Nylon, also known as polyamide, is made of engineered thermoplastic material. Invented in 1935, nylon was first put into the bristles of a toothbrush. From there, nylon evolved into the fibre used to make women's stockings. Nylon was the first commercial synthetic fibre to be made of entirely inorganic ingredients: coal, water, and air. The engineers who created nylon wanted to make a material to replace silk for US parachutes in World War II. Nylon is now used in fabrics and ropes, while solid nylon is used for mechanical parts. Nylon is non renewable, and non recyclable. It takes 30 to 40 years for the material to biodegrade.

A picture says a thousand words, so here's a flowchart illustrating the production process of nylon: (click chart to enlarge)

~Jessie
Back to Top