“Sundback’s improved zip proved hard to market, not least because of the previous, dud design. It was used on utilitarian accessories—money belts, tobacco pouches – but the rag trade proved resistant. The first world war, though, gave the zip its break. In 1918, the US Navy began to put them on its aviator jackets. Then, in 1923, B.F. Goodrich, an American company best known for tyres, put zips on its rubber galoshes. It called the new footwear Zippers, thus giving the device – previously the “hookless fastener” – its name. (The British, for reasons unknown, changed the name to “zip”.)” (The Economist, 2018, p.70).

Reference

The Economist. (2018) Zip Fasteners. The Economist. 22 December 2018, pp.70-71.