Corfam by Dupont
1964-1971
In 1964 the DuPont Corporation launched Cofram, a synthetic leather substitute. The company predicted that 25% of all shoes would be made from Corfam and spent millions promoting the new material. But the public found the shoes soulless, cheap-feeling and uncomfortable. DuPont withdrew Corfam from the market in 1971.
Additional info:
NYTimes - archived article from 1964
Hagley Museum - informative info from the Hagley Dupont museum.