Natural fibres are thoserenewable fibres that are taken from plants, and animals which are transformedinto yarn for textiles. They are taken from plant leaf, inner bark or fruit/seed,insect cocoon, animal wool or hair, or from any mineral product. Using naturalfibres to manufacture clothing has been in vogue for thousands of years. Theaverage annual production of natural fibres; globally is estimated to be around30 million tones. Cotton dominates the natural fibres market with 20 milliontones, wool with 2 million and jute with 3 million tones and the rest shared bythe other fibres.
The year 2009 has been declaredas the International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF). This will be officiallylaunched on January 22nd, at the Headquarters of the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. The main objective is to raise the profile for these fibres, and highlight their value to theconsumers.
Objectives:
- To raise awareness, create, and increase the demand for natural fibres.
- To foster international partnership among various natural fibre industries.
- To enhance efficiency and sustainability of natural fibres.
Since 1960s, there was adiversification in the trend of the global fabric market, with a growth towardsthe usage of synthetic fibres mostly derived from petrochemicals. This is dueto the short term economic advantages that synthetic fibres offer. Now, withthe increasing awareness of global warming, there is a drive manipulating theglobal market to move away from the petrochemical based fibres, to naturalfibres. Natural fibres of plant sources include kenaf, flax, cotton, hemp,ramie, sisal, linen, jute, lime, bamboo, seagrass, and abaca. Animal sources ofnatural fibres include camel, goat, sheep, alpaca, and llama, and can be eitherwool, or leather, or; hair. Insect fibres come mainly from silkworms.
Textile industry uses a wideassortment of natural fibres. Changing fads, innovations in the textiletechnology, globalization, amount of disposable income in the hands ofconsumers, and supply chain have all influenced the consumption of fibresconsiderably. Besides their input in textile production, natural fibrescontribute to providing employment opportunities to millions of people, andenable economic development in many countries. Keeping these virtues inconsideration, to promote awareness about natural fibres, foster internationalpartnership among natural fibre industries, and to encourage the Government tocome up with appropriate policy measures to solve the problems faced by naturalfibre industries, the United Nations have proclaimed 2009 as the InternationalYear of Natural Fibres (IYNF).
Many countries produce naturalfibres, and they are of major economic importance in some countries. Cotton isa major fibre in West African countries, jute in Bangladesh, and sisal is amajor fibre in Tanzania. Sale proceeds of natural fibres and generation offoreign exchange revenue play an integral role in the development of a country,and also contribute significantly to the food security, and income of poorfarmers in the developing and under developed countries.
Natural fibres are an importantcomponent of clothing, upholstery, and many other textiles. These fibreindustries generate employment opportunities for millions of people andcontribute to a greener planet. The fibres are environmentally friendly both interms of production, and disposal. Therefore, promoting the use of naturalfibres will also enhance the environment. It helps us to attain a sustainableway of living.
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