Anti-PVCu Comments On Social Media Are Gathering Pace

Last week I wrote a post talking about the start of the anti-PVCu narrative online. If you haven’t read that, you can catch up on it here: https://www.doubleglazingblogger.com/2018/02/anti-pvcu-narrative-already-started-creep/

I warned that it would get worse and that our industry has to be on the front foot when it comes to these kinds of comments and narrative. Well, it has started to get worse already. I think it’s already upon us, perhaps quicker than I thought it might be.

Social media comments

Take a look at these kinds of comments, posted on the Eurocell Facebook page:

Credit: Eurocell

Those are just a selection of the types of comments now being posted to social media from the general public. In this case, on the Eurocell Facebook page.

On the surface, they just look like flippant comments based on the general media coverage right now. But it’s not. It’s an early sign of the changing attitudes. And often, when trends start on social media, it’s not that long until they make it on to the mainstream media, like TV and radio.

When the narrative begins to change, it’s inevitable that it won’t be too long before we start to see a tangible change in the real world. The seriousness of this cannot be understated. This could cost companies, both installers and fabricators, sales.

The industry has to be moving into gear now to get a head start on what’s coming.

Joint effort

Remember, PVCu still dominates the residential market massively. Both aluminium and timber, although growing in sales, are way behind in comparison. The PVCu residential market supports thousands of companies and tens of thousands of jobs. If this part of our sector was to be hit in sales by even just ten percent, that will be hundreds of jobs lost of companies closing their doors.

There is no need for that to happen. PVCu can be made in a sustainable way. It has already been proven that the compounds required to produce the raw materials of it can be made from rape seed, cutting out the need for oil. It has already been proven that PVCu can be recycled up to ten times, giving the material a lifespan of around 300 years. It’s thermal benefits are obvious. It’s low maintenance. PVCu as a window material works. Where we have to be better is in the production of it and the recycling of it.

It also needs a joint effort. That means installers, fabricators and systems companies all mucking in and doing what they can to ensure that PVCu and it’s benefits do not get drowned out by the hype and the narrative. Yes our industry has a lot of work to do to make it much more environmentally friendly, but to get rid of it as an option would be highly damaging too.

To that end, I have something in the pipeline I hope to share with you soon. It won’t change the world, but it will be a small step in the right direction of getting the nature of the conversation right.