introduced its artificial leather substitute,
Corfam. (The product ultimately failed in large part because of consumer complaints that shoes made of
Corfam could not be ''broken in'' like leather shoes.)
DuPont lost over $1 billion on
Corfam. Ford lost over $2 billion on the Edsel.
No one has yet told me, "it doesn't match," because it all looks like plain black leather, If I had to wear "patent leather" such as
Corfam, components made by different makers could he more noticeable.
Texas Instruments lost $600 million in the home computer business; RCA lost $575 million on its videodisc players; Ford lost $350 million on its Edsel; Du Pont lost approximately $100 million on its synthetic leather called
Corfam; and the French Concorde aircraft will never recover its losses.
Du Pont introduced Aldyl, a polyethylene pipe designed for gas distribution, and began volume production of
Corfam. Polybenzimidazoles, providing previously unavailable high temperature adhesives, were developed by Dr.
Thus, several efforts were launched to produce a porous leather substitute in the form of a polymer-impregnated needled fabric, the most notable being
Corfam. Needlepunch fabric made from heat sensitive polyester was the "core," so to speak, of the product concept.
In the early 1960s, DuPont had developed "
Corfam," a man-made leather replacement based on a specialized needlepunched nonwoven.