Sommers - We're more than just plastics.

Synthetic leather, fur, polyurethane, PVC
Shop for vinyl, coated-textiles, clear, frosty and quirky novelties.

"Fashion Engineering®" animal-friendly materials since 1947.

WEB ORDER SPECIAL- NO MINIMUM. NO CUT CHARGE

A Brief History of Plastics

The history of manmade, synthetic materials like vinyl, aka PVC, polyvinyl chloride, sponge leather, leatherette, pleather, etc., dates back a long way. "I have one word for you...it's not "PLASTICS." It's "RUBBER." All the materials in stock at Sommers Plastics and shown on this web site would not have been possible without one man's discovery. That is Charles Goodyear.

Goodyear didn't invent rubber, but in 1839, he figured out how to use it in a new way. Natural rubber was discovered by ancient civilizations like the Maya and the Aztecs. They collected sap from rubber trees and used it to create all sorts of products including shoes and many of the end products made to this day by Sommers Plastics' customers like you. But natural rubber has its limitations; it hardens in cold weather and melts in hot. What Charles Goodyear did was discover a chemical process which adds sulfur to natural rubber to create a durable, waterproof and flexible material. This process is called vulcanization. Rubber changed the quality of our shoes and our lives.

The tradition of innovation in rubber and rubber-like materials continues today. Sommers' trademarked term, "Fashion Engineering®," defines our goal to provide you with new and unique products. We have been doing this successfully since young, Herman Schecter, found himself in the right place at the right time. Brooklyn, NY, 1947 (see "Flashback-Brooklyn, NY).

Learn about the production process for making PVC and polyurethane.

Beware of prop 65 bounty hunters. All polyurethane & many PVC lines comply with prop 65