World War II had a huge impact on what commodities were produced, what was desired and who was targeted in the advertisement of them. Plastic was a brand relatively new material at this time and its uses were beginning to be understood. It didn't take long for people to realize the versatility of plastic and once they did, production of it boomed.

During war time, plastic began to be a major focus in developments. Its ability to be molded into any shape meant that it could be used for so much more than any material that preceded it.

Plastics became relatively popular soon after this; however, as an article by SPI (the plastics industry trade association) stated that World War II increased the demand of plastics significantly. They talk about how substances such as rubber were in short supply so the need for a material like plastic grew (SPI). As we can see in the world today, plastic has come to be in just about anything. This period could likely be known as the Plastic Age. This was especially the case in America and Europe. Both where the product was created, and where many of the trade routes allowed it to go. This unfortunately meant that countries other than the United States and more developed European countries, were unable to get their hands on this versatile product until technological advances occurred there. This also created a rapid growth in the American economy due to the number of jobs created by the introduction of plastic to the public. Much of plastic went into the production of beauty products, containers, and home appliances. Since service in the war was particularly male dominant, this left women at home. This meant that about 85 percent of the purchases in the united states had been made by women. They then became the target for advertisements (Witkowski). Although this was the case during the beginning of this wartime period, the focus of the commodity shifted to war to products for the war. However, this still left many women in America responsible for the production of it. Unfortunately this may not have been enough as stated by AWID (the Association for Women’s Rights in Development) “women’s unpaid labor increases with the removal of subsidies on social services. When subsidized daycare is cut, for example, women provide free childcare for their families and neighbors” (AWID, 4). So, although there was an increase in jobs for women during this time, there was also an increase in women’s labor outside of their jobs. This left them with wages that fell short of the taxing and time-consuming work that they were left with.