Imagine a future where clothing is self-cleaning; imagine painting your living-room wall to display a real-time image of another part of the world; or utilizing greenhouse gas to make value-added products; or designing surfaces that selectively destroy viruses and pathogenic bacteria; or a surgeon placing a removable stent that changes shape inside an artery of a patient's body. What materials could provide all the properties necessary for these and other future applications? Plastics! This article highlights some of the current activities that have commercial and social implications, and also offers a glimpse into the future.