Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is the key chemical precursor to PVC. It is produced commercially by combining a hydrocarbon feedstock; namely ethylene, obtained by cracking natural gas or petroleum, with elemental chlorine.

Chlorine is derived from brine - a solution of common salt and water. Since both raw materials are inexpensive, readily available commodities, PVC is less sensitive to fluctuations in the world oil market compared to other polymers. Chlorine also has excellent inherent flame-retardant properties that are directly passed on to vinyl end-products such as electrical conduit and wiring that require high resistance to flame.

OxyVinyls offers VCM as a commodity sold in large, commercial quantities for PVC manufacturing.