Nylon riots

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

Nylon (produced from chemicals) was first introduced by DuPont around 1939 and was in extremely high demand in the US, with up to 4 million pairs of stockings bought in one day. The riots occurred between August 1945 and March 1946, when the War Production Board announced that the creation of Du Pont's nylon will 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, leading to fights breaking out. It took several months before Du Pont was able to ramp up production to meet demand, but until this was able to happen many women went without nylon stockings for months.

Ripstop nylon, which was more effective than silk and canvas, was used for parachutes and other war materials, such as airplane cords and ropes. At first, canvas was used to create parachute canopies, and silk was much more effective (stronger and thinner). However, there were many other materials used for parachute canopies, such as Dacron and Kevlar. These materials did not compare to nylon, as nylon was a more practical and developed material.

During World War II, Japan stopped using supplies made out of silk, and so the United States had difficulty importing silk from Japan. Eventually, the U.S was unable to import any silk. So, Du Pont thought of an idea to convince the army that nylon is a much more effective material than silk. Du Pont was able to convince the army, and nylon fabric became increasingly popular because of its elasticity and shrink-proof, moth-proof material.

Nylon stockings became increasingly popular on the black market, and sold for up to $20 per pair. Women who could not get their hands on nylons resorted to lotions, creams, stick cakes and painting seam lines down their legs to give the illusion of Nylons. Because nylon stockings were so widely sought-after, they also became the target of crime. 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.

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