By Sarah Gorman Sun bath mats, bath mats made with foam, towels, and other materials are all available in sizes ranging from two feet by four feet to a whopping six feet by 12 feet.
They’re available in a variety of colors and materials, with many manufacturers offering prices ranging from $100 to $500.
But the biggest thing they all have in common is a high price tag.
The sun bath mats that we’ve featured on the site, which we’ve reviewed here, are the most expensive of all, with an average price of $1,800 per piece.
That’s on top of the $100 per square foot cost of the mats, as well as the $500 cost of a towel and a towel roll.
But why?
And why is a single sheet of plastic costing so much?
Here are some of the biggest reasons why the cost of sun bath materials is out of control.
Cost of Materials: The Cost of Sun Bath Materials Sun bath materials are made of plastic, and they’re the most costly of all the products we review.
But they’re also one of the least environmentally friendly.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the cost per kilogram of plastic used to make sun bath products is $0.06, or less than one-third of the global price of plastic-based plastic products.
The problem is compounded when the price of the plastic is inflated because of the high cost of materials.
Sun bath plastic is made from a combination of polypropylene and polyethylene, two materials that are more expensive to make than polyester.
Polyethylene is also the cheapest polymer to make a material for sun bath, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The other most expensive polymer to use in a product is polyethylenes, which are more costly to make and use than polypropene.
According the World Economic Forum, the average cost of producing polyethylenes is about $5 per metric ton, while polyethylenic polyethylbenzene is $10 per metric tons.
Polypropylene, a cheaper plastic, costs $1.45 per metric, while ethylene is $3.80 per metric.
The cost of plastic is the most significant contributor to the cost and environmental impact of making sun bath material, according the International Forum on Sustainable Materials.
“Plastics are the principal industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to the global climate change, especially in light of their use in many types of manufacturing,” said Dr. Michael K. Schoenbaum, executive director of the IFSM.
“As a result, we need to consider the environmental impact, as plastics are one of several major sources of plastic pollution that have been identified as important contributors to global warming.”
The IFSO recommends using “non-flammable plastic” for sun bathing products.
However, this doesn’t mean that all plastics are non-flamable.
Some plastics, such as polypropylenes, are flammable, but they’re more of a chemical than a physical substance.
The ICSM recommends that you check with your manufacturer about whether your sunscreen product contains a plastic coating or plastic-free coating that will prevent the polymer from reacting with your skin.
Another major contributor to higher prices is the plastic used for sunbeds and other products.
According a 2010 report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, the total plastic used in products is estimated to be $8.8 trillion, or 35 percent of the entire global market.
According for the American Chemical Society, plastics in sunbed and other sun-safe products are $1 trillion annually.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that the average daily cost of using a product with an SPF of 15 is $1 million.
The most environmentally destructive use of plastic in sun bathing is in towels, as most of the polyethylens are used to produce a sticky residue that is used to prevent your skin from absorbing sunscreen.
According Environmental Protection, this residue has been found in over one billion towels.
If you’re interested in learning more about the impact of plastics in your life, check out our article, Plastic: The Biggest Threat to the Environment, by the World Health Organization.