DuPont™ Sorona® Adds to a Legacy in Fiber Technology Innovation

DuPont has been the world leader in polymer and fiber technology since the early 1900's. From the first plastic-coated fabrics developed in the 1910s to ground-breaking fibers like the versatile nylon, neoprene rubber fabric, elastic Lycra®, bullet-proof Kevlar®, and even Tyvek® and Teflon®, DuPont has created extraordinary textile products that have transformed contemporary living.  As DuPont continues to develop new innovations in fiber technology, this timeline will grow.

2000s

• Grand Opening of the DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts Facility in Loudon, Tennessee, which manufactures natural and renewably sourced ingredients such as bio-based propanediol, a key ingredient of DuPont™ Sorona®.
• DuPont and Tate & Lyle PLC form a joint venture, DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts, to create materials from renewable resources like glucose.
• DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced fiber is commercially available for carpet and a wide range of apparel.

1990s

• Tactel® nylon fabrics used in apparel
• Thermolite® thin insulation battings
• Thermoloft® battings for protective outerwear insulation
• Quallofirm® pillows
• High Trek® blended yarns
• Comforel® pillows

1980s

• Quallofil® battings for sleeping bag insulation
• Supplex® nylon fiber for active outdoor apparel
• Coolmax® fabrics for active outdoor and performance apparel
• Softer Dacron® polyester
• Corebond® fibers for bedding
• Thermax® fabrics for outerwear
• Ultratech Orlon® acrylic

1970s

• Hollofil® fibers for pillow and upholstery insulation
• Typar® spun-bonded polypropylene for road building, drainage systems, inversion roofing, and landscaping
• Sontara® spunlaced fabric for lint-free apparel including hospital masks and surgical gowns and baby wipes.

1960s

• Kevlar® aramid fiber for ballistic and stab-resistant body armor and gloves
• Antron® nylon fiber
• Lycra® spandex fiber for apparel, providing comfort stretch and freedom of movement
• Nomex® aramid fiber, best known for firefighters’ apparel
• Tyvek® spun-bonded olefin for housing construction and for envelopes
• Teflon® FEP-fluorocarbon monofilament fiber

1950s

• Dacron® polyester fiber for apparel
• Teflon® fabric protector
• Dacron® polyester fiberfill

1940s

• Orlon® acrylic fiber for use in women’s sweaters, blankets, and carpets.

1930s

• Nylon fiber
• Neoprene synthetic rubber

1920s

• Cordura® high-tenacity rayon for apparel and textiles.
• Rayon fiber
• Acetate fiber

1910s

• Plastic-coated fabrics used in apparel. In 1915 DuPont purchased the Arlington Company, a manufacturer of Pyralin®, a nitrocellulose pyroxylin plastic used in automobile side curtains as well as combs, collars, and cuffs.