Renewable Fibers
Renewable Fibers
Renewable fibers are the biodegradable fibers. Many plants has been be classified under renewable fibers. Some of them are organic cotton, bamboo, jute, hemp. There are also organic wool and silk. These renewable fibers are very much in demand today. The reason is they are eco-friendly and can be recycled.
Advantages of Renewable Fibers
Renewable fibers have more merits than demerits. One of the advantages is renewable fibers are easily biodegradable. The renewable fibers are grown using the organic technology. The manure used for these plants are compost fertilizers. The pesticides used are natural pesticides. The organic cotton farmers use ladybug as the pesticide. This has the ability to kill the pesticides that affect the cotton plans. There are no herbicides and defoliants used in organic cultivation. Therefore, it is more eco-friendly. In short, the renewable fibers can be grown without any chemicals that are toxic to the environment.
Type of Renewable Fibers
There are different varieties of renewable fibers. They include the following.
1. Bamboo is one of the renewable fibers. It is most commonly harvested in China. Bamboo is a grass fiber. However, there is not much demand for bamboo fibers. Apart from that, bamboo is the main food of the panda population. Therefore, there are restrictions on the commercial usage of bamboo.
2. Organic cotton is grown without using the toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The fertilizers used for organic cotton is the natural fertilizers. Natural pest controls like lady bugs are used by the organic cotton farmers. Organic cotton is used by apparel companies and there is an ever growing demand for it.
3. Another renewable fiber is hemp. Hemp is considered as one of the best renewable fiber. Hemp is used to make organic foot wears for children, men and women. It is a strong natural fiber which has a natural resistant to pests. Another feature of hemp is that it has the ability to resist bacteria and mold. Hemp has the property to block UV rays.
4. Linen is one of the commonly used renewable fibers. It is stalk fiber which has the qualities of hemp.
5. Both conventional and organic wool fall under the category of renewable fiber. However, the studies show that organic wool is better degradable than the conventional one. The reason is that conventional wool production does not take into consideration the toxic pesticides that are sprayed on the animal and the land, the feed of the sheep and so on.
6. Silk is the strongest protein renewable fiber. The silk is spun from the silk worms. The cultivation of the silk worm uses organic technology.
Manmade Renewable Fiber
Most of the renewable fibers are natural fibers. Apart from the natural fibers, there is manmade fiber. This fiber is known as the tencel. Tencel is fiber made from the wood pulp. The pulp is harvested from the man managed forests. This fiber is made keeping in mind the environmental concerns. The processing of the tencel does not use any toxic solvent. The fabrics made from tencel are totally biodegradable, absorbent and breathable. This fiber is slowly catching up with the other renewable fibers.