New Eco- friendly Fibers Developed from Water Lily

In the series of Eco- friendly fibers, the new water lily textile fibers have made way into the textile industry. After the successful development and commercialization of abaca, pineapple fibers and banana fibers for making Philippine tropical fabrics, the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) has now developed water hyacinth or water lily as the new fiber source.
Water lilies grow almost everywhere. Although, it is a welcome scene for many, the abundance of waterlilies had been posing a problem to the river ecosystem of the areas where they grow. They block waterways and kill aquatic life in rivers and lakes. Coupled with this problem there had been other issues before the Philippines government to tackle with, such as sliding textile industry owing to stiff competition from China, cheaper fabrics from other countries, imported raw materials, local labor unrest, higher production costs etc. All these led the government to come up with this novel solution in the form of water lily fibers that preserve the ecosystem as well as provide a viable source of income to the local residents.

The Water lily weaving center was launched way back in October 1995 that provided training for basket weaving and also marketed the finished products. However the textile fiber from water lily was unveiled by PTRI this year, along with saluyot and maguey fibers, at the International Year of Natural Fibers launching on January 22 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
According to Nora Mangalindan, the head of research and development at the PTRI, “Substituting just a fourth of imported textile with local tropical fabrics means foreign exchange savings of US$156.72 million. The world textile industry has been devoid of new natural textiles for quite some time now and it is a great opportunity for tropical fibers coming from the Philippines.”
Fibers from water lilies make good home textile like curtains, upholstery, table runners, table napkins and handicrafts.

Facts Behind the Eco-Friendly Fibers

Everyone these days seem to be talking about eco-friendly products. Textile industry too has become aware of the trend and has introduced many eco-friendly fibers for manufacturing eco-friendly fabrics. There is a common understanding among the masses that all natural fibers are eco-friendly and the man- made fibers are not. However, There are certain if's and but's regarding this general theory. Let's know what the actual meaning of eco-friendly fibers is!

What are Eco- friendly Fibers

All natural fibers are not eco-friendly. If there is extensive application of harmful pesticides or insecticides while cultivating, say, cotton- it doesn't remain eco friendly. Also the textile chemicals applied during the finishing and other processes of textile production goes to kill the eco friendly character of these fibers. However, if it's an organic cultivation without any pesticides etc. and if they are processed with mechanical or other ways without any chemicals then only a fabric can be termed as eco-friendly. The same is true for animal fibers like wool where pesticides are used in sheep dips and harmful drugs are given to cure animal diseases but then organic wool is there which is eco-friendly fiber.

As far as man made fibers are concerned, they too can be eco friendly. These are regenerated fibers. They are of two types- having protein origin and having cellulose origin. Protein origin regenerated fibers are obtained from plant protein like corn, soy, peanut etc. or from animal protein like casein from milk. Regenerated fibers of cellulose origin are derived from cellulose of wood pulp or leaves such as rayon fiber. If manufactured in environmental friendly way, they can be very well put into the category of eco friendly fibers.

Some Eco- Friendly Fibers

There are many eco- friendly fibers that are gaining popularity these days. Stinging nettle fiber comes from the Brennessel plant, naturally resistant to vermin and parasites and can be grown without pesticides, herbicides and with very little fertilizers. They are often blended with organic cotton to make a very eco-friendly fiber. It is stronger than cotton and finer than linen having fine weft and glossy look. Then there is eco-friendly pineapple fiber, the pina fiber made from pineapple leaves. The pineapple fabrics are lightweight, soft, transparent and a little stiff fabric with glossy appearance.

Milk yarn derived from milk protein fiber is yet another eco- friendly fiber that goes into making skin friendly, antibacterial, antifungal, and highly absorbent fabric. Bamboo fiber, the cellulose fiber- mechanically processed from bamboo plant, makes smooth, soft, antibacterial and luxurious fabric which has become very popular in present day fashion circles. Yet another eco- friendly, strong, shiny, lightweight and bio-degradable banana fiber is used extensively for fashion clothing and home furnishings.

