Sports and Leisure

Aromatics are used today in most of our sports equipment. From polyurethane footballs to nylon parachutes, from light running shoes to polyester swimwear, aromatics provide the materials with that little competitive edge you're looking for when you're exercising.

Footballs are mainly made out of polyeruthane, a lighter material which absorbs less moisture in wet conditions. The modern golf ball is made of a mixture of natural and synthetic materials: a hard rubber core is wrapped with fine rubber strands and covered with either balata or gutta-percha casing, obtained from natural latex. Polyurethanes are now often used as alternatives for the casing.

Light-weight, high-performance! Aromatics-derived plastics have now replaced the leather and wood used in our ancestor's games and sports.

Today's swim suits are the result of mind-boggling advances in fibre technology, many of which need aromatics in their production processes, such as non-absorbent microfibres of polyester.

Tennis rackets are made stronger yet lighter thanks to reinforced epoxy resin; glass-reinforced polyester is also used. Strings are now made of strong synthetic fibres such as nylon. Tennis balls are of synthetic rubber covered with felt and sealed by means of welded seams. Nets are made of weather-resistant synthetic material such as nylon or polyester.

Even our common sports shoes rely heavily on the input of aromatics. For the uppers of sports shoes, polyurethane and nylon are often used, which make for this wonderful, light, endorphine-releasing feeling!

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