Acronym and details: PE. A category of polymer often used to describe its fibre form; a huge family of ‘plastics’ available also in an integrally foamed form; see also polyethylene terephthalate
Group: thermoplastic
Developed: 1941
Trade names: Crimplene, Dacron, Terylene
Manufacturing process: as a fibre: extrusion
Cost: low
Colour: any
Transparency: transparent to opaque
Rigidity: flexible
Feel: varies
Smell: none
Other: resilient, quick-drying, flammable
Typical uses: clothing and upholstery; also from 1955 in sheet form as support for archival material
Degradation: relatively stable