From its founding of a gunpowder factory in 1802 to becoming a chemical industry giant in the 20th century, DuPont not only invented nylon and Teflon but also became a focal point of controversy due to environmental pollution issues. Let’s review the rise and fall of this legendary enterprise.

In the American industrial landscape of the 19th century, DuPont’s management model was ahead of its time. Its leader personally inspected factory equipment every day—and even handled post-explosion cleanup himself, showing none of the aloofness typical of a corporate chairman. DuPont possessed a management DNA spanning over a century. By the 1890s, descendants of the DuPont family had already assumed leadership roles. The company was no longer merely a gunpowder manufacturer—it had become a benchmark for American manufacturing. In 1902, the company reached a pivotal turning point. That year, three young members of the DuPont family stepped onto the historical stage: Alfred I. du Pont, Pierre S. du Pont, and Thomas Coleman du Pont. Inheriting their ancestors’ explosives business, they resolved to transform DuPont from a gunpowder workshop into a chemical industry giant. First, they established a Central Research Department—an unprecedented move at the time. Not every gunpowder company was willing to invest funds to support scientists conducting R&D, but DuPont did. This research department continuously developed new materials and formulations for the company’s ‘alchemy workshops,’ aiming to reshape the world through chemical technology. They began developing smokeless powder. The U.S. military promptly placed orders, enabling DuPont to re-monopolize the military supply chain and acquire dozens of small gunpowder factories—rapidly ascending to become a trust-level titan in America’s defense industry. During World War I, DuPont produced over 40% of the world’s explosives, earning it the nickname “the United Nations of Explosives.” Yet these three young DuPont managers were unsatisfied. They realized chemistry’s applications extended far beyond explosives—to agriculture, textile production, and tire manufacturing. Accordingly, they entered the agricultural chemicals sector, launching various fertilizers and pesticides that significantly boosted crop yields. Subsequently, the company expanded into synthetic rubber and synthetic fiber R&D, rapidly broadening its scope—from a defense-industry giant to a leader across the entire chemical industry. In 1914, Pierre S. du Pont boldly invested in General Motors, then still in its early advertising phase. He didn’t just inject capital—he personally reformed GM’s management system, introducing DuPont’s multi-divisional matrix structure. This transformed a near-bankrupt automaker into one of the most profitable enterprises of the 20th century. As a result, DuPont became one of GM’s major shareholders and reaped substantial profits—earning comparisons to Warren Buffett in the chemical industry. Yet this process was far from smooth. The three DuPont brothers engaged in fierce strategic disputes; Alfred was ousted from the company, Pierre had not yet assumed full control, and Coleman turned his attention to highway construction. Each leveraged family shares to pursue independent ventures, reducing their relationships to a freezing point. It was precisely this internal competition that pushed DuPont toward greater market orientation—freeing itself from the autocratic pitfalls common to family-run enterprises. In the 1930s, the world plunged into the Great Depression: Wall Street collapsed, banks failed, and people struggled to survive. Yet amid this economic downturn, DuPont bet its future on polymer chemistry—a field capable of synthesizing large molecules to create innovative products such as non-stick cookware, wear-resistant stockings, and bulletproof materials. If explosives formed DuPont’s foundation, polymer chemistry became its new core competency. In 1935, scientist Wallace Carothers successfully developed nylon—the world-changing material—at DuPont’s laboratory.

From nylon stockings to non-stick pans to protective suits—how has America’s century-old chemical giant DuPont conquered the world through materials?

Officially speaking, this divestiture marked a crucial step in DuPont’s strategic transformation. Why sell off the entire portfolio at once? Ultimately, it boiled down to the low gross margin of the textile fibers business—reportedly under 10%, compared with over 30% for other advanced-materials businesses. Tyvek®—with its high gross margin—was not sold. Afterward, DuPont undertook multiple major spin-offs and restructurings. In 2015, DuPont spun off its performance chemicals business—including Teflon™—into an independent, publicly traded company named Chemours. In 2017, DuPont merged with another chemical giant, Dow Chemical, forming DowDuPont. In 2019, DowDuPont split into three entities: Corteva (focused on agriculture), Dow (focused on materials science), and a “new” DuPont (retaining the DuPont name and focused on specialty products). DuPont’s spin-offs and restructurings have also drawn public skepticism regarding regulatory avoidance. In recent years, DuPont has continued adjusting its business portfolio—clearly signaling a strategic intent to focus relentlessly on higher profitability and growth. 04 Reputation Crisis: Controversy Never Ceased Since 1951, DuPont used perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Teflon production—but concealed its carcinogenicity for decades. Internal studies as early as the 1960s had already found PFOA caused liver damage and embryonic deformities in animals, yet DuPont withheld this information from the public. In 1999, American attorney Robert Bilott, acting on behalf of a client, investigated and exposed DuPont’s decades-long deception concerning the carcinogenicity of PFOA—the key raw material in Teflon. This half-century-long lie triggered over 3,500 class-action lawsuits and a $16.5 million fine—and culminated in a $670 million settlement in 2017. The film *Dark Waters* faithfully depicts how DuPont sacrificed environmental safety and human health for profit—causing global concern over PFOA’s health impacts. Following the scandal, the non-stick cookware market temporarily shrank, and PFOA has been comprehensively banned in recent years. DuPont’s brand image suffered severe damage, triggering a crisis of public trust. 05 Patent Dominance and Monopoly Controversies Returning to the initial antitrust investigation against DuPont—in the context of the China–U.S. trade war—it originated with Tyvek®. Tyvek® is DuPont’s flagship nonwoven material, scientifically known as “flash-spun high-density polyethylene nonwoven fabric.” It looks like paper, feels like paper—but is remarkably tough, tear-resistant, waterproof, and lightweight. Precisely these properties make it exceptionally practical and user-friendly. You may have encountered it in product packaging, protective clothing, decorative materials—even wallets and avant-garde apparel. Since the 1960s, DuPont monopolized the global flash-spun nonwoven fabric market. Prior to 2019, Tyvek sold for as much as ¥80 per square meter—with gross margins reaching 60–70%. After DuPont’s core flash-spinning patents expired, Chinese companies gradually mastered the technology and achieved industrial-scale mass production in 2019. This dramatically lowered the previously exorbitant price of “DuPont paper,” enabling the material’s widespread adoption and popularization.

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