products have invariably been cheap, giving them a competitive advantagebut only because vinyls massive environmental and health costs have been externalized into the community. Vinyls dominance in construction today has created the impression that using alternatives to PVC would be an expensive proposition. But the movements for green building and clean production have increasingly demonstrated that PVC-free building can be both high quality and cost-effective. The Tellus Institutes examination of the major studies on costs of vinyl replacement concluded that, using conventional construction designs and techniques, going PVC-free would increase average costs by only about $1.00 per pound for non-pipe applications. While an earlier study put the cost of pipe replacement as high as $1.40 per pound, the most recent and comprehensive study put the incremental cost of non-PVC pipes at only $0.15 per pound of PVC replaced (Ackerman, 2002). The 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney were a testament to the possibility of substitution for PVC. PVC was completely avoided in the Sydney 2000 Olympic stadium seating and plumbing; and the multi-use arena had no PVC in the seating, cabling, floor coverings, wall finishes or plumbing. Greenpeace Australia (Greenpeace Australia, 2003) took the occasion to set up an Internet database of PVC alternatives which is regionalized for use in various parts of the world. The average designer or contractor however will find it easier to go PVC-free in certain material categories than others. Of the four key areasroofing, flooring, siding and plumbingalternatives in roofing and flooring are readily found, are competitive, and are in fact an upgrade in quality. Even apart from higher-end substitutes for vinyl