The feedstock for ethanoic acid has changed several times over the past 100 years. It was originally made by air oxidation of ethanol produced by fermentation of biomass. By the 1950s, direct oxidation of butane or naphtha, derived from crude oil, became more economic.

This gave way largely to production from a cheaper feedstock, methanol and carbon monoxide from the 1970s onwards. Methanol is manufactured from synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen), which itself is produced primarily from natural gas and oil.