this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
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We have a former chemist working in our department and I talked to him about skin care etc and I mentioned Vaseline and said that it's made from or is a byproduct of refining oil. He said something along the lines of "yeah, basically everything is".
His view was probably warped, but still an interesting point
To be fair, Vaseline literally says 'Petroleum Jelly' on the label. They're not hiding it as 'headache relief.'
It's obvious in English, but the conversation was in German (we're both German) and the literal translation is barely used (Petrolat or Petrolatum). My point wasn't that Vaseline is also made from petrol, but that a lot of stuff is, and Vaseline was barely the topic where the fact was dropped.
No, it's actually crazy.
Clothing. Chewing gum. Carpets. Detergents (meaning most "soap"). Paint. Glue.
Packaging (obviously), but the paper and metal stuff usually has a plastic coating
If you aren't sure what something is made of, it's probably petrochemical... And even then, there's likely some coating or binder
But isn't that probably ok? Packaging is an irresponsible application but aren't the others modern marvels? Like if we didn't use petroleum for fuel, would the world be ok with those other uses?
Lol hell no.
We had all that before! The old solutions were better in almost every way but cost. It also didn't fill the world with micro plastics
You can still get real soap, it's better for your skin. You can still get real clothes, they're far more durable and lasts hundreds of times longer. You can buy real gum, I haven't found any to try yet but apparently it doesn't keep flavor for as long, but it also doesn't fill your body with micro plastics
Obviously there's exceptions - like glass made with plastics are an actual modern marvel. Some healthcare devices basically require certain plastics