But for a pot of paint... - Sustainability or bust?

Some while ago I was searching for a sound bite that would draw a particular politician into real discussion. I said to him that but for a pot of paint 70% of industry would come to a halt...., I must have hit the mark, it obviously raised the spectre of mass unemployment, nose diving GDP and the immanent demise of manufacturing; I achieved my aim - his undivided attention. That was in the days when REACH started to cast a shadow across the industry.