Plastics in the 20th Century

Here is an great reference for the history of product design: Plastics in the 20th Century, post WWII

"War effort made plastics industry boom. Many new materials developed just previous to war were fundamental in war effort like Nylon, Acrylic, Polyester and Synthetic Rubbers. After 1945 the market was flooded with plastic goods due to the inflated capacity of the industry. Plastics are the materials of choice for the Consumerist culture as it evolved from the 1940s on."