The environmental debate over PVC has been persistent since the 1970's. Within this, some environmental groups have fiercely campaigned against PVC as part of a wider campaign against all chlorine chemicals.

Despite the above, considering the advantages and proven ability to make non-toxic PVC, the demand for PVC and PVC products has increased multiple in past couple of decades. There have only been a few isolated examples of PVC substitution by alternative materials and some of these have been for reasons of technical performance rather than environmental or brand image considerations. For e.g.: replacement of vinyl records by CDs and PVC mineral water bottles by PET.

In fact, PVC products have been successful in substituting alternative materials. For e.g.: the growth of PVC windows and other construction products matched by a corresponding decline in the use of timber. The net overall effect has been that the market for PVC has continued to advance at rates that approximately match economic growth.

Accordingly, if all of us, as manufacturers, users and consumers of PVC act as responsible citizens of the world, PVC is a very environment friendly and cost effective material.