After joining the USDA in 1953, chemist Ruth Benerito helped develop wrinkle-resistant cotton that made clothes easier to wash and wear without ironing

Pulling a cotton top straight out of the dryer and heading out the door, with no ironing board or steaming required, is something many people take for granted. Although this seems like an everyday occurrence, many thank chemist Ruth Benerito and her wrinkle-free cotton for helping the US cotton industry compete as synthetic fabrics gained ground, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

We often associate innovators with new technology or apps; however, there are some amazing ideas hidden in the items we already have. Someone must have discovered how to prevent cotton tops from creasing up as they came out of the wash. This is where a government scientist in New Orleans comes into the picture.

Why cotton suddenly felt like too much work


The Science History Institute notes that synthetic fibres such as nylon and polyester were created in the 1930s and 1940s. Clothes made from them required no ironing. Whilst this was great news for those who had to iron clothes, it was not great news for cotton farmers. Many customers went for the easy option. According to the 2009 article on “Cross-Linking Cotton” in USDA’s AgResearch Magazine, wash-and-wear cotton was developed after the war, as the industry worked to win back customers who had switched to synthetic materials.

In short, Benerito and her research team discovered in the 1950s how to chemically bond the long chain-like molecules in cotton. These molecules are naturally held together by weak hydrogen bonds, which causes cotton to wrinkle easily. They found that by adding shorter organic molecules between the cellulose chains, like ladder rungs, they could make cotton wrinkle-free. This process is known as crosslinking.

Not the typical headline-grabbing story

Benerito did not want to be famous. She said she didn’t like being credited as the sole inventor of wash-and-wear cotton, since many people were involved and she had contributed new methods to an existing effort. Per the USDA’s AgResearch Magazine, Benerito was the lead chemist on the team that developed the permanent press process. Even so, she was never a widely recognised name.

Beyond wrinkles

Once Benerito had developed a way to chemically bond organic chemicals to cotton fibres, stain-resistant and flame-proof cotton could be produced. Flame-retardant cotton was developed from her work and was used in children’s pyjamas, mattresses, upholstery, and firefighter and military uniforms.

This was given to the industry in the early 1960s and remained standard throughout the 1970s, before other treatments and synthetics took over. Earlier in her USDA career, during the Korean War, Benerito had developed a method to give fat intravenously to patients who could not eat. This technique was used to feed severely injured soldiers who could not otherwise be nourished.

A unique career path

Benerito completed high school at 14 and entered Tulane University’s Sophie Newcomb College at 15. During the Great Depression, she graduated and struggled to find research positions, so she became a teacher. While teaching, she even taught driver’s education despite never having driven a car herself. After the war, she completed her PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago. In 1953, she joined the USDA’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans, where she remained for more than three decades. Benerito held more than 50 patents, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. After retiring from the USDA in 1986, she continued to teach until 1997.

Still hanging in your closet

According to a 2009 estimate by Andrew Jordan, then a vice president at the National Cotton Council, more than half of men’s, boys’, and women’s trousers (excluding jeans) were made from durable press-treated fabrics, per the USDA’s AgResearch Magazine. Decades after her work reshaped the cotton industry, Benerito remained a scientist who preferred to share the credit rather than claim the glory herself.