Polyester first became popular in the 1950s as a wrinkle-resistant miracle fabric, then exploded into mainstream fashion during the 1970s. Its rise from laboratory invention to the world’s most produced fiber spans about seven decades, with several distinct waves of popularity driven by changing technology, fashion trends, and economics.
From Lab to Storefront: The 1950s Launch
Polyester (polyethylene terephthalate) was first developed by British chemists in the early 1940s and sold in England under the brand name Terylene. DuPont acquired the U.S. rights and trademarked its version as Dacron. By the early 1950s, American retailers were selling polyester blend suits to consumers. New York’s Hart, Schaffner & Marx sold suits made from a 55% Dacron and 45% worsted wool blend produced by Deering, Milliken & Co.
The initial appeal was purely practical. Polyester resisted wrinkles, dried quickly, and held its shape far better than cotton or wool alone. For a generation of men and women tired of ironing, this was genuinely exciting. Through the late 1950s and into the 1960s, polyester blends became a staple in everyday clothing, from dress shirts to women’s skirts, largely marketed on the promise of easy care.
The 1970s: Polyester’s Cultural Peak
If the 1950s were polyester’s introduction, the 1970s were its coronation. The fabric became synonymous with the decade’s fashion, most iconically through the leisure suit. At its simplest, the leisure suit was a shirt-style jacket paired with matching trousers, almost always made from polyester. It offered something new: a single outfit that worked in an office but felt relaxed enough for a night out. That versatility made it enormously popular within disco culture, where it became a defining look.
The leisure suit reached its peak in the mid to late 1970s. Worn in offices, nightclubs, and everywhere in between, it represented a clear break from the stiff formality that had dominated men’s fashion for generations. Polyester wasn’t limited to leisure suits, though. It showed up in wide-collar shirts, flared pants, dresses, and sportswear of all kinds. The fabric was cheap to produce, easy to dye in bold colors, and practically indestructible in the wash. For a few years, polyester was everywhere.
By the early 1980s, the backlash arrived fast. The leisure suit fell out of favor almost overnight, and polyester developed a reputation as cheap, uncomfortable, and tacky. Natural fibers like cotton staged a comeback, and for roughly two decades, “polyester” was more punchline than selling point.
The Quiet Comeback: 1990s to 2000s
Polyester never actually went away. While fashion moved on, the textile industry kept refining the fiber. Manufacturers developed microfiber polyester, moisture-wicking blends, and texturizing techniques that made the fabric softer, more breathable, and far more comfortable against the skin than anything from the 1970s. These improvements fueled polyester’s second rise, this time through activewear and performance clothing rather than disco suits.
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, brands selling athletic wear, outdoor gear, and fast fashion were building their entire product lines around polyester and polyester blends. The fabric’s durability, low cost, and versatility made it ideal for mass production. Unlike its first wave of popularity, this comeback happened without much fanfare. Most consumers didn’t think of their yoga pants or fleece jackets as “polyester” in the way their parents thought of leisure suits.
Polyester Today: The Dominant Global Fiber
Polyester is now the most produced fiber on Earth by a wide margin. It accounted for 57% of total global fiber production in 2023, more than double cotton’s share. To put that growth in perspective, global production of synthetic resins and fibers grew from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 380 million metric tons in 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 8.4%, roughly 2.5 times faster than the global economy grew over the same period.
Cotton, its closest competitor, produced about 24.4 million metric tons in 2023. Manmade cellulosic fibers like rayon accounted for just 6% of the market. Polyester dominates not because consumers specifically seek it out, but because it is woven into nearly every category of clothing, home textiles, and industrial fabric. Your bedsheets, winter jacket, gym shorts, and couch upholstery likely all contain polyester.
Recycled Polyester and Shifting Priorities
One factor driving polyester’s continued popularity is the growing market for recycled versions, often made from plastic bottles or old garments. The global recycled polyester market was valued at $15.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $26.2 billion by 2030. Apparel is the largest application, accounting for over 51% of that market, as major fashion brands look to reduce their reliance on virgin synthetic fibers.
Asia Pacific leads this shift, holding nearly 48% of the recycled polyester market. The environmental picture is complicated, since polyester still sheds microplastics during washing and takes centuries to decompose in landfills. But the ability to recycle it into new fabric has given the material a second life in sustainability conversations that would have been unimaginable during the leisure suit era.