Society of the plastics industry

The Society of the Plastics Industry was organized on May 11, 1937, by several engineers and salesmen connected with the manufacture of plastics feedstocks, finished products, and processing machinery. As a general trade association, the Society was somewhat unusual in that it represented both the giant chemical firms and small finishers and molders. In its early years, the Society was a loose organization which brought its members together for socializing and informal exchanges over dinner and on the golf links. While the activities of the Society have become more structured and sophisticated as the industry has matured, the social aspect is still a prominent feature of its annual meetings and expositions.

World War II increased the demand for plastics, particularly for the military and brought the society into the more active role of promoting the use of plastics in new applications and establishing industry-wide standards and specifications. With the appointment of William T. Cruse (1903-1993) as Executive Vice President, the society acquired its first full-time professional manager.

In the 1950s SPI members worked with one another and with regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop production codes and standards. Desire among member companies to promote public interest in the new products and materials and a concern with the public image of plastics led to an emphasis in SPI on public relations in addition to education and standardization. These concerns were underscored in 1959-60 by a crisis in public opinion over the issue of the safety hazard posed by polyethylene garment bags, which had been implicated in the suffocation deaths of a number of infants. SPI responded with a public relations campaign designed to inform the public of the proper use and disposal of these bags, thus preventing a total ban on their use.

In addition to studies of materials and product development, SPI began in the 1960s to commission studies of public opinion and to frame its scientific studies in terms of issues important to the public, such as flammability and workers' safety in the production process. In the 1970s this concern with public relations and outreach prompted SPI to focus its attention on environmental issues such as solid waste disposal. All of these issues continue to be central to SPI's public relations program today.

SPI has also nurtured contacts with representatives of the plastic industry in foreign countries. In addition to formal exchanges of information with other countries, including the exchange of delegates between the United States and USSR, SPI has maintained informal contacts with plastics businessmen and trade associations in Europe and Asia.

From the description of Records, 1938-1987. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86119394