9781422272909

Polyester is a cheap, durable man-made material used to make many kinds of cost-effective garments.

Two British scientists named John Whinfield and James Dickson first created polyester. When they came up with the idea, it was due to the shortage of cotton during World War II. Rather than going without new clothing, they decided to come up with a man-made fiber for garments that are made of oil, which was much more easily found during this time period. The process of creating this new type of fabric had a lot to do with chemistry. In order to form the fibers needed to weave a new piece of clothing, the formula they used had to be just right. If even one ingredient was off, the material would end up being too stiff or too flimsy to hold up the construction of a garment. It was also extremely important that the material be as durable as possible since some of the fabric created from it would be used for uniforms for soldiers in the war.

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