There is a substance called cellulose. Cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls. Alexander Parkes Experimented by treating cellulose with nitric acid. The nitric acid worked as a solvent. The substance produced was commonly known as cellulose nitrate or pyroxilin. This substance was then dissolved in alcohol. After this it was hardened into a transparent and elastic material. This allowed the material to be molded when heated. Parkes called the end product ‘Parkesine’.
Parkes’ attempts to market Parkesine failed. This is because he was trying to keep his product priced below a shilling per pound. Because of this his quality was inadequate. Therefore Parkesine wasn’t successful as a commercial or industrial product.
Consequently, his company was taken over by Daniel Spill who renamed the plastic Xylonite.
Celluloid’s Place in the History of Plastic
Around the same time, American Michael Phelan was looking for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory. Billiards had become very popular. However this had put a strain on the supply of ivory. In turn, Ivory had become terribly expensive. In addition to this there was concern about strain the billiards industry was putting on the elephant population. Michael Phelan therefore made an offer of $10,000 to anyone who could invent this substitute product.
Inventor John Wesley Hyatt was inspired to explore the possibilities of solving this problem. He experimented with Parkesine with the help of his brother Isaiah. They used cellulose that was derived from cotton fiber. By treating the cellulose with camphor, Hyatt discovered a plastic that could be crafted into a variety of shapes. This product was not only able to imitate ivory. It was also a synthetic replacement for other natural substances. These included things like tortoiseshell, horn and linen.
Hyatt had his product patented in the United States in 1869 as “Celluloid”. However his discovery was challenged by David Spill. Spill who taken over Parkes’ company had virtually the same product. They met in court between 1877 and 1884. Actually the court ruled that the true inventor was Alexander Parkes. Never the less, all manufacturing of the product could continue.
A Positive New Invention
When plastic was discovered, it was considered a monumental thing. That’s because up until this time, we relied on natural resources for making everything. The problem was that there is a limit to the supply of natural resources. Things like wood, metal, stone, bone, tusk, and horn aren’t in unlimited supply. Shortages arose as society grew and consumerism increased. As was the case with ivory and the billiard industry, natural resourses became scarce and expensive. But now we could create substitute products that didn’t rely on natural resources. This development not only helped people but also the environment. Advertisements praised celluloid as the saviour of the elephant and the tortoise. Plastics could protect the natural world from the destructive forces of human need.
The creation of new materials also helped free people from the social and economic constraints imposed by the scarcity of natural resources. Inexpensive celluloid made material wealth more widespread and obtainable. And the plastics revolution was only getting started.
PVC and the History of Packaging
Surprisingly, PVC was created by accident. In 1872 German chemist Eugen Baumann and French physicist Henri Victor Regnault made the discovery. The polymer appeared as a white solid inside a flask of vinyl chloride that had been left exposed to sunlight.
Friedrich Klatte then worked on the production process. He had the process patented in 1913. Unfortunately though it wasn’t successful as a commercial product. Klatte and Russian chemist Ivan Ostromislensky both tried to use PVC in commercial products, but difficulties in processing the rigid, sometimes brittle polymer hindered their efforts.
Waldo Semon and the B.F. Goodrich Company developed a method in 1926 to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives. The result was a more flexible and more easily processed material. This new product was now suitable to be used commercially. PVC was found to be a very revolutionary product with a wide range of applications. For example, the company RCA Victor launced the first commercially available vinyl long playing record in 1930. Vinyl Floor covering as then introduced by the Swedish company Limhams in 1947.
Many applications were greatly beneficial. In 1950, PVC blood bags replaced glass bottles, enabling blood to be safely transported. The development of vinyl wall coverings in 1966 added to better interior hygiene.
A benefit to PVC at that time was that, in contrast to natural resources, plastic is recyclable.
Bakelite
In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules found in nature. Baekeland had been searching for a synthetic substitute for shellac. Shellac is a natural electrical insulator. The electrical industry was rapidly growing in the United States. Shellac was expensive and in limited supply, and so he was looking for an alternative. Bakelite was not only a good insulator; it was also durable, heat resistant, and, unlike celluloid, ideally suited for mechanical mass production. Marketed as “the material of a thousand uses,” Bakelite could be shaped or molded into almost anything. There were endless possibilities.
Hyatt’s and Baekeland’s successes led major chemical companies to invest in the research and development of other new synthetic products. New plastics were soon developed. While Hyatt and Baekeland had been looking for materials with specific properties, the new research programs looked for new plastics for their own sake. They worried about finding uses for them later.
