Corfam – the synthetic leather shoes

1964-1971

In 1964 DuPont Corporation wanted to get a foot in the shoe game with its introduction of Corfam – a synthetic leather substitute. The company predicted that a quarter of US shoes would be made from Corfam and spent millions promoting the new material. But the public found them soulless, cheap and uncomfortable. DuPont withdrew Corfam from the market in 1971. The New York Times referred to Corfam as ‘Du Pont’s $100 million Edsel” and, if you’ve done your homework here at the museum, you know ALL about the Edsel.

Additional info:
Museumoffailure – from the Museum’s Collection
Nytimes – archived article from 1964
Hagley Museum – informative info from the Hagley Dupont museum.