Cellophane was initially invented in 1908 to protect tablecloths from spilled wine. Swiss chemist Jacques E. Brandenberger was inspired after seeing wine sit on a tablecloth instead of immediately soaking in. He wanted to create a transparent, liquid-repellent covering for fabric.
His first attempt involved spraying a waterproof coating onto cloth. The coated fabric became too stiff, but Brandenberger discovered that the thin transparent film could be peeled away intact. He shifted his focus from coated textiles to the flexible film itself.
Brandenberger later softened the material with glycerin and developed machinery to produce it. The name “Cellophane” combines cellulose, its plant-based raw material, with diaphane, meaning transparent. Although early cellophane was not naturally moisture-proof, DuPont later improved it with a nitrocellulose lacquer, helping make it useful for packaging.
A common mix-up is calling cellophane plastic. Traditional cellophane is made from regenerated cellulose, not petroleum-based plastic, although modern packaging may use plastic films that look similar.