Need some clarification regarding a materials question that came up while writing a review.
The basic question is "If you're someone who makes a point of avoiding jelly materials, do you also avoid similar or alternate forms of PVC and jelly?"
The impression I've gotten from the forums is that if you see anything jelly-like, you should throw holy water at it & run. Now I understand this with "standard" jelly, where you get the dizzying smell & greasy ooze. That's the idea that comes to mind for me when I hear someone say "jelly," and it seems to be sort of the general usage of the term "jelly" around here.
However, many jelly toys are not at all like those above. There are at least a few pthalate-free jelly toys now. And there are plenty of "jelly" toys that don't act like jelly: Basically, PVC or PVC blends. Yes, they all have the same basic chemical composition, but they're much different in smell, feel, firmness, etc. I'd have no clue that my Jelly Toy A is chemically similar to my PVC Toy B without being told or looking it up.
So, I'm trying to find out why PVC gets lumped in with the squishy jellies on the less-safe end of the scale. Is this habit, left over from general jelly trauma? Does PVC itself have some worrisome characteristics? (Assume for the sake of the question it's pthalate-free). Is it maybe porosity that is a bigger issue here than the chemical composition?
How do you feel about PVC blends? It's surprising how many things contain PVC in some form when you look at the Materials Guide.
The basic question is "If you're someone who makes a point of avoiding jelly materials, do you also avoid similar or alternate forms of PVC and jelly?"
The impression I've gotten from the forums is that if you see anything jelly-like, you should throw holy water at it & run. Now I understand this with "standard" jelly, where you get the dizzying smell & greasy ooze. That's the idea that comes to mind for me when I hear someone say "jelly," and it seems to be sort of the general usage of the term "jelly" around here.
However, many jelly toys are not at all like those above. There are at least a few pthalate-free jelly toys now. And there are plenty of "jelly" toys that don't act like jelly: Basically, PVC or PVC blends. Yes, they all have the same basic chemical composition, but they're much different in smell, feel, firmness, etc. I'd have no clue that my Jelly Toy A is chemically similar to my PVC Toy B without being told or looking it up.
So, I'm trying to find out why PVC gets lumped in with the squishy jellies on the less-safe end of the scale. Is this habit, left over from general jelly trauma? Does PVC itself have some worrisome characteristics? (Assume for the sake of the question it's pthalate-free). Is it maybe porosity that is a bigger issue here than the chemical composition?
How do you feel about PVC blends? It's surprising how many things contain PVC in some form when you look at the Materials Guide.
