Self melting or destructive material Apple uses for their earphones

I have an iPod Touch 2nd gen., and I had used a bundled earphone with it.
However, after using it a few months, the plastic rubber part which embraces its speaker became like an eraser. It was worn out like that.
So, I bought an earphone from a 3rd party, and put the bundle earphone in my cabinet which is made of steel. It was kept there for about 1 year, and today I picked it up and my hands got dirty with some sticky things around the earphone. I know that plastic rubbers tend to get melt. That is why any plastic stationery next to erasers get melt and they stick together. I could see that it is from the material which covers the cable from the earphone jack to the ear piece.
Now, may I ask why Apple uses this kind of material for earphones?
There are other kinds of plastics which don't melt or self-deteriorated.
Probably it is good for environment. But while you are using it, if it melt down, isn't it considered a defect? ( The plastic rubber part which covers the speaker is the always the first one which has this problem. )

You are not alone!  Many others have reported this deterioration on the Internet...
Your guess that Apple was attempting to use some sort of "environmentally friendly material", is probably a good assumption.  In doing so they have ironically created headphones which will need to hit the landfill long before their time!
I was just about to place my earbuds in my ears, and thought, "EWW, look at that gummie stuff!"  I thought, "what was that gray wax doing in my ears the last time I wore them."  When I began wiping the pasty stuff off, I realized it was wiping the rubber rim completely away!  So odd how it just started to melt after months of use and no sign of such "reaction" to its' surrounding prior to today.
I keep mine safely zipped up in a small travel pouch within my soft-sided, leather briefcase.  So odd!

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