Vinyl records have been having a renaissance for the last decade, bringing a sweet warmth to the ears of audiophiles around the world and giving music a physical presence that had been lost with the advent of streaming. With the medium’s reemergence comes a cost, however. Global record production accounts for over 30,000 tons of polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, which Greenpeace calls the “most environmentally damaging plastic” in the world.
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One UK-based company is trying to change that impact, letting vinyl listeners enjoy their favorite music in their chosen medium without any environmental guilt. Evolution Music has created Evovinyl, a plant-based vinyl record that the company says brings a number of benefits besides using less plastics. The production of traditional records needs a higher temperature than Evovinyl requires, which Evolution Music says has shown them a 15% reduction in energy reduction. This reduction has resulted in both increased output (up to 50% higher) and lower cost of production.
The best news, though, is that while Evovinyl is made up primarily of a compostable material derived from sugar cane, it can be manufactured using the same equipment that is used to make PVC records today. This means record manufacturers would not have to eat the cost of purchasing all-new equipment to switch over to Evovinyl. Consumers would not be affected either, as Evovinyl can be played on any standard turntable, with reportedly no difference in sound quality.
“We needed this project to be as sustainable as possible, from production to disposal, and so the life cycle analysis is very important to us,” says Evolution Music CEO Marc Carey. “Evolution will be working with an expert team as part of our R&D to complete a full LCA, to ensure that the people who grow the cane are working in a good environment and not using toxic fertilizers. This is not the case with some other so-called environmental alternatives to PVC.”
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High-end loudspeaker manufacturer PMC has recently come on board by investing in Evolution Music with the hopes to begin mass production.
“Our main driver is a genuine concern for the environment. It is not greenwashing, but a real desire to try and do something to remove PVC from our industry,” says PMC Founder and Chairman Peter Thomas. “We’re also going to be looking at this technology to see if we can use it to replace the plastic parts in PMC loudspeakers.”
Major record labels have reportedly expressed interest in Evovinyl, and limited-runs celebrating Earth Day have already been pressed featuring Michael Stipe, HER, Coldplay, and other successful artists.
Thomas continues, “With the product finalized and the major record labels keen to get involved, with one that has pledged to move all production over to the new material; and a number of established artists, including a multi-Grammy winning artist who has expressed interest in their next album being pressed using Evovinyl, we are in a good position to make a positive change to the audio and music industries’ impact on the environment.”
