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Cordura is a brand of synthetic fiber-based fabrics used in products such as luggage, backpacks, trousers, military wear, and performance apparel. [1]
Cordura was developed and trademarked by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) in 1929, Cordura is currently owned by Invista, a subsidiary of Koch Industries. [2]
DuPont initially introduced Cordura as a type of rayon. [3] [4] In a 1948 advertisement, DuPont highlighted the research that led to its creation: "DuPont scientists were working to improve the properties of rayon… Out of the cooperation among scientists—ranging from studies of cellulose as a high polymer to the design of enormous plants—came a new product, 'Cordura' high-tenacity rayon, as strong as mild steel yet able to stand up under repeated flexing." [5] Cordura was further developed during World War II and used in tires for military vehicles.
By 1966, with the arrival of nylon formulations, the Cordura brand name was transferred to nylon products. In 1977, a process for dyeing nylon was discovered, leading to a broader range of commercial applications. Eastpak was the first brand to use Cordura fabric in their luggage. [6] By 1979, "soft-sided" Cordura luggage made up about 40 percent of the luggage market.
JanSport used the canvas-like nylon in their original daypacks in the 1970s, and now exclusively uses polyester Cordura. [7] In the 1980s, Manhattan Portage began using 1000 denier (D) Cordura nylon in their bags. [8] During the 1990s, European workwear clothing brands adopted the 1000D and 500D fabric for reinforcements. Brands like F. Engel, Fristads Kansas, Snickers and Scruffs use Cordura in their clothing. Today, Cordura is used in textile motorcycle jackets and pants for abrasion resistance, with companies such as: Klim, Rukka, MotoPort, Rev'It!, Olympia, Aerostich, and Dainese incorporating it into their gear. [9]
Variants of Cordura fabrics vary in weight, appearance, tear resistance, and color retention. There are also base layer, denim, and canvas fabrics that blend Invista 420 D nylon 6, 6 fiber, and cotton, known as "Cordura Baselayer," "Cordura Denim," and "Cordura Duck," respectively. [10]
Some Cordura fabrics have been specifically designed for military applications and extended outdoor use. [11] [12]
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. It is typically spun into ropes or fabric sheets that can be used as such, or as an ingredient in composite material components.
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers with amide backbones, usually linking aliphatic or semi-aromatic groups.
Fiber is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont.
Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants or fur from animals. They are the result of extensive research by scientists to replicate naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber-forming materials through spinnerets, forming a fiber. These are called synthetic or artificial fibers. The word polymer comes from a Greek prefix "poly" which means "many" and suffix "mer" which means "single units"..
Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, marine hull reinforcement, as an asbestos substitute, and in various lightweight consumer items ranging from phone cases to tennis rackets.
Lyocell is a semi-synthetic fiber used to make textiles for clothing and other purposes. It is a form of regenerated cellulose made by dissolving pulp and dry jet-wet spinning. Unlike rayon made by the more common viscose processes, Lyocell production does not use carbon disulfide, which is toxic to workers and the environment. Lyocell was originally trademarked as Tencel in 1982.
Tyvek is a brand of synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. The name Tyvek is a registered trademark of the American multinational chemical company DuPont, which discovered and commercialized Tyvek in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Coolmax is the brand name for a series of polyester fabrics developed and marketed by The Lycra Company.
Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer (polyacrylonitrile) with an average molecular weight of ~100,000, about 1900 monomer units. For a fiber to be called "acrylic" in the US, the polymer must contain at least 85% acrylonitrile monomer. Typical comonomers are vinyl acetate or methyl acrylate. DuPont created the first acrylic fibers in 1941 and trademarked them under the name Orlon. It was first developed in the mid-1940s but was not produced in large quantities until the 1950s. Strong and warm, acrylic fiber is often used for sweaters and tracksuits and as linings for boots and gloves, as well as in furnishing fabrics and carpets. It is manufactured as a filament, then cut into short staple lengths similar to wool hairs, and spun into yarn.
Ballistic nylon is a thick, tough, nylon fabric with several uses. Ballistic nylon was developed by the DuPont corporation as a material for flak jackets for World War II airmen. It was called ballistic because, together with other components, it was intended to protect its wearers from flying debris and fragmentation from bullet and artillery-shell impacts.
Invista is a fiber, resin, and intermediates company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It has about 10,000 employees in over 20 countries worldwide. The predecessor DuPont Textiles and Interiors was formed from DuPont's textile fibers division in February 2003. The company was given the trademarked name INVISTA and was then sold to privately owned Koch Industries on April 30, 2004 for US$4.2 billion. Koch Industries combined the newly acquired organization with their KoSa subsidiary to complete the INVISTA company.
Toray Industries, Inc. is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry.
Nylon 66 is a type of polyamide or nylon. It, and nylon 6, are the two most common for textile and plastic industries. Nylon 66 is made of two monomers each containing 6 carbon atoms, hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid, which give nylon 66 its name. Aside from its superior physical characteristics, nylon 66 is attractive because its precursors are inexpensive.
Artificial silk or art silk is any synthetic fiber which resembles silk, but typically costs less to produce. Frequently, the term artificial silk is just a synonym for rayon. When made out of bamboo viscose it is also sometimes called bamboo silk.
Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics, often made of nylon, using a reinforcing technique that makes them more resistant to tearing and ripping. During weaving, stronger reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular intervals in a crosshatch pattern. The intervals are typically 5 to 8 millimeters. Thin and lightweight ripstop fabrics have a two-dimensional structure due to the thicker yarns being interwoven in thinner cloth. Older lightweight ripstop fabrics display the thicker interlocking thread patterns in the material quite prominently, but more modern weaving techniques make the ripstop threads less obvious. A similar effect can be achieved by weaving two or three fine yarns together at smaller intervals.
Bamboo textile is any cloth, yarn or clothing made from bamboo fibres. While bamboo was historically used only for structural elements, such as bustles and the ribs of corsets, in recent years various technologies have been developed that allow bamboo fibre to be used for a wide range of textile and fashion applications.
Jersey is a knit fabric used predominantly for clothing manufacture. It was originally made of wool, but is now made of wool, cotton and synthetic fibers.
NILIT Ltd. is a privately owned, international manufacturer of nylon 6.6 (polyamide) fibers headquartered in Migdal HaEmek, Israel. NILIT specializes in the polymerization, spinning and texturing of nylon 6.6 yarns for textile applications.
