The company that is now known as Colt's Plastics was first established in 1920 as a division of Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co. It made moulded plastic parts using Coltrock, its own proprietary moulding compound. By the middle of the 1930s, Colt's Plastics Division had developed a series of "featherlite" jars for the packaging of cosmetic products like powders, creams, lipsticks, and travel-size beauty kits.

Colt sold the business in 1955, but the new moniker, Colt's Plastics Company, Inc., still reflected the Colt brand. The new business continued to play a significant part in the development of cosmetics packaging, creating the first all-plastic aerosol dispenser, as well as distinctive packaging for Yardley and Elizabeth Arden (which served as the inspiration for the Colt-ainer® line of jars).