Nylon was the synthetic fiber developed by DuPont and first sold commercially in 1938.
DuPont’s research team, led by chemist Wallace Hume Carothers, synthesized nylon 6,6 on 28 February 1935. The material was a polyamide: a new class of polymer that could be drawn into strong, fine fibers. DuPont announced the invention publicly in 1938, when it also began commercializing nylon products.
Its first commercial use was not clothing but bristles for a toothbrush. Nylon became famous through women’s stockings, which were demonstrated at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and sold more broadly in 1940. The stockings were celebrated as a modern alternative to silk, combining lightness, strength, and elasticity.
A frequent mix-up is treating 1938 as the date nylon stockings first reached the mass market. The fiber was sold commercially in toothbrushes that year; general nylon hosiery followed later. During World War II, much nylon production shifted to parachutes, cords, tents, and other military supplies.