Disclosed is a method of making an environmentally durable material, the method requiring providing a material comprising at least one functional group Fc, and subjecting the material to a free radical source such that substantially all functional groups Fc are eliminated but the material is not polymerized. In one embodiment, the functional group Fc is at least one of a nonaromatic carbon-carbon double bond, a hydrogen atom alpha to an aromatic ring, a hydrogen atom alpha to a carbon-carbon double bond, or a hydrogen atom attached to a tertiary substituted carbon. In another embodiment, functional group Fc is present in the material as a contaminant. In one exemplary embodiment, the material comprises from 0.05 to less than 15% by weight of functional group Fc, based on the total weight of the material.