Eco Friendly Textiles Fibers|| Green Textile|| Organic textile Fibers and their use.

                                      Green Textiles/Eco Friendly textile fibers is a new word for  a
 textile engineer or technologist. Minimizing impact of textiles to the environment, during textile production & processing, is the main object of Eco Friendly textile. It is a new concept of green economy. A lot of research goes on textile dyeing process on the aspect of green environment. But unfortunately, there have no remarkable research on fibre & fabrics. Here I want discuss about different kind of eco friendly textile fibers. At first we want to know what is eco friendly textile fibers or organic fibers?

 Organic fibers production is a system of growing cotton without synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides, conventional synthetic insecticides, growth regulators, growth stimulator, boll openers or defoliants. It is a system that contributes to healthy soils and/or people. The organic system promotes enhanced biological activity, encourages sustainability and commands proactive management of production. Now we discuss about different kind of fibers that can cultivate in organic system.

Organic Cotton: Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture. Organic cotton is grown and processed without toxic chemicals that can be absorbed easily when in contact with the user's skin. Pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals used to grow and process conventional cotton fabrics may go directly to the users blood stream, which consequently affects the body's organs and tissues.

Organic Cotton and Organic Wool.

Organic wool: Insecticides are used to control mange, mites, lice, files, and other pests on sheep herds. In order to be certified livestock need to feed on natural vegetation matter with bio fertilizers, cleaning agents and natural insecticides. In order to wool to be certified as “organic,” it must be produced in accordance with federal standards for organic livestock production.

Improved properties:

Excellent insulation and thermal properties.

Excellent softness and absorbency.

Organic Silk: Organic silk or vegetarian silk is made from the cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk months of India and China. In its production the pupae are not stifled or killed to obtain reeled yarn but the open-ended cocoons are spun into yarn.

Improved properties

    Greater degree of fiber purity, resulting in better yarn luster and uniformity than normal spun silk.

 Since the fiber is spun, it has better fiber strength and durability.

Hemp: Few pesticides or fertilizers are used to cultivate organic hemp. It requires far less fertilizers and pesticides than most commercial crops. Eco friendly substitute of linen.

Hemp’s extraordinary qualities: it helps in conditions soil, clear noxious weeds, 3 times the tensile strength of cotton, stain resistant, mould and bacteria restant, moth and silverfish resistant, fire and heat resistant.

Seacell: this fiber is derived from wood pulp and seaweed (algae) that, according to its manufacturer Smart fiber AG, actually diffuses its protective and anti-inflammatory properties into the skin, stimulating the metabolism. It's like your clothes are living! Totally intriguing. We've never tried it ourselves. This Seacell Emotion Matters gets into the details a little more, like how it's "a mattress whose removable cover contains microscopic particles of marine algae fiber that aid in cellular regeneration."

Lenpur: this biodegradable fabric is made from white pine tree clippings, and "offers the comfort of silk, the touch of cashmere and the lightness of linen." Lenpur's website states that it's a cut above the other cellulose fibers due to its softness, its absorption capacity and ability to release dampness, and its ability to sustain a higher thermal range —thus keeping you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Lyocell: this fiber is made from biodegradable wood pulp using chemical-free processes. Non-toxic solvents are used in its production and then recycled, creating a manufacturing process with very little byproduct. (However, it sounds like it still uses a ton of energy, so it's not perfect.) It can be blended with other fibers to create fabrics like SeaCell (Lyocell and Seaweed, shown above) and Hempcel (Lyocell and Hemp).

Soysilk: this lesser known 100% biodegradable eco friendly fabric is made from tofu-manufacturing waste. Soy protein is liquefied and then stretched into long, continuous fibers that are cut and processed like any other spinning fiber. Because soy has high protein content, the fabric is very receptive to natural dyes, so there's no need for synthetic dyes.

Stingplus Nettle Fabric: Get ready for it... the buzz is that this fabric may be the most sustainable fabric ever. The fabric is woven from the stinging nettle, which "produces a uniquely strong, soft and naturally fire retardant textile fibre" and, blended with pure new wool, it is "the ultimate environmental upholstery solution." The 100% Design Exhibition in London awarded Camira Fabrics, the manufacturer of STING plus, the 2008 Award for Sustainable Product Design. The fabric is also made with metal-free dyes and is certified to be biodegradable within 28 days.

There are some other Fibers like Bamboo, Pineapple leaf fibers, Banana Leaf fibers. Regenerated bottle into polyester fiber.

Banana Tree Fibers

Bamboo Fibers

Reasons for organic cotton production
There are many harmful chemicals that people do not know about. Twelve of these chemicals are known as persistent organic pollutants or POPs, which are the most hazardous of all man-made products or wastes that cause deaths, birth defects and diseases among humans and animals. They are so dangerous that 120 nations agreed at a United Nations Environment Programmer conference to outlaw them. Of the 151 signatories to the convention 98 states have ratified it; sadly the United States and Russia have not yet done so. There are three of those chemicals used in cotton manufacturing. The following are the main factors responsible for organic cotton production:

Chemical Names	Agri. Use	Human Toxicity	Environ.   Toxicity
Chlorpynfos	Insects	Brain and fetal damage, impotence, sterility.	Bees, birds, crustaceans,&mollusks
Cyanazine	Weeds	Birth defects, cancer.	Bees, birds, crustaceans, & fish.
Dicofol	Mites,   insecticide.	Cancer, reproductive damage, tumors	Aquatic insects, birds, & fish
Ethephon	Plant growth regulator	Mutations.	Birds, bees, crustaceans, & fish.
Chemical Name	Agri. Use	Human  Toxicity	Environ.   Toxicity
Metam Sodium	Insects, nematodes, fungus, weeds.	Birth defects, fetal damage, mutations	Bees & fish.
Methyl Parathion	Insecticide.	Birth defects, fetal damage, reproductive & immune system.	Birds, bees, crustaceans, & fish.
Profenofos	Insecticide & miticide.	Eye damage, skin irritant.	Birds, bees, & fish.
Prometryn	Herbicide.	Bone marrow, kidney, liver, testicular damage.	Bees, birds, crustaceans, fish, & mollusks.
Chemical Name	Agri. Use	Human Toxicity	Environ.   Toxicity
Propargite	Miticide.	Cancer, Fetal & eye damage, mutations, tumors.	Bees, birds, crustaceans, & fish.
Sodium Chlorate	Leaf drop & weeds.	Kidney damage & methemoglobinemia	Birds & fish.
Tribufos	Leaf drop.	Cancer, tumors.	Birds & fish.
Trifluralin	Herbicide.	Cancer, fetal damage, teratogen, suspect mutagen.	Amphibians, aquatic insects, bees, birds, crustaceans, & fish.

Why people Want to use Organic Fibers?

Advantage of Bamboo fiber product.

• Concern for the environment: Fertilizers and pests applied to the soil, but all the chemicals are not taken up by the cotton plant. Some elements are released into the environment while others leach into the soil and also pollute water.
• Concern for family health: Danger of Insecticide inhalation by the spray men during back mounted manual spraying without any protective equipment.
• Lifestyle: Some people were interested in insecticide free cotton apparel due to allergies.
• To reduce input prices: Insecticide use changed the insect complex in many countries. Some minor insects became major and certain new insects were introduced. Consequently, there was an increase in the consumption of insecticides.

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Writer and editor SABBIR

I am Nur Mohammed From comilla,Bangladesh.I studied in Textile Engineering and very much fond of blogging; so try to write about Textile