What is vinyl and is it safe for the environment?

What is Vinyl?

Vinyl wall decals are not a natural substance but are a synthetic man-made material. It is a type of plastic that is made from ethylene (found in crude oil) and chlorine (found in regular salt). When processed, both the substances are combined to form Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) resin, or as is commonly referred to - Vinyl. Vinyl was first invented in 1920 by scientists who wanted to develop a material that would help to manufacture everyday products that were easier to make and more durable than what was available. Today, Vinyl has become the second largest manufactured and sold plastic resin in the entire world. Vinyl is a plastic material, which unlike other plastics, can easily be recycled. Because of the durability of vinyl, our wall decals have a long life span. Add to this the fact that the vinyl can then be recycled, translates into an even longer life of the vinyl plastic resin.

How eco-friendly are wall decals?

Vinyl is a very environment friendly material, not only because it can be recycled, but also for many other reasons. Vinyl helps in the preservation of environmental resources as 57% of vinyl is made from common salt, which is a renewable natural substance. Non-replenish able resources such as crude oil only account for 43% of vinyl resin, thus making it nature friendly. In comparison to various other materials used by the home decor industry, vinyl requires lesser amounts of natural resources to make, utilizes much lesser energy for manufacture, and also releases lower emissions into the environment. Thus vinyl wall decals, a synthetic manmade material, have truly revolutionized the entire home decor and wall art industry.