Textile manufacturing

Textile manufacturing is a big and important industry. It involves turning fibre into yarn, and then into fabric. This fabric is often dyed or printed, and then made into cloth. The cloth can be used to create many useful things like clothing, household items, upholstery, and other products for people to use.

One of the most common fibres used is cotton. Cotton makes up about 90% of all-natural fibres used in making textiles. Many people like to wear cotton because it is comfortable in different kinds of weather. There are many steps and processes involved in making textiles, from spinning the yarn to creating the fabric and finishing it with colours and other treatments. These steps help create a wide variety of products that people use every day.

History

Textile manufacturing today started as a craft done in homes. For many centuries, people in places like India, Egypt, China, and Africa made their own clothes by hand. In the 1700s and 1800s, machines changed how fabrics were made. Since then, new discoveries in science and technology have kept improving the way we make textiles. The first book about making fabric was called "A Treatise on the Art of Weaving" by John Murphy.

Processing of cotton

Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In 2007, the global yield was 25 million tons from 35 million hectares cultivated in more than 50 countries.

There are six stages to the manufacturing of cotton textiles:

• Cultivating and Harvesting
• Preparatory Processes
• Spinning
• Weaving or Knitting
• Finishing
• Marketing

Cotton is grown where there are long, hot, dry summers with plenty of sunshine and low humidity. Different types of cotton, like Indian cotton and American cotton, are suited for different uses. The planting season is from September to mid-November, and the crop is harvested between March and June. Cotton bolls are harvested by special machines that remove the entire boll from the plant. These bolls contain seeds with fibres attached, which are later processed.

After harvesting, the cotton goes through several steps to become yarn and fabric. It is cleaned, spun into yarn, and then woven or knitted into cloth. The fabric can then be dyed, printed, and made into various products like clothing and household items.

Processing of other vegetable fibres

Flax

Main article: Flax

Flax is a type of plant fibre that grows under the bark of the Linum usitatissimum plant. After the plant flowers and is harvested, it goes through several steps like retting, breaking, scutching, and hackling before being treated similar to cotton.

Jute

Main article: Jute

Jute is a plant fibre from the inner bark of Corchorus plants. Like flax, it is retted, then dried and baled. A small amount of oil is added when spinning it, and it can be bleached and dyed. Jute was traditionally used for sacks and bags but is now often used as backing for carpets. It can also be mixed with other fibres to create new fabrics.

Hemp

Main article: Hemp

Hemp is a fibre from the inner bark of the Cannabis sativa plant. It is not easy to bleach and is mainly used for making cord and rope. It undergoes retting, separating, and pounding.

Other bast fibres

Other plant fibres used for eco-friendly textile production include kenaf, ramie, nettle, and urena.

Other leaf fibres

Sisal is the main fibre from leaves, with others being abacá and henequen.

Processing of wool and silk

Wool

Wool comes from sheep and is used to make two types of yarn: woolens and worsteds. Woolens have fibres arranged sideways, making soft yarn that traps air. Worsteds have fibres lined up, creating strong and smooth yarn.

Sheep can have different types of wool coats. Some have a soft under layer and a tougher outer layer, which can be processed separately or mixed together. Virgin wool is wool that has never been used before. The wool is cut off the sheep in one piece and cleaned before being made into yarn.

Silk

Silk comes from silkworms and is processed in ways similar to cotton. Silk is sorted, washed, and dried. It is then twisted and stretched to make it strong enough for weaving. The silk is dyed and woven into fabric using special machines.

Environmental consequences of wool and silk manufacture

Making wool and silk needs land. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves, while sheep eat grass and other plants. Sheep, like other animals that chew their food slowly, release CO₂ into the air. Their pastures sometimes use fertiliser, which can also increase emissions.

Processing of synthetic fibres

Main article: Synthetic fibre

Synthetic fibres are special materials made by scientists to improve on natural fibres from animals and plants. These fibres are created by pushing materials through small holes, called spinnerets, to form threads. Before synthetic fibres, people used natural cellulose from plants to make fibres.

The first artificial fibre, called art silk, was developed in 1799. It later became known as viscose around 1894 and then rayon in 1924. Another fibre, cellulose acetate, was discovered in 1865. Rayon and acetate are made from wood, so they are not truly synthetic. Nylon, the first fully synthetic fibre, appeared in the United States as a replacement for silk and was used for parachutes and other important items.

The way these fibres are turned into yarn is similar to natural fibres, but changes are needed because synthetic fibres are very long and lack the natural texture that helps fibres mesh together. Unlike natural fibres, synthetic fibres are made from fossil fuels, so they do not need farmland.