DuPont synthesizes nylon, the first commercially viable synthetic fiber

Story: 1935 C.E.  |  Last updated: January 1, 1935

On February 28, 1935 C.E., a chemist named Wallace Hume Carothers walked out of DuPont’s research lab in Wilmington, Delaware, having done something no one had done before: created a fully synthetic fiber strong enough, elastic enough, and manufacturable enough to replace natural materials at industrial scale. What he held was nylon 6,6 — and it would change how the world dressed, fought wars, and thought about what chemistry could make.

Key findings

• Synthetic fiber: Nylon 6,6 was synthesized on February 28, 1935 C.E., by Carothers at DuPont’s Experimental Station — the first thermoplastic polymer to achieve genuine commercial viability.
• Wallace Carothers: A Harvard instructor recruited by DuPont in 1927 C.E. to lead pure polymer research, Carothers built on the theoretical foundations laid by German chemist Hermann Staudinger before translating that science into an industrial reality.
• Cold drawing method: The production breakthrough came when Carothers applied a cold drawing technique — first used by colleague Julian W. Hill on polyester in 1930 C.E. — to stretch polymer filaments into strong, aligned fibers suitable for manufacturing.

Eleven years in the making

DuPont didn’t stumble onto nylon. The company launched its polymer research program in 1927 C.E. with a deliberate organizational strategy: small, focused research teams pursuing both pure science and practical applications simultaneously. It was an unusual structure for corporate chemistry at the time, and it worked.

Carothers’ team first synthesized neoprene — a synthetic rubber — in 1930 C.E. Then they identified an elastic paste that hardened into something remarkable upon cooling. But management shifted the team away from open-ended inquiry toward a more commercially focused mandate: find one chemical combination that industry could actually use. It took five more years.

When nylon 6,6 finally emerged in early 1935 C.E., it had everything DuPont wanted: elasticity, strength, and a repeatable manufacturing process. Carothers died in 1937 C.E. — sixteen months before the public announcement — and never saw what his work became. DuPont patented the polymer in September 1938 C.E. and introduced it to the world at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

From toothbrush to parachute

Nylon’s commercial debut was modest: a toothbrush with nylon bristles, introduced in 1938 C.E. What followed was less quiet. When nylon stockings went on limited sale in Wilmington, Delaware, on October 24, 1939 C.E., 4,000 pairs sold within three hours. When they reached the national market on May 15, 1940 C.E., 64 million pairs sold in the first year.

Then World War II arrived, and virtually all nylon production was redirected to the military. Parachutes, parachute cord, and other wartime materials consumed the output of the Seaford, Delaware plant — which had opened on December 15, 1939 C.E., with 1,800 workers — almost entirely. The war dramatically expanded public familiarity with synthetic materials and set the stage for the postwar plastics era.

DuPont’s marketing before and around the launch was also historically significant. The company promoted nylon as derived from “coal, water and air” — strong as steel, fine as a spider’s web. These claims were received with genuine excitement, particularly among middle-class women who saw the fiber as a democratic alternative to expensive silk. President Roosevelt’s cabinet discussed nylon’s “vast and interesting economic possibilities” within days of its formal announcement.

Lasting impact

Nylon’s influence extends far beyond clothing. As a thermoplastic polymer, it reshaped automotive manufacturing, electrical engineering, food packaging, and industrial design. Today, nylon is used in everything from engine components and circuit board housings to carpet fibers and medical sutures.

The Seaford plant was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society in 1995 C.E. — recognition that the facility had not only produced a product but pioneered the model of large-scale chemical engineering that still shapes how industrial chemistry works today.

Nylon also demonstrated something broader: that pure scientific research, given institutional support and time, could yield entirely new categories of material. DuPont’s eleven-year investment from polymer theory to commercial fiber became a template for how corporations and research institutions structure long-range science programs.

It’s also worth noting a parallel story. While DuPont secured its patent and monopoly, German chemist Paul Schlack at IG Farben independently developed nylon 6 — a structurally different molecule — on January 29, 1938 C.E. The simultaneous convergence of two teams, on two continents, toward the same class of material underscores how much of scientific progress reflects a moment’s readiness rather than a single inventor’s genius.

Blindspots and limits

DuPont’s early marketing overclaimed: phrases like “strong as steel” and “no more runs” set expectations nylon couldn’t meet, and the company quietly walked back the most dramatic promises once stockings began tearing in ordinary use. The monopoly DuPont achieved through its 1938 C.E. patent also restricted competition and access in ways that benefited the company far more than consumers or workers in the short term.

And nylon’s environmental legacy is complicated. Synthetic fibers have contributed significantly to microplastic pollution in waterways and oceans — a consequence that 1935 C.E. could not have foreseen but that now shapes how the entire textile industry is being asked to rethink its materials. The workers who built and staffed those early plants, many of whom had limited labor protections, remain largely unnamed in the historical record.

Read more

For more on this story, see: Wikipedia — Nylon

For more from Good News for Humankind, see:

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• The Good News for Humankind archive on modern history

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