Static Cling is caused by static electricity, usually due to rubbing as in a clothes dryer (the Triboelectric effect). It can be removed by deionizing materials with water (for example, lightly misting a shirt with water if it has static cling), and prevented with fabric softener dryer sheets. Antistatic agents are used to make the surfaces slightly conductive, which reduces or prevents the static charge buildup.

Static Cling in Advertising

Advertisers in urban areas, eager to use guerilla marketing techniques, have turned to static cling as a distribution medium. In an advertising campaign for MSN 8, Microsoft's online service, thousands of butterflies resembling the MSN logo were affixed to surfaces in New York City and held there with static cling.