MEET THE CHEMIST BEHIND POLYESTER CLOTHES CRAZE

MEET THE CHEMIST BEHIND POLYESTER CLOTHES CRAZE

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Wireless Flash) – Retirement isn’t for everyone but a life of leisure suits Illinois chemist Delbert Meyer in more ways than one. The 74-year-old Meyer is the chemist who helped kick off the polyester clothing craze of the 1970s. Meyer didn’t invent lime-green leisure suits or those slick disco trousers worn by John Travolta, but he did create a way to make the fabric cheaper. Despite the ’70s disco designs that made folks think polyester was a joke, he still thinks it’s the best fiber ever created – and even looks good after being jammed into a drawer or suitcase. However, he does believe in progress and admits today’s polyester micro-fibers are better than the old stuff at preventing “the clammy feeling from perspiration.”

Thu 04-19-01