Product Life-Cycle Extension: The Polyester Staple Experience

Innovation, according to the definition used in this paper, deals with the introduction of any new products and services within a product line. It has been a primary growth contributor to the synthetic fiber industry, and affected the theoretical product life-cycle paths of many fibers (Yale, 1965). An earlier study of nylon filament uses had shown that consumption of this fiber had grown over the years as a result of its continuous entry into new markets (Yale, 1964). As time passed, some of the existing nylon markets lost their significance. If it was not for the continuous addition of new markets, nylon would have reached maturity some years earlier. Growth of nylon, and for that matter of most products, relates to the cumulative effect of entering new markets, while some established markets are diminished or lost. In other words, products grow through a life-cycle extension process.