It's "out-gassing", as the plasticizers leach out of the vinyl. The "new car smell".
Re:The Looming End of Payless ShoeSource
by themodelplumber on Sunday April 28, 2019 @06:24PM
(#19774111)
As an industrial specialist term, sure. I'm not sure if you've noticed but the term "off-gassing" now has a more general meaning & life of its own outside of that domain. I've heard people use it for situations up to and including stinky clothes and flatulence over the last few years.
Re:The Looming End of Payless ShoeSource
by stevenhuang on Sunday April 28, 2019 @07:06PM
(#19774371)
They mean the same. Aerospace commonly uses offgassing too: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wstf/testing_and_analysis/mater...
Funny. And if I had to bet on one term that could completely change the materials of which consumer products are made, possibly sparking a consumer materials revolution, "off-gassing" would be it. Once you learn about it, it's always there, nagging you to ventilate or throw out.
In fact I'd say that along with terms like "gaslighting" and "toxic relationship" enjoying recent prominence, times have never been better for terms capturing the psychological rejection of toxins driving humans headlong toward life change.