# Why the Confusion about "Styrofoam"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658 "2007-06-27T17:43:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/1 "2007-06-27T17:43:42Z")
If you go to Dow Chemicals’ own site, or to many other places on the web, you will be pedantically told that there’s no such thing as a “styrofoam cup”. Styrofoam is “a trademark of Dow Chemical for its blue foam polystyrene insulation product”. The stuff they make cups and the like out of is Expanded Polystyrene Beads, not Styrofoam. But people didn’t start calling the cups “styrofoam” because they knew it was foamed polystryrene beads, and back-forming it from that. People call them “Styrofoam cups” because they’ve been told that they were “Styrofoam cups”, and they don’t know them by any other name, and because most people aren’t aware of the insulation product, and probably will never be. They use “styrofoam” to mean the stuff the cups are made out of because that’s what they were taught, that’s what they’ve always called it, and that’s what everyone they’ve interacted with have called it. Dow may express disapproval and insist that the cups be called “EPS” or “foam styrene” or even “foam”, but nobody will ever do this, because other people won’t know what they’re talking about. They’d have an easier time changing the name of their own Styrofoam insulation, but they’re not going to do that, I’ll bet. The question is – how did this state of affairs arise? Who first started called Expanded Polystyrene beads “Styrofoam”, and why didn’t Dow squelch it then? Is it possible that expanded polystyrene beads actually got popularized first, and Dow is standing on a shaky leg? was a lawyer asleep at the switch, and now they’re backing and filling to make up for the lapse? How did they end up in a situation where the same name applies to a distinctly different product in the public’s awareness than in the LegalVerse? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/2 "2007-06-27T17:49:52Z")
Many trademarks become genericized over time, much the chagrin of their owners. Styrofoam is in the same company as kleenex, waterslide, aspirin, teleprompter, dumpster, band-aid, etc. all of which are product trademarks. Once a trademark enters the common lexicon, its owner loses some ability to enforce the mark. Therefore, they try to prevent that from happening. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/3 "2007-06-27T17:55:24Z")
Unless someone was using the word styrofoam to refer to something before Dow trademarked it, then Dow gets to decide when and how it is appropriately used. They can’t exactly stop me from calling something a styrofoam cup, but they can (and will) stop me from putting that on a package label. I think it’s pretty clear that Dow trademarked styrofoam as a product, popularized it, and people started using that name to refer to a similar looking generic plastic foam. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/4 "2007-06-27T18:05:35Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Many trademarks become genericized over time, much the chagrin of their owners. Styrofoam is in the same company as kleenex, waterslide, aspirin, teleprompter, dumpster, band-aid, etc. [/QUOTE] Kleenex ™ and Band-Aid ™ still are trademarked – not sure about waterslide, etc., but aspirin has lost its TM status. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/5 "2007-06-27T18:06:58Z")
From the Dow website: > [@](#): > > In the early 1900s, The Dow Chemical Company invented a process for extruding polystyrene to achieve a closed cell foam that resists moisture. Recognizing its superior insulating properties, buoyancy and “unsinkability,” it was originally adopted in 1942 by the Coast Guard for use in a six-man life raft. That was the start of many other wartime applications by the Coast Guard and Navy. It seems reasonable to suppose that sailors returning from wartime, having encountered STYROFOAM™ products, would also call foam coffee cups by the same name. And as others have already said, Dow® needs to defend its trademark in order to retain it. Notice that they’ve also trademarked Blue™. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/6 "2007-06-27T18:18:19Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Kleenex ™ and Band-Aid ™ still are trademarked – not sure about waterslide, etc., but aspirin has lost its TM status. [/QUOTE] Correct. But do _you_ check to make sure it’s brand-name Kleenex before wiping your nose with boxed tissue paper? Or before using an adhesive bandage? I’d ask for a Kleenex and a Band-Aid, regardless of the actual brand. Ditto with Xerox and Windex. My favorite word for the _phenomenon_ (a opposed to the OP’s specific case), is proprietary eponym. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/7 "2007-06-27T18:21:15Z")
**friedo** – I know that. That’s not the question. **Cheessteak** : > [@](#): > > I think it’s pretty clear that Dow trademarked styrofoam as a product, popularized it, and people started using that name to refer to a similar looking generic plastic foam. No, it’s not at all clear to me. That’s why I asked the question. **Terminus** : It’s plausible, but that doesn’t prove anything. Does anybody know the facts? This sort of speculation ran through my head, as well, but this _isn’t_ like Xerox, kleenex, etc. This is a case where what was a generically similar material with completely different appearance and uses (Styrofoam insulation doesn’t have the beady appearance of “Styrofoam” cups) got conflated in public use with a cheaper, lighter product with different uses. I can’t think of another case that’s a close parallel. I use a “kleenex” for “tissue” when I blow my nose "google’, however much that usage might annoy the folks at Kimberley Clark. I don’t look for a “kleenex” when I want to write something down, or mop up a spill suited for paper towels, even though those products are made of the same basic stuff. I’d only do that if someone else – some manufacturer, probably, or marketer – had started calling his product “kleenex”. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/8 "2007-06-27T18:46:19Z")
I don’t think most people blow their nose with “google”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/9 "2007-06-27T18:53:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think most people blow their nose with “google”. That’s because they don’t know its true value. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/10 "2007-06-27T18:59:30Z")
