Polyethylene:
Polyethylene is a polymer (plastic) that is primarily used in packaging (bags, bottles, etc) and many other applications, especially in the cleanroom.

Market Dynamics:

Ethylene is derived from crude oil and natural gas.  US drilling will primarily impact pricing and availability:
1. Ethylene supply comes primarily from frac-ed wells, rather than traditional drilling methods.
2. Frac-ed wells are more expensive to drill and have a shorter life than traditional wells. When the price of oil goes down, frac-ed wells are usually the first to shut down, thus more quickly reducing the supply of ethylene feed stocks.

Up Stream Materials/Building Blocks:

Crude Oil
Natural Gas

Down Steam Consumer of Polyethylene:

Apparel, Boot Covers
Apparel, Coats
Apparel, Coveralls
Apparel, Gowns
Apparel, Shoe Covers
Apparel, Aprons
Aprons
Bags
Bags, Blender
Bags, Media
Bags, Sample
Bags, sterilization Pouches
Bags, Storage
Bags, Waste
Boot Covers
Bottles, Aspirators
Bottles, Cell Culture
Bottles, Centrifuge
Bottles, Drop/Dispensing
Bottles, Drosophila
Bottles, Roller
Bottles, Spray
Bottles, Wash
Bottles, Water Sampling
Bottles/Caps
Caps, Aspirating 
Caps, Culture Tubes
Caps, foam liners
Caps, plug
Caps, Vial Screw
Caps, Vial Snap 
Carboys
Carts
Cleanroom apparel
Cleanroom Notebooks
Cleanroom Tap
Closures
Coats
Columns SPE
Columns, Flash
Columns, GC
Columns, HPLC
Columns, LPLC
Columns, Solid Phase Extraction
Containers, Over pack
Containers, Sample
Containers, Spill Kits


Coveralls
Cups, pH
Cups, Weighing
Dishes
Filters, Centrifugal
Filters, Dispensers
Filters, Equipment
Filters, In-Line
Filters, Vacuum
Flasks
Funnels
Gloves
Gowns
Jars, Mercury Collection
Mats, Assay
Pipet Tips
Pipet, Washer
Pipets, Disposable
Pipets, Dropper
Pipets, Pasteur
Pipets, Transfer
Polyethylene Glycol
Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate
Polyethylene Glycol Monododecyl Ether
Polyethylene Oxide
Pots
Safety Cans, Solvent
Shoe Covers
Stopcocks
Tape, Antistatic
Tape, Cleanroom
Tape, Construction
Tape, General
Trays, General
Trays, Spill Containment
Tubes, Centrifuge
Tubes, Culture
Tubes, Drying
Tubes, Immuno
Tubes, Rack
Tubes, Transport
Tubing
Vials, Chromatography
Vials, Cryogenic
Vials, Sample
Vials, Scintillation
Waste Containers