I recently purchased a shower curtain from Ikea made from something called PEVA.

From the Ikea website: "PEVA, a chlorine-free plastic material, is an alternative to PVC."

Anyone know anything more?

Thanks,
Erin

I have a shower curtain from IKEA, too.  I was very relieved to see it was not PVC (wouldn't have bought it otherwise).  Here's a good explanation from healthybuilding.net on the difference between the two:

"What differentiates PVC from the other vinyls is the addition of a chlorine molecule (the chloride "C" in PVC and PVDC).  Chlorine is the source of many of the environmental health concerns with PVC, such as the generation of dioxin, a highly carcinogenic chemical produced in both the manufacture and disposal of PVC. Due to its persistent and bioaccumulative nature (it travels long distances without breaking down and concentrates as it moves up the food chain to humans) dioxin has become a global problem and an international treaty - the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) - now prioritizes the elimination of processes that produce dioxin.

Some of the non chlorinated vinyls (EVA, PEVA, PVA and PVB) are now beginning to be used as direct substitutes for PVC. EVA has been in use for several years as a chlorine free substitute for PVC - primarily in non building materials like toys and athletic shoes, but occasionally as a protective film or binder. In the building industry, post-consumer recycled PVB is now beginning to be used to replace PVC in carpet backing. Absence of chlorine alone does not make these other vinyls the final answer in the search for green polymers. There are still plenty of toxic challenges and untested chemicals in the life cycle of any petrochemical product. As is the case with most other polymers competing with PVC, however, the weight of available evidence indicates that the absence of chlorine in the formula will generally render the lifecycle environmental health impacts of PVB and the other vinyls less harmful than PVC and initial study is bearing this out. Like the polyolefin plastics, the use of PVB and the other non chlorinated vinyls represents a step forward in the search for alternatives to PVC."

I have a nylon one that can be used as a liner or main curtain-- even has little suction cups to keep out the water.

Doesn't get very wet and after almost a year of use has just now gotten a wee bit funky--but you can just throw it in the machine. and i have a beauteous all-cotton one over it.

   The general style in China is that the bathroom floor is tile with one or more drains, and you just shower there.  (No bathtubs.)  So, no shower curtains needed.  It works pretty well, not sure why the model can't be adopted elsewhere.  It would be interesting to hear of different customs in other countries.

patrick

In Italy, Spain and Portugal, and in Mexico, I have met with curtainless showers, with drains in the middle of the floor.  Basically fine, once you know what you have to deal with.  Otherwise, it can leave you over-wetly unprepared.