The thermal underwear that many skiers wear is made of polypropylene and the fiberfill in many winter jackets is acrylic. Generally, plastics are very light in weight with varying degrees of strength. Consider the range of applications, from toys to the frame structure of space stations, or from delicate nylon fiber in pantyhose to Kevlar, which is used in bulletproof vests. Plastics can be processed in various ways to produce thin fibers or very intricate parts . Plastics can be molded into bottles or components of cars, such as dashboards and fenders.
Some plastics stretch and are very flexible.
Other plastics, such as polystyrene and polyurethane, can be foamed. Plastics are materials with a seemingly limitless range of characteristics and they have many inherent properties that can be further enhanced by a wide range of additives to broaden their uses and applications. The resulting plastics may be molded or formed to produce many kinds of products with application in many major markets.