The Rise of Melamine

Melamine has existed for almost two centuries. It was first created and named by a German chemist called Justus von Liebig in 1834. In those early days, it was manufactured using calcium cyanamide. Converting this compound into dicyandiamide and then melting it would produce melamine.

Nowadays, however, it is manufactured in a different way. A series of complex chemical reactions that begin with urea result in the creation of melamine.

One of the most well-known melamine derivatives is melamine resin. Melamine resin is the material that’s used to make melamine dishes, so it’s this version that is placed under the microscope when we’re attempting to determine whether melamine dishes are eco-friendly.

The disturbing fact about melamine resin is that it is made by mixing together melamine and formaldehyde. Yes, that’s right: formaldehyde. The two substances undergo a chemical process known as polymerization that results in melamine resin.

But let’s hold off on the skepticism momentarily and consider the rise of melamine, including its uses and waxing and waning popularity.

The original melamine that has not been mixed with formaldehyde is an ingredient in many of the common substances that are used widely. It can be found in concrete, industrial fertilizers, and even as a colorant in inks and plastics.

Melamine wasn’t really used in dinnerware until around the mid twentieth century. It started as a fixture on US navy ships due to the positive characteristics of the material: lightweight and strong. You can imagine that unbreakable dinnerware is quite important on a ship, and metal was too expensive. The Second World War definitely contributed to the rise of melamine. Melamine is cheaper than metal under normal circumstances, and metal was particularly expensive during the war.

Moreover, war is an expensive pastime, so no doubt cutting costs wherever possible is a welcome incentive. Around this time, melamine use began to spread far and wide, with millions of English and American people using it as their main form of dinnerware. The logic is understandable: keep a melamine set for meals with the family, and only pull out the ceramic or porcelain when guests come for dinner.

It actually started to challenge the position of ceramics as the number one material used in dinnerware: some ceramics actually started to produce melamine sets just to try to stay afloat in a competitive market.

As time went on, however, people started to notice that melamine wasn’t a perfect dinnerware material. Sure, it might be unbreakable, but it get scratched and faded over a few years from knives digging into it and constant washing. Thus, by the 1970s melamine was no longer in vogue as a form of dinnerware.

Still, it does have a sort of cult following among collectors who want to have all the melamine sets from old dinnerware companies that no longer exist. Plus, as previously mentioned, companies still make new melamine sets; just not for the adult dinner table!