Pineapple Fiber- For Healthy Eco-Friendly Dresses

Man has always been innovative. When talking of textile fibers, man has made natural fibers many plants. One of such inventions is Piña, a textile fiber obtained from pineapple leaves for making fabrics. This time it happened in the Philippines, many many years ago, tracing to Hispanic times. The people there used to extract fibers from pineapple leaves and through hand spinning, made a soft, sheer and a little stiff fabric- the piña fabric. It's regal and exotic!

Characteristics of Pina Fabrics

Pina fabric is lightweight, easy to care for and elegant in appearance similar to linen fabric. It is also blended with other fibers such as cotton, silk and polyester to make fabrics having maximum qualities. Pineapple silk is, in fact, considered the queen of Philippine fabrics.

• Naturally glossy.

• Sheer but stiff so that creative works like embroidery can be easily done on it.

• Lightweight.

• Blend very efficiently with other fibers.

• Very soft, even softer than hemp.

• Very good texture, even better than silk.

• Easily cared for.

• It is eco- friendly like other plant fibers such as banana fibers, bamboo fibers etc.

Uses of Pina Fabrics

The most wide application of pina fabrics is in making traditional dresses of the Philippines, the Barong Tagalog, wedding attire for men, and blouses for women. Other dresses such as kimonos, panuelos, gowns etc. are also made from it. Apart from clothing, handkerchiefs, table linen, mats, fans, bags are also made from different varieties of piña fabrics.

Caring for Pina Fabrics

Fabrics made from pineapple fibers are very easily cared for. They are completely washable and there's no need of dry cleaning them. Following steps can be taken to keep them as new forever.

1. Mix a little amount of mild detergent in warm water.

2. Soak the pina garment or other item to make it free from dirt and stains, then gently hand wash. If the fabric has yellowed, add vinegar to the water and soak overnight.

3. To take off stubborn dirt, always use a soft toothbrush and never scrub the embroidery on it.

4. Rinse in an up & down dipping motion. There's no need to twist or wring.

5. Hang on a hanger and shape to drip dry or lay flat to dry.

6. Iron on low to medium setting while still damp.

   • never pull fabric to straighten

   • Spray starch can be applied to make it more stiffer.

   • iron the back side where embroidered

   • hang carefully

7. Store hanging and coved with some dark & breathable fabric to prevent discoloration.

Recycle Textile Waste-Be Eco-friendly

What can be more noble than turning our waste into another person’s resource. Just think over for a while, what do you do with your old clothing? Are they still stacked on your cupboard rack or have they ended up in landfill or incinerator? You'll be amazed to know that around 11.9 million tons of textile waste or 4.7% of total municipal solid waste (MSW) was generated in 2007 in the USA! What happens to this textile waste? There's a full fledged textile recycling industry that takes care of this waste.

Textile Wastes and Their Recycling

There are two types of textile wastes. The apparel, clothing & garments and other forms of textiles coming from household sources is the post-consumer waste and the textile waste arising during yarns and fabric manufacturing or apparel-making processes is the post-industrial waste. The post-consumer waste is collected by many nonprofit organizations through door-to-door pickup within or otherwise municipal or county programs. Few people also go out of their way to make a drop off at the charitable organizations. Some counties collect used textiles with curbside recyclables pickup at regular intervals. Clothes are often given to the homeless, sold in charity shops or in developing countries. The un-wearable items are sold to merchants to be recycled and used as wiping cloths. Unsold and un-wearable clothing is sold as raw materials to textile recycling plants. Post industrial waste is generally reprocessed inhouse. Clippings from apparel manufacture are also used by fiber reclaimers to make garments, felts and blankets. Fashion designers also sometimes use recovered items for making garments and bags but this is on a very small scale.

Benefits of Textile Recycling
Textile recycling gives both, environmental and economic benefits. It avoids pollution occurring from energy intensive processes used to make textiles from new raw materials. Also the need for landfill space is reduced as also the pressure on new resources. Fibers are locally available so they don't have to be transported from abroad thus reducing pollution and saving energy once again. The textile waste doesn't have to be re-dyed or scoured and as such there is reduced consumption of chemicals and energy. Additionally waste water is also reduced as they don't have to be thoroughly washed with large volumes of water.

