Nylon riots


The nylon riots were a series of disturbances at American stores created by a nylon stocking shortage.

Background

was patented by DuPont in 1935. The company began manufacturing nylon stockings in 1939, and introduced them to the world at the 1939 World's Fair, worn by a model called "Miss Chemistry". The product quickly became popular in the United States, with up to 4 million pairs of stockings bought in one day.
During World War II, nylon was used extensively for parachutes and other war materials, such as airplane cords and ropes. As a result, the supply of nylon consumer goods was curtailed.
The riots occurred between August 1945 and March 1946, when the War Production Board announced that the creation of DuPont's nylon would shift its manufacturing from wartime material to nylon stockings, at the same time launching a promotional campaign. In one of the worst disturbances, in Pittsburgh, 40,000 women queued up for 13,000 pairs of stockings, which led to fights breaking out. It took several months before DuPont was able to ramp up production to meet demand, but until they did many women went without nylon stockings for months.

Wartime "stocking panic"

During World War II, embargoes against Japan resulted in the United States having difficulty importing silk from Japan. Eventually, the U.S. was unable to import any silk. So, DuPont thought of an idea to convince the army that nylon is a much more effective material than silk. DuPont succeeded in convincing the army, and nylon fabric became increasingly popular because of its elasticity, shrink-proof, and moth-proof material properties.
Nylon stockings became increasingly popular on the black market, selling for up to $20 per pair. Women who could not acquire nylons resorted to lotions, makeup, creams, stick cakes, and painting seam lines down their legs to give the illusion of stockings. Spray-on nylon "liquid hosiery" products were also used.
Because nylon stockings were so widely sought-after, they also became a target of theft. 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.
George Marion Jr. and Fats Waller's song "When the Nylons Bloom Again" described this situation in poetic terms:

End of the war and beginning of riots

In August 1945, eight days after Japan's surrender, DuPont announced that it would resume producing stockings and newspaper headlines cheered "Peace, It's Here! Nylons on Sale!" DuPont's announcement indicated that nylons would be available in September and the motto "Nylons by Christmas" was sung everywhere. DuPont originally forecast that it would be able to produce 360 million pairs per year. The shortage remained as DuPont under-delivered on that estimate, and caused mad rushes once stock was made available.
The first riot occurred in September 1945 when a small post-war shipment of stockings went on limited sale around the country. In June, 30,000 or 40,000 women in Pittsburgh queued up for a mere 13,000 pairs that were designated for "working girls" only. In November, 30,000 women lined up for stockings in New York. In San Francisco, a sale was called off in San Francisco after around 10,000 shoppers who were waiting to get in broke the store window, promoting several women to faint. The shortage persisted into 1946, but by March, DuPont was finally able to ramp up production and began churning out 30 million pairs of stockings a month. Widespread availability of the stockings ended the period of 'nylon riots'.

Accusations

During the shortage, many people began to suspect that DuPont was deliberately delaying production and the shortage was a result of artificial scarcity. DuPont's factories were actually operating at full capacity, but nonetheless, public discontent remained high. Reporters suggested the company was being greedy and unpatriotic for maintaining exclusive patent and production rights to a substance in such popular demand. In 1945, an ad appeared in Knit Goods Weekly that called on readers and other retailers to write to their congressmen in protest.
In light of the public scandal, DuPont attempted to publicly shame 'selfish housewives' hoarding stock, which only brought more hostility towards DuPont. In 1951, after the riots had long subsided, DuPont was threatened with an antitrust suit. To avoid a long trial, they then agreed to share nylon licensing with the Chemstrand Corporation, followed by more licensees.

Books

  • Meikle, Jeffrey L.. "American Plastic: A Cultural History". New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
  • Peterson, Amy T. ed., Valerie Hewitt, Heather Vaughan, Ann T. Kellogg, and Lynn W. Payne. "The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History: 1900 to the Present". Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
  • Handley, Susannah. "Nylon: The Story of a Fashion Revolution". Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Hounshell, David A. and Smith, John Kenly, JR. Science and Corporate Strategy: Du Pont R and D, 1902–1980. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ndiaye, Pap A.. Nylon and Bombs: DuPont and the March of Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Chandler, Alfred D.. Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise.
Category:Clothing industry
Category:Clothing controversies
Category:Hosiery
Category:1940s fashion
Category:United States home front during World War II
Category:Riots and civil disorder in Pittsburgh
Category:DuPont
Category:1945 in the United States
Category:1946 in the United States
Category:1940s controversies