Cellophane
Cellophane was invented by Swiss chemist Jacques E Brandenberger. In 1900, he was inspired to invent a cloth that could repel liquids rather than absorb them after seeing wine spilt on a restaurant’s tablecloth. Cellophane was patented in 1912 and was first used for wrapping candies.
The company “Whitman’s Candy Company” was the first to use cellophane in 1912 for their Whitman’s Sampler. They remained the largest user of imported cellophane from France until nearly 1924 when DuPont built the first cellophane manufacturing plant in the US.
There was a problem with Cellophane at that time though. This was that while it was waterproof, it was not moisture proof. That meant that it held water but could be penetrated by water vapour. For this reason it was unsuited to packaging products that required moisture proofing.
DuPont hired chemist William hale Charch, who spent three years developing a nitrocellulose lacquer that, when applied to Cellophane, made it moisture proof. This product was introduced to the market in 1927.
Frozen Food
Clarence Birdseye learned food-freezing techniques while in the employ of the United States Agriculture Department. His second assignment (between the years of 1912 and 1915) was in Canada. Actually, he was taught by the Inuit how to ice fish under very thick ice. He discovered that the fish he caught froze almost instantly and when thawed, tasted fresh. It was then that he realised that the frozen seafood sold in New York was of lower quality that the frozen fish processed in this way. He saw great potential in this discovery.
His secret was in the quick freezing. However at that time there was no suitable packaging for his product. He needed something moisture-proof and printable. As stated earlier, cellophane wasn’t moisture-proof at that time. Birdseye approached the innovations company DuPont about developing a moisture-proof cellophane.
DuPont hired chemist William Hale Charch to try to develop moisture-proof cellophane. He spent three years developing a nitrocellulose lacquer that, when applied to Cellophane, made it moisture proof.
After this, Cellophane played a crucial role in developing the self-service retailing of fresh and frozen meat. It helped customers know quality of meat before buying. It also allowed manufacturers to manipulate the appearance of a product by controlling oxygen and moisture levels. This was important to prevent discolouration of food.
Adhesive Tape
Scotch Cellulose Tape, later renamed Cellophane Tape the first adhesive plastic tape. It was invented in 1930 by Richard Drew, an engineer working for 3M. When Drew joined 3M in 1921, they were a modest manufacturer of sandpaper. His first invention was actually masking tape. He developed this for the company to help auto shops create the popular two toned paint jobs car owners were looking for in the 1920’s.
In the initial run the tape fell off the car. The frustrated painter was angry with Drew and told him to take his tape back to his “scotch” bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on. Of course by “scotch” he was referring to his bosses as cheap.
This lead to the development of Scotch Tape. During the Great Depression, people began using adhesive tape to repair items rather than replace them. However the tape became particularly beneficial to bakers and grocers, who were able to keep their packages sealed more conveniently.
Plastic Wrap
In 1933 Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC)_ was discovered by a Ralph Wiley, a lab worker at Dow Chemical Company. He was having trouble washing beakers, and developed t as a dry-cleaning product. Initially it was made as a spray, and was used on US fighter planes and automobile apholstery to protect them from the elements. Dow Chemical then further developed the product, calling it Saran and elimitated it’s green colour and offensive odor.
In 1942, layers of PVDC were fused together and used to make woven mesh ventilating insoles for combat boots made of rubber and canvas. They were found to increase the flow of dry outside air to the insole and base of the foot. This reduced blisters and tropical ulcers. These insoles became standard issue in certain jungle boots worn by the United States Army.
After further development, Dow Chemical Company introduced Saran Wrap, the thin, clingy plastic wrap that we know today as plastic wrap. It was sold from that time in rolls and mainly used for wrapping food.
However the food wrap we have today is no longer made of PVDC. There are environmental concerns with this product as well as processing difficulties. Today the cheaper polyethylene is used. Polyethylene is better at preventing food spoilage.
Polystyrene
Eduard Siman was an apothecary from Berlin. He discovered Polystyrene in 1839. by However it wasn’t until 1931 that chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate, I.G. Farben, began manufacturing the product in Ludwigshafen. They hoped that it would be a suitable replacement for die-cast zinc.
Synthetics in the History of Packaging
The years preceding World War II brought a climate of increased industry. With it there were other tremendous advances in synthetics. These innovations included the invention of vinyl, ethylene, and acrylic. The U.S. government massively invested in the manufacturing industry. Increased experimentation lead to the discovery of PVC, Nylon, Teflon, Polystyrene, and Polyethylene. Each of these plastics transformed several industries and heralded the rise of the Plastic Age in years to follow.
