Good qualities of vinyl ignored in story

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006

For more of your opinions, go to www.gazette.net/letters.

Tim Burns, Arlington, Va.

The writer is president of The Vinyl Institute, a nonprofit trade association representing vinyl resin manufacturers in the United States.

The Oct. 18 story (‘‘Protesters ‘Target’ department stores that carry PVC products”) about the ‘‘handful of protesters” outside a Target store included misleading information about PVC (vinyl). Permit me to correct the record:

Vinyl products sold by Target and other stores across the country are perfectly safe for their intended use, according to all the relevant government agencies, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as numerous scientific studies. They have been tested and used for decades with no evidence of harm to anyone. They are widely used in hospitals. Their numerous benefits range from affordability, convenience and reliability to improving health care and the environment. In short, the protesters are wrong.

As Greenpeace co-founder and longtime leader Patrick Moore has pointed out, the campaign against vinyl reflects a political and ideological agenda, not genuine health or environmental concerns. The untruthful claims and street theater of protesters ‘‘up in arms” are meant to intimidate consumers and retailers. Target and other retailers should be applauded for putting their customers’ needs above the bullying of people with an ideological agenda.

The facts about vinyl are readily available from www.vinylinfo.org and other sources.