For millions across the globe, February 14, Valentine’s Day, has become just as synonymous with cards, chocolate and flowers as it is to expressing your love for that special someone.
Dating back to the Middle Ages, the day that derived its name from the patron St. Valentine has evolved into an annual celebration that is the second largest greeting card-giving occasion in the world next to Christmas. According to 2009 statistics, the average consumer spends around $102 on Valentine’s Day gifts. Many of those same gifts derive their key ingredients from the innovative polymers and chemicals produced by LyondellBasell.
At the close of the 17th century, printed Valentine’s Day cards came into use, replacing hand-written greetings. Today, with developments in printing technology and inexpensive postage rates, more than a billion Valentine’s cards are sent worldwide annually. In 2012, Hallmark Cards, Inc. will produce more than 1,400 different Valentine’s Day greetings, and a number of them are produced using ink derived from our printing solvents. These same cards are enclosed in envelopes featuring adhesives produced using our vinyl acetate monomer.
And what about floral bouquets? Recent statistics indicated that Valentine’s Day flower bouquets account for $397 million of annual flower sales in the United States. The polymers made by LyondellBasell, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, make the film used to package these bouquets clear, attractive and protective.
How about heart-shaped balloons? Those are produced with our polyethylene and polypropylene as well.
And we can’t forget about those Valentine confections! Each year, nearly eight billion heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are produced for the holiday, accounting for $13 billion in chocolate sales worldwide. LyondellBasell’s polyethylene is used to make protective, high shelf-appeal packaging for chocolates and other sweets, while our propylene glycol helps keep cupcakes moist.
Whether its chocolates, flowers or greeting cards, the Amazing Chemistry of LyondellBasell helps provide the recipe for a memorable Valentine’s Day.
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