After the war, the U.S. experienced massive economic growth for the next three decades. Its gross national product grew more than nine times. As a result of this, everyone was able to afford most luxuries available at the time. It turn, this lead to an incredible growth in consumerism. Everyone wanted to have what was considered to be a modern lifestyle. Convenience was the emphasis in an increasingly busy world.
Many mold-able plastics had been developed much earlier. However these had been used mainly for the military. After WWII, the consumer market exploded with continuous innovations in aluminium and plastics. Now shinier, sturdier, cleaner, more flexible and modern looking materials were available at cheaper prices compared to traditional materials. This caused manufacturers to re-invent existing packaging solutions. Plastics and metal cans took over a majority of consumer packaging. Paper remained limited and glass was reserved for high value products only.
Polyethylene
Polyethylene was invented in 1950. Initially it was intended to be used as cable shielding material. However it’s usefulness was soon realized. It was discovered that it could be used to make bags for food as well as garbage, packaging films, and milk containers.
Today polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate are some of the most commonly used plastics.
Bubble Wrap
Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding were Sealed Air Corporation engineers from Hawthorne, New Jersey. It was these two men that brought the world bubble wrap. Bubblewrap was first created in 1957. Chavannes and Fielding sealed two shower curtains together. They were sealed in such a way that they enclosed a smattering of air bubbles. At first they tried to market their new product as wall paper. When this didn’t work, they tried to market it as greenhouse insulation. However it wasn’t until 1960 that it’s true value as a protective packaging was discovered.
IBM was the first company to use bubble wrap. They used it to protect the IBM 1401 computer during shipping.
Fielding and Chavannes were inducted into the New Jersey Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Plastic bottles reach the History of Packaging
The first plastic bottle appeared in 1946. Surprisingly though, they were first used for deodorant.Before this time, deodorant was either a cream or a liquid. Cosmetic chemist, Dr Jules Montenier invented a new liquid deodorant. However he decided not to package it in glass bottle. He had a plastic bottle designed that could be squeezed. All you had to do was squeeze the bottle and the mist came out of a hole in the top. He named this spray ‘Stopette”. Stopette is known as the original spray deodorant. It was called a spray rather than a liquid because of the packaging.
The great advantage of this package was that it could be dropped. It would never break, leak or spill. The deodorant “Stopette” was soon followed by a body powder “poof”. Dr Montenier chose to use the same kind of packaging. Next he designed a shampoo that he called “Finesse”. Finesse was packaged in an accordion shaped squeeze bottle. This meant that it would dispense exactly the right amount of shampoo with one squeeze.
Plastic bottles made of PET began to be produced in 1977. This innovation quickly overtook the market for a way of packaging liquid. By this time, plastic was seen as the new revolutionary product in packaging. That is because it was strong, non-toxic and 100% recyclable.
Zipper Plastic Bags
Robert W Vergobbi patented the first plastic bag with a zipper on the 18th of May 1954. In the same year another company licensed them as pencil bags. However their current use as disposable food packaging wasn’t discovered until 1957. A fifth grade school boy named Robert Lejeune used his pencil bag to put food in. By doing this he showed that the bag could also be used to keep food fresh. The next year, Dow Chemical Company began marketing these bags under the name Ziploc.
Blister Packs
Karl Klein in Bielefeld, Germany, developed the first blister packs. He founded the company Hassia. This company made machinery as well as offering packaging services.
In 1961, Klein developed a vacuum forming machine that produced packages of small portions of coffee and similar products. The name suited this packaging perfectly because the moulded plastic looked just like little blisters. These blister packs were first designed to have either a cardboard or foil backing.
It was soon realized though that these blister packs were perfect for packing pharmaceuticals. In the early 1960’s there was a range of standard options. These included boxes, sliding boxes, aluminium or glass tubes, small glass bottles or strip packages. Yet blister packs made tamper proof packages for tablets where each item was individually sealed. Special packs for contraceptives were developed first. These showed the consumer exactly how many days they had been taking the drug and could be marked with necessary instructions. Tablets given loosely in a bottle couldn’t do this.
However since the 1960’s blister packs have been used in a huge range of industries. At Shiloh Plastics, we produce packaging for food, craft, sporting, industrial and mechanical industries just to name a few. The history of plastic in packaging has come such a long way.
The History of Plastic covers only one kind of packaging. Find out more about the history of different kinds of packaging here.
