The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 (known then as the Rayon Department) which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Rayon, Nylon, Teflon, Corian, and Kevlar. The department was renamed in 1952 to reflect the wider range of fibers being produced and was renamed the Fibers Department in 1988.

During World War I, the DuPont Company constructed a dye works at Deepwater Point, New Jersey. The plant included two research facilities, the Jackson Laboratory and the Technical Laboratory. In 1945 the plant name was changed to the Chambers Works, in honor of Dr. Arthur D. Chambers (1847-1929), a DuPont executive who promoted company involvement in the dye business. Chamber Works plant was one of two plants in New Jersey that were part of the Organic Chemicals Department devoted to the production of Dyestuffs, Neoprene, Ethyl Alcohol, Camphor and other Organic Chemicals for the rubber, petroleum, textile, paper, perfumery and other industries

DuPont's Chestnut Run Laboratories near Wilmington, Delaware began construction in 1952 and opened in 1954. The research complex includes many buildings such as the Textile Research Laboratory, the Polychemicals Sales Services Laboratory and the Organic Chemical Department. Research at these laboratories was mainly aimed at the development of better textile products from DuPont fibers or the extension of markets through the development of new end uses.

In September 1981 the oil and gas manufacturing company, Conoco Inc. became a subsidiary of the DuPont Company. Several years earlier, Conoco had produced a documentary film, “To Fly” directed by Jim Freeman (1944-1976) and Greg MacGillivray (1945-) in 1976 which was eventually released in 1981 presented by DuPont. The film documents the history of aviation. A second documentary by Freeman and MacGillivray was produced in 1983 by Conoco and presented by DuPont entitled “Flyers.” In 1999, DuPont sold off all of its shares of Conoco, which then merged with Phillips Petroleum Company.

Throughout the 1980s there were several fabrics were developed in DuPont's line of Performance Fabrics. Two of which were Coolmax(TM) and Thermax(TM). Coolmax is a moisture absorbing fabric intended to keep athletes dry and Thermax is a hollow filament polyester fabric for insulation in sportswear for cold weather sports intended to keep a layer of warmth while pushing perspiration to the upper layers of fabric. Another fabric, ThermaStat(TM), similar to Thermax was designed to be light, warm and breathable.

Beginning in the early 1980s, the DuPont company made a strategic effort to broaden marketing capabilities by making every employee a salesperson. There were ongoing orientation programs within the company which stressed the need for all employees no matter what their duties, to understand the marketing function and relate their efforts to satisfying the customer. Additionally, there were seminars for staff given by staff such as the Professional Excellence Community Seminars, which appear to have been monthly and the annual DuPont TechCon, which is a multi-day conference where scientists, technical developers and business development managers from Dupont network and share ideas.

In 1987 the DuPont Company celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the invention of Nylon and Teflon. The theme for the year was “Celebrating the Past, Shaping the Future.” The company held several events to commemorate the anniversary.

Edgar S. Woolard, Jr. (1934-) was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 1996. Due to the economic recession of the early 1990s Woolard supervised a substantial downsizing of the company in an effort to cut costs and focus on the manufacturing of DuPont’s core products. The company also underwent a reorganization and an international expansion. When Woolard retired in 1996 DuPont’s stock value had increased by 160%.

DuPont formed a subsidiary for the Fibers Department called Invista in 2003 which was sold to Koch Industries in 2004. Products such as the Performance Fabrics developed by DuPont are now part of Invista.