The Father Of Nylon
It was the fabric from which the first flag planted on the moon in 1969 was made from. Now it has fallen out of favour because of its adverse environmental impact but for several decades during the mid-twentieth century, nylon was ubiquitous, used for clothing, bedding, and, of course, hosiery.
In 1927 the chemical giant, DuPont, launched a research programme into the possibility of producing synthetic materials by melting different organic compounds together, headed by Wallace Carothers. By the spring of 1930 the team had already synthesized two new polymers, neoprene, a synthetic rubber that was used during the Second World War, and a white, elastic, strong paste that was to become nylon.
In essence, nylon was formed by combining two carbon-based substances that created a solid at the point at which they met. When it was heated and pushed through tiny holes under pressure, it formed thin fibres which were then quickly pulled away and cooled. The result was filaments that were stronger and more resistant to heat and water than any other man-made fibre. On February 28, 1935 Carothers produced an example of the first wholly synthetic fabric, known as nylon 6.6.
How the fabric got its name of nylon is a subject of some controversy. Some claim that the original name was meant to be No-Run but to avoid a claim that might become a hostage to fortune, the letters were reversed and then morphed into nylon by way of nilon. Others believe it to be derived from the hometowns of the principal scientists who worked on the project, New York and London, while others suggest that it was an acronym of Now You’ve Lost, Old Nippon, reflecting the emergence of a credible rival to silk. Its name takes a similar form to another DuPont product, rayon, and the suffix might just be an arbitrary selection.
DuPont obtained a patent for the polymer in September 1938 and because of the complexity of the manufacturing process DuPont quickly were able to establish a lucrative monopoly. The first commercially available product using nylon was Dr West’s Miracle-Tuft, a toothbrush with synthetic nylon bristles, launched by the Weco Products Company of Chicago. However, the cash cow was to prove to be hosiery.
Silk stockings were all the rage in the 1930s but they were still expensive. The use of nylon meant that stockings could be produced more cheaply and they were more durable. They flew off the shelf and when the production of nylon tights was resumed after the Second World War women fought to get their hands on them.
As for Carothers, he never got to see the success of the product he had worked so hard over so many years to develop. A depressive, he swallowed a lethal cocktail of lemon juice and potassium cyanide on April 28, 1937. His death was widely reported in the States but he quickly slipped into obscurity, unlike his product.
Its strength and durability meant that it takes thirty to 40 years for deposited waste to degrade, and if incinerated toxic fumes and ash containing hydrogen cyanide are released. The production process produces nitric oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, as well as consuming large amounts of water. Washing nylon fabrics runs the risk of causing microplastic pollution. Unsurprisingly, therefore, in these more environmentally conscious times, we have moved on from the mass consumption of nylon, but it was revolutionary development in its day.
