Selection of flame retardants for plastics applications involves balancing cost and performance factors with health and environmental safety issues to comply with demanding fire-safety standards. New FR additives and materials offer "greener" alternatives to old standbys, continuing a trend toward non-halogenated FR materials. Government regulations and directives, as well as consumer and OEM preferences for more environmentally friendly materials, have set the industry on a path toward alter. natives to the brominated and chlorinated additives broadly used for flame retardancy, especially in electrical and electronic applications. New products reflect those efforts to replace conventional FR materials without affecting processing, tooling, or performance.