Google: it’snot just for websearches, anymore. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/11 "2007-06-27T19:51:41Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Who first started called Expanded Polystyrene beads “Styrofoam” [/QUOTE] The lady in 4C. I think her name was Julie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/12 "2007-06-27T19:52:03Z")
Syrofoam is a different sort of situation than Kleenex, though. Kleenex really does make tissues, so if you ask for a Kleenex, there’s at least a chance that you really will get a Kleenex. But as Dow points out, there isn’t a disposable coffee cup made out of Styrofoam. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/13 "2007-06-27T19:59:08Z")
Dow has several trademarks on styrofoam. The usage “styrofoam cup” may have arisen from this one: ```auto Word Mark STYROFOAM Goods and Services IC 017. US 001. G & S: IRREGULAR SOLID MASSES OF MULTICELLULAR EXPANDED SYNTHETIC RESINOUS MATERIAL [ AND GRANULAR MASSES OF THE SAME MATERIAL COMMINUTED ]. FIRST USE: 19450911. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19450911 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Design Search Code Serial Number 71583642 Filing Date August 18, 1949 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED Registration Number 0531823 Registration Date October 10, 1950 Owner (REGISTRANT) DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY, THE CORPORATION DELAWARE MIDLAND MICHIGAN 48674 ``` It’s certainly closer than: BLOCKS, BOARDS, AND OTHER SHAPES OF MULTICELLULAR EXPANDED SYNTHETIC RESINOUS MATERIAL FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES. FIRST USE: 19450911. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19450911 or MULTICELLULAR EXPANDED SYNTHETIC RESINS [, ADHESIVE SUBSTANCES FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND FOR USE IN CONSTRUCTION]. FIRST USE: 19450911. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19450911 ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/14 "2007-06-27T20:41:33Z")
I think it’s just because the stuff the cups are made out of resemble Styrofoam. When Styrofoam was first invented, it probably caused a bit of a stir. Lightweight, good insulator, made a name for itself that people latched onto, nobody had see anything like it before. Now somebody familiar with Styrofoam sees a foam cup. Made out of something that, to the casual non-chemist, looks vaugely similar to that wonderful stuff Styrofoam they saw some time back. Must be a Styrofoam cup. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/15 "2007-06-27T20:51:54Z")
During my stay in Canada it was funny that Aspirin™ was still a registered Bayer trademark. Of course everyone _says_ aspirin like we say kleenex, but you’ve got to look for acetylsalicylic acid in the store. I’d like to license Styrofoam® and make cups out of it, just to shut everyone up. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/16 "2007-06-27T21:14:43Z")
Why would Dow object to people using the word Styrofoam? Doesn’t every company want its products to be household names? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/17 "2007-06-27T21:16:06Z")
Yeah, but once it’s used a generic descriptor, you can’t stop your competitors from calling their products by your name. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/18 "2007-06-27T21:25:21Z")
There is a registered trademark for DOW STYROFOAM BRAND: > [@](#): > > Goods and Services: PLASTIC FOAM INSULATION FOR USE IN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION > > Description of Mark: THE MARK CONSISTS OF THE WORDS “DOW” AND “STYROFOAM” IN A DOUBLE DIAMOND DESIGN, AND THE COLOR BLUE ON THE GOODS; COLOR IS CLAIMED AS A FEATURE OF THE MARK. THE MATTER SHOWN BY THE DOTTED LINES IS A CONFIGURATION OF THE GOODS, IS NOT A PART OF THE MARK, AND NO CLAIM IS MADE TO IT. THE DRAWING IS LINED FOR THE COLOR BLUE AND COLOR IS CLAIMED AS A FEATURE OF THE MARK. This seems to be what the Dow® website is talking about when there are no coffee cups made out of STYROFOAM™. This is what Dow® now wants STYROFOAM™ to mean. There’s also a Dow® trademark on Blue referenced in the description above, which is: > [@](#): > > Building insulation used in commercial and residential construction Interesting, though, that DOW® still maintains their trademark for IRREGULAR SOLID MASSES OF MULTICELLULAR EXPANDED SYNTHETIC RESINOUS MATERIAL [AND GRANULAR MASSES OF THE SAME MATERIAL COMMINUTED] which appears to be what the coffee cups are made out of. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/19 "2007-06-27T21:29:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Why would Dow object to people using the word Styrofoam? Doesn’t every company want its products to be household names? Put it this way: If I’m in a restaurant, and I want a gelatin dessert, and ask for Jell-o, the Jell-o company is happy. But if I’m in a restaurant and I order Jell-o, and the waiter brings me a dessert which is actually made with Royal gelatin, the Jell-o company is very unhappy. But the first situation leads to the second, so they try to nip things in the bud. There’s also the matter that, whether they’re upset about a particular situation or not, the law forces them to complain, because if they don’t publicly defend their trademark, they’ll lose it. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658/20 "2007-06-27T21:45:29Z")
Aha! There is a whole separate section on the Dow website about crafts made with STYROFOAM™ Brand products, quite distinct from the insulating material: [STYROFOAM Crafts](http://craft.dow.com/craft/index.htm) You can get STYROFOAM™ Brand products in various sizes and shapes like balls, cones, and blocks. It also says you can get them in white or green, instead of Blue™. No cups, though. In their coffee cup disclaimer: > [@](#): > > [http://craft.dow.com/craft/about/cup.htm](http://craft.dow.com/craft/about/cup.htm) > > STYROFOAM Brand Foam is not used in the manufacture of disposable foam products, such as food packaging, cups, plates, coolers or egg trays. These disposable products are made of either molded expanded polystyrene beads or thin extruded polystyrene sheet, neither of which is manufactured by Dow in the United States. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-confusion-about-styrofoam/409658.md?page=2)