Introduction: Nylon

As Designers, we need to be aware of all environmental impacts, before and after the life cycle of a product. Forty years after the invention of nylon, Japanese scientists discovered a strain of Flavobacterium capable of digesting certain byproducts of nylon 6 in a pond containing waste water from a factory producing nylon. Nylonase is the enzyme used to digest the man made molecules. Nylon is not a natural element, and did not exist before 1935. So there is no need for any creature in nature to survive of off it. Through mutation, it seems that these bacteria have evolved to help man rid the earth of toxic waste and our problem of an overflow of garbage. But, should man speed up evolution?

Currently, Nylon is the second most used synthetic fiber in the United States. From toothbrushes, parachutes, tents, and the most popular, women's "nylon stockings." Patented by DuPont in 1935, Nylon became the "synthetic silk" the United States needed to supplement the breaking trade relations with Japan for silk. Nylon is created by combining the chemicals amine, hexamehylene diamine, and adipic acid through the polymerizing process, also know as condensation reaction. A condensation process is the joining of individual molecules and forming water as a byproduct. The inventor of nylon, Wallace Hume Carothers (born April 27, 1896, died April 29, 19370) realized that the water byproduct was weakening the fibers, so by distilling and removing the water, it strengthened the fibers. Hence the waste water in ponds.

This blog is the result of a corresponding project focusing on the life cycle of a product. The product contains 80% nylon, which led me to research the manufacturing process of nylon. It was shocking to learn of a mutation in bacteria thriving on a man made byproduct. Even more shocking is that this mutation happened between 1935 and 1975. Is this an answer to help clean up earth? If scientists speed up the evolution of other bacteria to consume other types of toxic waste, will we witness other, more deadly side effects? As a Designer, how do I cope with this dilemma?