Contribute to Textile Recycling
Donate clothes to a textile bank or charitable organizations working for textile recycling. You can also take used clothing to local charity shops. Give old clothes, shoes, curtains, handbags etc. to jumble sales. Remember to tie shoes together. Buy second-hand clothes, preferably from a charity shop. Buy items that you are likely to wear for a long time – you need not sacrifice fashion, just choose carefully. Look for recycled contents in the apparels you buy. See the label. Buy wiping cloths instead of disposable paper products as it can be used repeatedly.

Soft, Durable, Eco Friendly Bamboo Fiber!

The bamboo fiber is obtained from the pulp of bamboo plants. It is an eco-friendly fiber just like the banana fiber. It is fast becoming the choice of fashion designers due to its popular demand. Lets see why bamboo fiber is making way into the fashion circles and wardrobes of fashion conscious people.

Bamboo fiber is a complete package- it is anti-bacterial, UV protective, green & biodegradable, breathable & cool, strong, flexible, soft and has a luxurious shiny appearance. It can be softer than even silk when spun into yarn and with its microscopic round surface, it becomes very smooth and sit perfectly next to the skin without clinging. Apart from this, it has a good drapability that attracts designers to make fashion clothings from it.
Bamboo fabric has a fantastic absorption ability that evaporates sweat very quickly. In fact, it is 3-4 times more absorbent than cotton fabrics. These fabrics are highly breathable in hot weather and also keeps you warmer in cold season.

The most useful feature of bamboo fabric is its natural antibacterial, antifungal and anti-static nature. This is due to bacteriostasis bio-agent named "bamboo kun" which bonds tightly with bamboo cellulose molecules during the normal process of bamboo fiber growth. It not only makes bamboo fabric germ free but also odor free.

However, all these benefits results only when bamboo fiber is produced mechanically and not chemically. We come to know the bamboo facts only when we analyze how the processing of this fiber affects the qualities of the fabric. Chemical processing uses solvents that destroy most of its characteristics and also affect environment and plant workers. The mechanical processing, although more expensive and time consuming, retains its eco-friendly properties.
So, whenever, we opt for bamboo fiber, we must ensure that it is organically processed. Even if we have to pay a little more, we are contributing to our good health and better environment in the long run.

Comfort, Luxury or Eco- Friendly- What's Your Choice for Bath Towels

All of us have used cotton bath towels for a good portion of our lives. However, in this age of specialization, bath towels come in different materials and in a variety of sizes, patterns and colors. You have great options to choose from bath towels that are either comfortable, luxurious or eco-friendly. Some of them even have all the qualities!

Cotton Bath Towels
The natural cotton has a very good texture. It feels good against skin, and is very absorbent that makes it perfect for bath towels. Polyester is sometimes blended with cotton to prevent shrinkage and damage from wear & tear. However, such towels have lower quality than 100% cotton towels. Terry cotton is made by a weaving process that loops the fibers on both sides of the fabric. In the other variety- velour- these loops are cropped to give a smoother texture. However, velour has a tendency to bead water on the fiber which takes longer to dry. Velour towels are appropriate more for decorative purposes while terry cotton towels are for functional use.

Turkish Cotton Towels: They are thick, soft, and sturdy, and absorb water very well. More they are used, the more softer they get. However, using fabric softener when washing terry cloth towels affects their absorbency. Laundering the towels once or twice is enough to bring back their natural absorbent quality.

Egyptian Cotton Towels: Egyptian cotton is considered to be the finest cotton due to extra long fibers that make it soft and durable towel. However, they are a bit expensive than the terrycloth towels but give the real spa experience.
Organic Cotton Towels: Organic cotton bath towels, although costlier, are usually thicker and more plush. They contain around 700 grams of cotton per sq meter. The regular towels have only 200 to 400 grams of cotton per sq meter. They are environmental-friendly too. Organic Egyptian cotton bath towels are the most luxurious towels. They are extremely fluffy & absorbent, and generally larger than "regular" bath towels.
Bamboo Bath Towels
If you are more conscious towards environment, use bamboo towels. They are softer and dry quickly. Sometimes, they are blended with cotton. The best luxury bamboo bath towels have a nice blend of 65% bamboo & 35% cotton. Bamboo towels provide the best of both worlds- superior softness & absorption of bamboo and durability of cotton!


