US Vinyl Industry Forms New Alliance
20 Nov 2010 • by Natalie Aster
In response to increased attacks on flexible vinyl products, as well as the phthalates used to soften vinyl to make a variety of plastic products, the US industry has formed the Flexible Vinyl Alliance (FVA) in an effort to respond more quickly to initiatives at the state and local levels.
“We want to activate a grassroots network,” said Kevin Ott, coordinator of the FVA. “We want to get more ears to the ground and add more voices to the debate.”
Ott is former executive director of the Film and Bag Federation of the Society of the Plastics Industry, where he was involved in the industry’s efforts to defeat plastic bag bans.
The Phthalate Esters Panel of the American Chemistry Council is providing funding for FVA for its first 18 months, Ott said. The announcement of the formation of FVA was made 17 November but the alliance has been in operation since 1 September and its first steering committee meeting was earlier this month.
Sources said phthalates manufacturer ExxonMobil Chemical was the driving force behind the creation of FVA and that phthalates manufacturers and compounders felt that they needed to develop their own network to address specific issues involving flexible vinyl and phthalates.
“They felt that they weren’t getting enough help defending products that use phthalates as a plasticizer,” said one source.
The 11-member FVA steering committee includes representatives from PVC compounders, molders fabricators and manufacturers and all three major US phthalate manufacturers. There are also representatives from SPI and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute and Canadian pipe manufacturer Ipex, whose representative, Veso Sebot, is also a member of the 3-year-old Vinyl Promotion Network, an informal group of companies and organizations in the vinyl supply chain with a similar mission of promoting the benefits of vinyl.
The addition of new alliance to help the industry advocate the benefits and sustainability of vinyl was welcomed by VI president Greg Bocchi.
“We look forward to working with them as they address issues of advocacy related to flexible vinyl,” he said. “We have been involved with the FVA since its inception, taking part in all of its organizational meetings.”
Allen Blakey, vice president of industry and government affairs at VI, agreed. “We welcome anyone who wants to promote the benefits of vinyl. We are glad to have another group of people, additional resources and manpower supporting us.”
Ott said one of FVA’s goals is “to create a grassroots network of people at the local and state levels to talk about the benefits of flexible plastic.”
Source: European Plastics News.com
More reports available on the product:
Diisononyl phthalate (CAS 68515-18-0) Market Research Report 2009
Butyl hydrogen phthalate (CAS 131-70-4) Market Research Report 2009
Butyl benzyl phthalate (CAS 85-68-7) Market Research Report 2009
Potassium Hydrogen phthalate (CAS 877-24-7) Market Research Report 2009
Tert-Butyl Hydrogen Phthalate (CAS 33693-84-4) Market Research Report 2009
Cellulose Acetate Phthalate (CAS 9004-38-0) Market Research Report 2009