Plastics burn when they are subjected to sufficient heat to break down the polymer structure into volatile gases. The gases burn and radiate heat from the flame back to the plastic, causing further pyrolysis and evolution of flammable gases.

Flame retardants are added to polymeric materials to either prevent the gases to ignite or extinguish if there is no continued external heat. Flame retardants interfere with the chemistry and physics of the combustion in such a way that the flammability of the plastic is changed.

Typically, bromine and phosphorous containing flame retardants are used in polyolefins. Halogen containing flame retardants detrimentally affect UV stability of polymers and interact with UV stability. Moreover, environmental concerns could arise with conventional flame retardants. The necessity to use high levels of these flame retardants to achieve efficacy can also have a significant negative impact on the physical and mechanical properties of the fiber.

A non-halogenated, UV stable flame retardant Ciba® FLAMESTAB® NOR™ 116 was introduced primarily to the polyolefin fibers and nonwovens market