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Fibers
and Fabric
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Organic
Cotton
Most cotton is not as environmentally benign as you might expect.
Conventionally grown cotton consumes approximately 25% of the insecticides
and more than 10% of the pesticides used in the world. Conventional
farming devours roughly a third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers
to produce enough cotton for a single T-shirt. The production of
cotton has a huge impact on the world we live in.
In an era of sprawling factory farms and corporate agribusiness,
organic cotton growers in Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona,
and Missouri are preserving and revitalizing the cherished American
tradition of the family farm. In turn, these farms nurture rural
communities.
By farming with a combination of savvy and sweat, organic cotton
growers help preserve our air, our water, our soil, and the bountiful
biodiversity of our planet leading the way to a sustainable future.
www.aboutorganiccotton.org
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Hemp
Hemp is an extremely fast growing crop, producing more fiber yield
per acre than any other source. Hemp can produce 250% more fiber than
cotton and 600% more fiber than flax using the same amount of land.
The amount of land needed for obtaining equal yields of fiber place
hemp at an advantage over other fibers.
Hemp grows best in warm tropical zones or in moderately cool, temperate
climates, such as the United States. Hemp leaves the soil in excellent
condition for any succeeding crop, especially when weeds may otherwise
be troublesome. Where the ground permits, hemp's strong roots descend
for three feet or more. The roots anchor and protect the soil from
runoff, building and preserving topsoil and subsoil structures similar
to those of forests. Moreover, hemp does not exhaust the soil. Hemp
plants shed their leaves all through the growing season adding rich
organic matter to the topsoil and helping it retain moisture. Farmers
have reported excellent hemp growth on land that had been cultivated
steadily for nearly 100 years.
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EcoSpun
Polyethyl terephthalate, commonly known as PET,
is a polyester, thermoplastic polymer. It is a plastic resin used
to make the strongest plastic for the manufacture of bottles and containers
for soft drinks, water, fruit juice, food, cosmetics, medicines, spirits
and hygiene and cleaning products among other things.
Having been used, this packaging makes up part of the mountains of
waste, representing 30% of the solid refuse collected in towns. It
is disposable but non-biodegradable so recycling is the alternative
to reduce the amount of discarded plastic material. Currently the
largest market for used PET is the manufacture of fibers to make multifilament
ropes, monofilament thread, and bristles for brushes, among other
applications.
The world market for PET packaging produced from recycled material
is undergoing wide expansion. Now, a growing up-market application
is in polyester fabrics. Using a process called Ecospun, reclaimed
plastic bottles are shredded, melted, and then transformed into 1-
to 3-inch-long fibers. The finished mass looks like a bale of cotton.
These fibers are made into yarn, and then fabric.
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