In Defense of Vinyl

In Defense of Vinyl

The letter from Cliff Goldman, Carnegie Fabrics (

Vol. 9, No. 2), smeared vinyl without offering any evidence to support the allegations. Obviously, Goldman’s main point was to flack his own competing product. I challenge Goldman to offer any credible, scientific evidence that vinyl products harm health or the environment or that his product performs demonstrably better. Let’s look at a couple of Goldman’s claims:

Vinyl products contain plasticizers. Plasticizers, like vinyl, have 40 years of safe use. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, European Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment, International Agency for Research on Cancer, and others have made statements reflecting the view that plasticizers are safe. A panel of independent experts convened by the American Council on Science and Health last summer gave two leading plasticizers a clean bill of health. Just recently, Health Canada came out with a positive assessment of the leading plasticizer in flooring.

Vinyl contains chlorine. True, and chlorine comes from salt, which is one of the world’s most plentiful natural resources, accounting for nearly 2 percent of the ocean. By the way, chlorine gives vinyl its well-recognized fire-resistance compared to wood, textiles, paper, and other plastics, which makes it bizarre for Goldman to criticize vinyl’s chlorine content on the one hand while, on the other, he casts aspersions on vinyl’s fire performance. I challenge Goldman to demonstrate that his material, also a petrochemical, is not toxic in fires. Anything flammable is “toxic” when it burns since all fires produce carbon monoxide, the most dangerous pollutant in any typical house or building fire.

At least Goldman was right about one thing: vinyl sets the standard for durability, scrubbability, and wearability. As he pointed out, when it comes to performance, vinyl is hard to replace.

Tim Burns

Executive Director

The Vinyl Institute

Arlington, Virginia