A History of Nylon - War, Riots and Toothbrushes

Nylon was first introduced at the world fair in 1939. After being invented in 1935 by DuPont, a huge pioneer of early plastics, it was first used commercially in toothbrush bristles, as demonstrated in the Dr West’s Miracle Toothbrush Advert at the Exhibition. It became widely used in stockings and was hugely sort after - they became an instant commercial success with 64 million pairs sold during their first year on the market, despite being 1.5x more expensive than silk.

Invention

Nylon was the first commercially successful thermoplastic polymer, meaning it could be melted and formed into fibres, films and other diverse shapes. It is named after another DuPont product, rayon. The letters “Nyl” are actually completely arbitrary, after the original name no-run was abandoned due the fabric, in fact, running. The replacement name Nuron was again replaced to make it sound less related to neuron, thus limiting confusion with nerve tonics.

Due to the timing of the invention, when the USA entered the fighting in World War Two, nylon production moved away from civilian to military, mainly for parachutes, parachute cord and tents, where it’s lightweight and durable nature was invaluable. It was also an elastic, shrink-proof, and moth-proof material. DuPont also produced other materials for WWII such as nylon’s predecessor, neoprene.

Despite its success, people were initially wary of this new synthetic material, especially when it came to wearing it. It was pushed by the Roosevelt administration, due to it replacing silk imports from Japan. DuPont also advertised it as being derived from “air, coal and water” to make it seem more natural.

Post WWII and riots

Post WWII, the return of nylon for stockings was met with much anticipation. DuPont projected production of 360 million stockings per year but faced difficulties de-converting from war-time production. This led to shortages, which some accused of being deliberate artificial scarcity as a tactic from Dupont. Regardless, demand being higher than supply led to events such as the nylon riots,

The first riot occurred in September 1945, when a small post-war shipment of stockings went on limited sale around the country. In November, 30,000 women reportedly lined up in New York. In one instance, an estimated 40,000 people lined up in Pittsburgh to buy 13,000 pairs of nylons. In the meantime, women cut up nylon tents and parachutes left from the war in order to make blouses and wedding dresses. In San Francisco, a sale was called off after an estimated 10,000 shoppers waited to get in, breaking the store window under the force of the crowd. Several women reportedly fainted. It largely died down in March 1946, when DuPont were able to increase production to 30 million pairs a month.

Because nylon stockings were so widely sought-after, they also became the target of crime. In Louisiana, one household was robbed of 18 pairs of nylons. Similarly, robbery was ruled out as the motive of a murder in Chicago because the nylons were untouched! A song was even written about them: “When the Nylons Bloom Again”.

Nylon is also responsible for the advent of carry-on luggage, as it was lightweight enough to make this mode of travel possible. Nylon and the tufting construction method also made it possible for every American to put carpeting on their floors. Carpets used to be expensive and scarce, but now close to 99% of households have them.

Continued development and modern issues

Nylon was not without its shortfalls however, and today is blended with other materials for good reason. America's Textile Reporter referred to 1951 as the "Year of the blending of the fibers". These blended fabrics retained the properties of nylon, whilst being cheap, more breathable, less slippery, less prone to unravelling and eliminating the itchy/ clingy effect that occurred to nylon’s tendency to build up a static charge. Nylon was often blended with wool, polyester and spandex, but there have been some more novel combinations such as “Bunara” – wool, rabbit, nylon and “Casmet” – wool, nylon and fur.

Nylon continued to gain popularity, and the flag planted on the moon in 1969 was made of the material, with an estimated cost of $5.50. However, in the 1970s people became aware of the environmental cost of nylon, from the oil extraction as a raw material, to the energy and waste during production, to the non-biodegradable nature and end-of-life avenue in landfill. World-wide production of nylon is still estimated at 8 million tonnes a year in 2020.

Unfortunately, nylon’s strength and durability mean that it takes 30-40 years for deposited waste to degrade. During incineration, toxic fumes and ash form, usually containing hydrogen cyanide. Furthermore, nitric oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is released during the production of nylon. The production process is also energy intensive, as well as consuming a lot of water to cool the fibre. This water can also be polluting to the environment of mis-managed. Washing nylon fabrics can often lead to microplastic pollution, ultimately ending up in marine environments.

As nylon melts at a low temperature, the recycling process often doesn’t destroy pollutants or foreign materials. This means it must be extensively cleaned before processing. Nylon can either be recycled mechanically by shredding and melting, or chemically via depolymerisation in hydrochloric acid. These both have their own pros and cons, with mechanical often leading to an inferior quality product, and chemical recycling producing harmful byproducts due to its reliance on industrial solvents. However, both decrease production of virgin nylon, meaning less oil is extracted.