International Year of Natural Fibres

Aims

• to raise awareness and stimulate demand for natural fibres;
• to encourage appropriate policy responses from governments to the problems faced by natural fibre industries;
• to foster an effective and enduring international partnership among the various natural fibres industries; and
• to promote the efficiency and sustainability of the natural fibres industries.

  Examples

Plant fibres

• Abaca, once a favoured source of rope, abaca shows promise as an energy-saving replacement for glass fibres in automobiles
• Coir, a coarse, short fibre extracted from the outer shell of coconuts, coir is found in ropes, mattresses, brushes, geotextiles and automobile seats
• Cotton, pure cellulose, cotton is the world's most widely used natural fibre and still the undisputed "king" of the global textiles industry
• Flax, one of nature's strongest vegetable fibres, flax was also one of the first to be harvested, spun and woven into textiles
• Hemp, recent advances in the "cottonization" of hemp fibre could open the door to the high quality clothing market
• Jute, the strong threads made from jute fibre are used worldwide in sackcloth - and help sustain the livelihoods of millions of small farmers
• Ramie, white, with a silky lustre, is one of the strongest natural fibres, similar to flax in absorbency and density
• Sisal, too coarse for clothing, is replacing glass fibres in composite materials used to make cars and furniture

  Animal fibres

• Alpaca wool, is used to make high-end luxury fabrics, with world production estimated at around 5 000 tonnes a year
• Angora wool, the silky white wool of the Angora rabbit is very fine and soft, and used in high quality knitwear
• Camel hair, the best fibre is found on the Bactrian camels of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, and baby camel hair is the finest and softest
• Cashmere wool, is exceptionally soft to the touch owing to the structure of its fibres and has great insulation properties without being bulky
• Mohair, white, very fine and silky, mohair is noted for its softness, brightness and receptiveness to rich dyes
• Silk, developed in ancient China, where its use was reserved for royalty, silk remains the "queen of fabrics"
• Wool, limited supply and exceptional characteristics have made wool the world's premier textile fibre