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How did plastic save elephants? The surprising history of a game-changing material

How did plastic save elephants? The surprising history of a game-changing material

In the 19th century, scientists looked to find synthetic alternatives to natural resources in the hopes of reducing the damage being done to the environment – ironically enough

Close-up of plastic trash and discarded ropes on a sandy beach, with a person collecting litter into a blue bag in the blurred background

Jonny Wilkes

Published: November 11, 2026 at 1:35 PM

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In terms of natural materials with plastic properties – think rubber, amber, animal horn, gums and shellac – humans have played with the building blocks of plastic for millennia. And playing is the key word there: the Olmec civilisation in Mexico (c1200-400 BC) used rubber to make the balls for the beloved ceremonial ballgame. Their name even means ‘rubber people’.

As for the development of synthetic plastic, however, the story really began in the 19th century.

With industrial production on the rise, the quantities of commonly used natural materials were shrinking; the demand for ivory to make piano keys and billiard balls, for example, had seen elephant populations diminish. Alternatives were needed.

Parkesine makes early strides

While chemically modified materials – such as vulcanised rubber – were a good start, an early step towards plastic was made by English chemist Alexander Parkes. In 1862, he patented a cellulose-based option, which he named Parkesine after himself. Able to be moulded into different objects, from combs and buttons to intricately carved plaques, it won a bronze medal when he unveiled it at the International Exhibition in London.

A collection of vintage Bakelite and early plastic personal items, including a radio, vanity mirror, small boxes, handbag, and pen displayed on a white surface

A selection of early synthetic goods, including a hair slide (second top right) made of Parkesine, a precursor to plastic | Credit: Getty Images

While this makes Parkes a contender for the ‘father of plastics’, he did not have an eye for business and he soon bankrupted himself. Instead, others investigated the possibilities of cellulose nitrate, such as Parkes’s partner, Daniel Spill.

Celluloid lights a fire

At the same time in the US, a billiards company called Phelan and Collender offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who devised a suitable alternative to ivory, and American brothers John Wesley and Isaiah Hyatt got involved. By adding camphor to cellulose nitrate, they created celluloid.

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This came to be used in a number of products, most famously film, but had a major downside in its flammability. The billiard balls developed by the Hyatts’ company could let off an explosion-like pop when struck against each other.

Bakelite sets the mould

Another breakthrough was needed to end reliance on natural materials. This came in 1907 when Belgian-born chemist Leo Baekeland created the first fully synthetic plastic by combining the chemicals of formaldehyde and phenol.

A black-and-white studio portrait photograph of Belgian chemist and industrialist Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic, wearing a suit and tie

A portrait of Leo Baekeland, the inventor of the world's first full synthetic plastic, Bakelite – a huge advancement in the development of materials | Credit: Getty Images

Based in New York, US, Baekeland had made a fortune with his new type of photographic printing paper and had been looking for something that could be used for electrical insulation. He quickly realised that his new creation had countless other uses in manufacturing.

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Bakelite, as he called it, could be moulded into any shape when heated and hardened into a highly durable, heat-resistant, non-conducting, long-lasting and inexpensive plastic. No wonder it was marketed as “the material of a thousand uses”.

Baekeland rather understated it when he wrote in his journal: “Unless I am very much mistaken, this invention will prove important in the future.” The world would not be the same again, as plastic quickly became ubiquitous. In the 1920s and 30, a number of variations emerged, including polystyrene, polyester, vinyl, acrylic, nylon and, still the most common plastic today, polythene.

The industry had yet to hit its stride, too. Of course, the true environmental impact of synthetic plastics would not be understood for decades.

Authors

Jonny WilkesFreelance writer

Jonny Wilkes is a former staff writer for BBC History Revealed, and he continues to write for both the magazine and HistoryExtra. He has BA in History from the University of York.