US vinyl to target retail action against PVC

13 December 2007 21:45  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--The US vinyl industry said on Thursday it will launch an aggressive campaign in the American retail sector to counter a growing trend among major chain stores to shun products and packaging containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

 

The Vinyl Institute said its information campaign will begin in January and will emphasize the energy efficiency, safety and other positive aspects of PVC in consumer products and packaging.

 

The institute’s campaign plan was announced a day after Sears Holdings Corp., parent of the Sears and Kmart retail chain stores, said it will work to phase out use of PVC in its packaging and merchandise.

 

Sears Holdings is the fourth-largest retailer in the US and Canada with some 3,800 stores and annual sales of more than $50bn (€34bn).  Sears also is the largest US provider of home services.

 

Sears said it wants to phase out PVC as part of "a policy aimed at identifying more sustainable choices, given the potential health and environmental risks tied to the manufacture, use and disposal of PVC".

 

The action by Sears Holdings followed similar decisions by Target Stores and Wal-Mart.

 

Vinyl Institute President Tim Burns said the trade group “needs to do a better job of publicly showing the proof of PVC’s safety, energy efficiency and other benefits”.

 

He said the Sears announcement triggered the institute’s action.

 

“Some companies are being pressured and misled into having doubts about PVC,” he said.  He said that among other things the campaign will emphasise that PVC packaging and products require less energy and emit fewer greenhouse gases in production than other plastics.

 

The institute declined to say how much it will spend on the campaign. A spokeswoman for the group said there was no data available on what impact the retail de-selection trend is having on the PVC market.

 

In addition to avoiding PVC, Sears Holdings said it will encourage its vendors to reduce or eliminate use of PVC in their products and packaging.

 

($1.00 = €0.68)

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly