In 1938, the Hungarian László Bíró filed a patent for "paste-like ink and the associated filling pen", better known today as the ballpoint pen. At the same time, also in 1938, the DuPont company was conducting a trial run in the USA: 4,000 pairs of nylon stockings were offered, which were sold out in a very short time. Two years later, on 15th May 1940, nylon stockings had gone into large-scale production and on this day alone, known as "N-Day", DuPont sold five million stockings - although it was only allowed to give one pair per person away. However, these two at first sight unrelated events, led to an unusual triumph in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s: namely that of deodorants.
Skip to main content
Nylon – of silkworms, mother-in-law silk and stocking riots
31.01.2022 Wiebke Hauschildt (Online Editor)
Nylon – a US synthetic fibre
The DuPont company did not originally trade in stockings. In the mid-19th century, it still was the largest supplier of explosives to the US military, but in the 1920s it concentrated on materials science. Natural materials such as wool and silk were scarce and expensive, which is why more and more chemical companies as well as consumers were interested in cheaper materials for textile processing.
In 1935, the US American chemist Wallace Hume Carothers developed the world's first fully synthetic fibre made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen for the DuPont company. Patented as "polyamide 6.6", the bristles of toothbrushes were the first items to be made with the new material, before stockings. The advantages of this material, which DuPont called "Nylon", were manifold: It was lighter than silk, much finer than wool textiles, tear-resistant, heat-resistant, wrinkle-free, elastic and - very important - non-flammable. This property could not be attested to all materials available at the time, namely the "mother-in-law silk" from 1883.
"Mother-in-law silk" is the first artificial silk produced by the Englishman Joseph Wilson Swan. Unlike natural silk, which is made from the protein of the silk cocoon, this artificial silk is made of cellulose. The silk was first presented in London in 1885, before mass production began in 1890. As already mentioned, this silk was very flammable, which is why it earned the name "mother-in-law silk". The idea behind it: With an appropriate textile gift to the unloved relative, one could perhaps get rid of her relatively quickly. It is not known whether such plans were put into practice.
Back to nylon, the safer alternative for female relatives: the success of nylon stockings was extraordinary, not only that on "Nylon Day" in May 1940 in the US metropolises five million pairs were sold in one fell swoop, but sales agents were desperately sought to be recruited to sell DuPont's "sensational new product". From April 1940 on, the New York newspaper "Aufbau: an American weekly", a news bulletin of the German-Jewish Club Inc., placed various advertisements seeking for sales personnel. In an emergency, the companies were also willing to “hire a few more gentlemen. Percent upfront plus bonus. Experience unnecessary".
When the USA entered World War II in December 1941, nylon was taken off the civilian market and produced exclusively for the war industry. During this period, parachutes, tents and ropes were made from nylon, as Japan had stopped supplying silk to the US during the war and DuPont was able to convince the military of its synthetic alternative.
In August 1945, eight days after Japan's surrender, DuPont announced the resumption of production and the newspapers ran the headline “Peace, It's Here! Nylons on sale!“. The return to production for the civilian population proceeded brilliantly. So brilliantly that the "nylon riots" broke out. DuPont was not immediately in a position to ramp up production of the coveted stockings to such an extent so that supply could keep up with demand. And so it happened that in September 1945, 40,000 people in Pittsburgh queued up for 13,000 pairs of stockings. A Pittsburgh newspaper reported that "a good old fashioned hair-pulling, face-scratching fight broke out in the line." Up to January 1946 there were always "stocking riots" - but then production was ramped up and the stocking shelves were sufficiently filled.
Perlon – the Nylon of (Nazi-)Germany
The invention of nylon in the USA in the 1930s did not go unnoticed by the National Socialists. This is how the paper reported: "Der Führer: the main body of the NSDAP Gau Baden; the Baden State Gazette“ Der Führer: the main organ of the NSDAP Gau Baden; the Baden State Gazette" in an article from August 1939: "The best textile fibre, a new synthetic fibre - the nylon fibre is said to surpass all created fibres and natural silk - American invention - license acquisition by Germany". Ultimately, the license was not acquired because the Swabian chemist Paul Schlack developed a competing product: Perlon.
In the 1930s, Schlack worked for a Berlin company that belonged to the chemical group I.G. Farben. In 1937 he was on holiday at Lake Tegel, he took the patent specification for nylon as reading material to find out whether he could develop a similar fibre without infringing on the patent held by the US company DuPont. He succeeded. In January 1938, Paul Schlack created a material whose properties were identical to those of nylon, but which had chemical differences. Nylon, known as Polyamide 6.6, got a competitor: Polyamide 6, henceforth known as Perlon.
