Americans enthusiasm for everything plastic has been dampened by environmental concerns.

But in post-war America, plastics were really something to sing about!

There was a giddiness of the wonders of plastic. As this 1946 ad for Vinylite Plastics gushes “Every time you turn around you find something made of Vinylite plastics…something bright and colorful…something rich and handsome…something to protect you…Something to make your home happier!

It certainly made Union Carbide happy as popular Vinylite plastics was a product of Bakelite which in 1939 merged into the Union carbide and Carbon Corporation.

Don’t Rain on My Parade

When it came time to weather a storm, forget those old rubberized Mackintosh’s; those oil treated fabric trench coats were yesterday’s news. Vinyl was now the preferred material for the gentleman’s and lady’s raincoat.

Prized for its waterproofness, the Vinylite raincoat was a beauty to behold, wears well, keeps you desert dry- who cared if its heat retaining properties made you feel like you were actually in a desert.

Plastics, Care Free Living

Plastics were central to the new carefree post-war life. It was a new era of easy upkeep, of damp cloth cleaning, of leisurely living.

They were part of everyday living not just something for a rainy day.