Saran (plastic)

Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) was discovered at Dow Chemical Company (Michigan, United States) in 1933 when a lab worker, Ralph Wiley, was having trouble washing beakers used in his process of developing a dry-cleaning product.

In 1942, fused layers of original-specification PVDC were used to make woven mesh ventilating insoles for newly developed jungle or tropical combat boots made of rubber and canvas.

[4][5] In 1943, Ralph Wiley and his boss, John Reilly,[7] both employed by Dow Chemical Company, completed the final work needed for the introduction of PVDC, which had been invented in 1939.

After the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military phased out PVDC insoles in favor of Poron®, a microcellular urethane, for its jungle and combat boots.

[11] Today's Saran Wrap is no longer composed of PVDC in the United States, due to cost, processing difficulties, and health and environmental concerns with halogenated materials,[1] and is now made from polyethylene.