The US attempt to conquer the German market does not succeed. DuPont offered I.G. Farben a production license for nylon, which for rather obvious reasons was rejected. Instead, a "synthetic fibre cartel" emerged: the two companies shared their production secrets, they shared the market between themselves and thus ultimately also the profits. For the time being, Perlon would not be relevant for hosiery on the German market, since this material was defined as essential to the war effort. Like nylon in the USA, a short time later, Perlon was used to make ropes and parachutes, high-pressure hoses for aircraft tyres as well as bristles for cleaning weapons. After the end of the Second World War I.G. Farben was broken up. It had made money from the war through forced labour and the production of poison gas.
Many of the factories that had produced synthetic fibres before and during the war were located in eastern Germany and the production machines were transported to the Soviet Union as part of the reparations payments. It took four years after the end of the war before Perlon could be produced again in the West. Two years earlier, in 1947, the Saxon Economics Minister Fritz Selbmann had threatened that "the women in the Western zones will go barefoot until their husbands supply us with stainless steel and metallurgical coke". But Selbmann's threat goes unheeded, as the West could resume production. If somebody still wanted to wear nylon stockings in the meantime, good personal connections were required. Dubbed "bedside currency", American soldiers brought the coveted stockings to West Germany.
When Perlon production in Germany was running at full speed again, the fibre became a symbol of the economic miracle. In 1951, 30 million stockings were sold, each for ten marks. The impact of this success, at first glance, was not so obvious for other sectors, but MdB Bernhard Bauknecht from the CDU party could help here. In 1951 he blamed the surplus women for the fact that too little meat was eaten in the BRD (FRG- Federal Republic of Germany). The reason? In order to get a man, women would be forced to invest their money in nail polish, lipstick and nylon stockings instead of meat. The extent to which this assessment by Bauknecht (almost a studied farmer) was correct can no longer be verified today.
Dederon – the Perlon of the DDR (GDR - German Democratic Republic)
"It folds well, does not crease, dries quickly and is versatile - these are the attributes that describe the synthetic fibre Dederon, from which shirts, aprons, bags and tights were made for the masses in the DDR since the 1960s." is a quote on the pages of the DDR Museum. In the 1950s, the BRD -The Federal Republic of Germany- had "Perlon" protected as a trademark, so that the East German counterpart needed its own name. "Dederon", derived from DDR and the syllable "on", became the official new name for the polyamide fibre.
Dederon is celebrated as a "thread of perfect reliability" and from the 1960s onwards, it is impossible to imagine the everyday life of citizens without it. One of the best-known examples is the floral smock apron worn by millions of East Germans. Shirts, blouses and dresses were also made from Dederon. And in 1963 the state even had a stamp block printed on Dederon foil: „Chemie für Frieden und Sozialismus“ ("Chemistry for peace and socialism").
During these years, there was much that divided Germany. What really united it, on the other hand, was the clothing made of the meanwhile famous synthetic fibre - whether it was nylon, Perlon or Dederon. What also united Germany is more of an olfactory nature: the Germans started to smell. Known as not exactly breathable, the synthetic garments are extremely easy to care for, but it doesn't take long for the wearers to sweat and consequently start to have a penetrating smell. In other words: Textile progress stinks. And this is where the aforementioned triumph of the deodorant in Germany begins, which is then sold in large quantities over the sales counters.
In the late 1940s, the American chemist Helen Barnett Diserens invented the roll-on deodorant for the Mum company, inspired by how the ballpoint pen works. Deodorant and, of course, pens have come to stay – but clothing made of synthetic fibres has, however, quickly been replaced by more breathable fabrics. With one exception: the nylon tights. They replaced nylon stockings in the 1960s due to the latest trend - the miniskirt.
But that really is another story.
More links
Nylon in der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek
Perlon in der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek
Dederon in der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek
Virtuelle Ausstellung: Mode in Hessen
Sources
Faszination Chemie: https://faszinationchemie.de/chemie-ueberall/news/was-ist-eigentlich-nylon/
Planet Wissen: https://www.planet-wissen.de/technik/werkstoffe/kunststoff/pwienylon100.html
MDR: https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/perlon-eine-kunstfaser-erobert-die-welt100.html
Wirtschaftswoche: https://www.wiwo.de/technologie/forschung/80-jahre-nylon-der-kunststoff-aus-dem-die-traeume-waren/25323638.html
Spiegel: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/bernhard-bauknecht-a-812198ef-0002-0001-0000-000046174379
Zeit: https://www.zeit.de/wissen/geschichte/2013-01/perlon-kunstfaser-schlack-geschichte
RP Online: https://rp-online.de/panorama/deutschland/nylonstrumpf-sexy-blickfang-seit-75-jahren_aid-21759359
Wikipedia Nylon Riots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon_riots
Wikipedia Nylonstrumpf: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylonstrumpf
Wikipedia Nylon: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyamide#Nylon
Spiegel: https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/nylonstruempfe-a-947897.html
Wirtschaftswundermuseum: http://www.wirtschaftswundermuseum.de/nylons-perlon-1.html
Süddeutsche: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/70-jahre-perlon-fallschirm-und-damenstrumpf-1.279215-3