History of Fiber

History of Fiber

Natural fibers have been used for clothing and household textiles for thousands of years, with the use of wool going back over 4000 years. For comparison, the manmade fiber industry began with the first commercial production of rayon in 1910.
For those old enough to remember the 50s and 60s, it was because there was a great piece of technology happens in the manmade fiber industry. And technology continues even today. Microfibers, fibers finer than the finest silk, was developed in 1989 and lyocell, was developed in 1993. Today, many synthetic fibers, including polyester have been developed into beautiful fabrics that are used by great designers. Natural Fibers

The story of the most important natural fibers used in textiles for apparel and home textiles

FLAX - 5000 + BC

• Generally considered to be the oldest natural textile fiber.
• Fine linen was used as burial shrouds for the Egyptian pharaohs
• largest producer: Soviet states, other major manufacturers, including Poland, Germany, Belgium and France. Largest exporters are Northern Ireland and Belgium.

COTTON - 3000 + BC

• Earliest use estimated between 3,000 BC - 5000 BC.
• worn by Egyptians earlier than 2,500 BC.
• Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793, revolutionized the treatment of cotton.
• The development of the power loom in 1884 brought significant improvements and changes of cotton fabrics.
• Major producers: United States, Soviet States, China and India. Owner producers include Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, Iran and Sudan.

WOOL - 3000 BC

• Used by people in the Neolithic,
• There are 40 different breeds of sheep, which produce around 200 types of wool in various grades.
• The biggest producers are: Australia, New Zealand, Soviet States, China, South Africa and Argentina.

SILK - 2600 BC

• Believed discovered by a Chinese princess.
• Silk is made from two continuous fibers cemented together and used to form the cocoon of the silkworm.
• silk culture began around 1725 BC, sponsored by the wife of China's emperor.
• Secrets of cultivation and production of drugs was closely monitored by the Chinese for about 3000 years.
• There is a story that two monks smuggled seeds of the mulberry tree and silkworm eggs out of China by hiding them in their walking sticks.
• India learned of silk culture when a Chinese princess married an Indian prince.
• The largest producer and exporter of silk is Japan.

Artificial fibers

The history of U.S. production of the main manmade fibers used in textiles for apparel and home textiles

It is important to understand that all the fibers are not uniform. Each fiber has a unique composition and its own set of physical properties. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has established generic names and definitions for manufactured fibers, including acetate, acrylic, lyocell, modacrylic, nylon, polyester, polypropylene (olefin), rayon and spandex. But all fibers of a generic name is not quite the same.

Fiber producers have been able to alter the basic composition of each generic fiber, both chemically and physically, to produce variations which give a softer feel, greater comfort, brighter / longer-lasting colors, better heating / cooling, moisture transport / wicking, and better properties for blending with other fibers. These improved fibers have a brand name and is owned and promoted by fiber producer. The following is a list of manufacturers of fibers and their marks.