Microfiber Fabrics Towels
Microfiber Fabric is a synthetic fabric but have extraordinary qualities of absorption and cleaning. Towels made from it are thin, dry quickly, very lightweight and can absorb five times their weight in water. They are specially made for active sports purposes, so you can imagine how comfortable they would be even for daily usage!

Now when you know about all the available bath towels, Choose high quality towels. If you are going for eco-friendly towels, you can always recycle old bath towels!

The Eco-Friendly Banana Fiber

There are many natural fibers that are liked for their comfortability and looks. With the increasing environmental awareness, these natural fibers have gained unimaginable importance. Now, many raw materials that were not traditionally used for making fabrics, at least not commonly, are there to make fabrics from. One such raw material comes from banana plant- the banana fiber. Although banana fiber have been used for making textile in some parts of the world such as Japan and Nepal since very early ages yet their application in many industries has gained momentum only in the recent past.

A native plant of Southeast Asia, banana is now grown extensively in all tropical countries for fruit, fiber or foliage. Generally, banana fiber extraction is done by hand stripping and decortication. While hand stripping, a narrow strip of banana leaf sheath is placed under a serrated knife with pressure. Fiber is then extracted by pulling the leaf sheath by hand. Decortication is a mechanized process in which, cut stalks are first crushed by roller and fibers are scraped by means of revolving wheels with knives.

The fiber extracted from banana plant is brownish, somewhat flat and darker in shade. It appears like bamboo and ramie fiber, but is fine and spins better than them. It is considerably strong and also has shiny appearance. It can absorb moisture very well and is bio- degradable, thus eco- friendly.

In Japan, the traditional dresses like kimono and kamishimo are made from banana fiber and are liked especially as summer wear. The Banana silk fiber yarns are used to make traditional rugs by Nepalese women. Banana fiber is also used to make fine cushion covers, ties, bags, table cloths, curtains and many other items all over the world. Due to the growing popularity of items made from banana fibers, many manufacturers are engaged in research to come up with cost effective and fast methods of making banana fiber. One such innovation has been made in India where a Banana Fiber Separator Machine has been developed. This machine uses the agriculture waste of banana harvests to produce silk grade fiber which is widely used by handicrafts and textile industry.

Herbal Textile- Give Yourself a Healthy Style

As if today's fast and stressful life is not enough, there is environmental pollution everywhere to aggravate the health problems. We do physical exercises, opt for a healthy diet, try to follow a stress free life, then also suffer from one or the other ailments. In such a situation, textile industry has also become somewhat conscious about its negative contribution to the environment pollution through the textile chemicals uses in its various manufacturing processes. As a result many textile manufacturers have opted for non polluting ways of producing textile and garments. One of these solutions are the Herbal Textile.

What is Herbal Textile?

When the textile is dyed with the extractions obtained from various herbs, they are referred to as Herbal Textile. No chemicals are used in its dyeing process. Some of you may equate herbal dyes with vegetable dyes but they are different as the herbal dyes also carry some or the other medicinal value. Moreover, while dyeing with vegetable dyes, some chemicals are used as catalysts, where as when dyeing with herbal extractions, none of the chemicals are used. Herbal dyes also come in almost all the colors and shades.

The Healing Value

Now you can get herbal textile on your list of items for healthy lifestyle. Why...? Herbal Textile helps us in fighting many common and prevalent diseases such as hypertension, heart ailments, asthma and diabetes. If you have any doubt just go through the herbs used for making these textile! Indigo and Turmeric fights skin diseases, Cuscus grass is good for asthma patients, Sandalwood, with its mild fragrance makes you stress free avoiding hypertension and diabetes....! In fact, the native Americans used only herbs to dye, which was truly a natural and healthy way to dress up!

So, now you can start searching for apparels, bedsheets, undergarments, blankets etc. made of herbal textile to make you feel cool! More these clothings and other items stay close to your skin, more your health will be fine!