thing to know about pvc or polyvinyl chloride is that it s used in many places it can be manufactured as a hard material or a flexible fabric sometimes known as vinyon but given that it s is another form of plastic how sustainable is pvc for.

Pvc polyvinyl chloride a synthetic resin made from the polymerization of vinyl chloride. Pvc is used in an enormous range of domestic and industrial products from raincoats and shower curtains to window frames and indoor plumbing. Pvc is sometimes confused with the similarly shiny patent leather. Pvc clothing is shiny clothing made from the plastic polyvinyl chloride pvc.

There are two main issues working with pvc that make it fairly problematic and not generally recommended for use by non professionals. Today crafters can use pvc fabric to create all sorts of unique items. Rigid sometimes abbreviated as rpvc and flexible. It is made softer and more flexible by the addition of phthalates and can contain traces of chemicals like bisphenol a bpa.

Learn more about pvc in this article. 2008 law banning phthalates from children s toys does not cover the pvc in school supplies. Pvc is the world s third most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer after polyethylene and polypropylene about 40 million tons of pvc are produced each year. Polyvinyl chloride for prototype development on cnc machines 3d printers injection molding machines.

The terms pvc vinyl and pu tend to be used interchangeably by retailers for clothing made from shiny plastic coated fabrics.