Consumer guide

Something old, something new...

Many new and innovative fibres that are being embraced as eco-friendly, may actually have been around for a long time. They may have been forgotten since they have not been as easy to process as cotton in a modern industrial setting. But now they are finding their way back in to the fashion business because of their sustainable profiles.

Banana Fabric
Banana trees were widely used for making fabrics before cotton was affordable and readily available. Now “jusi” banana fabric is made in only a handful of places in Southeast Asia. The raw materials come from the stem that farmers leave in the garden after a banana harvest. The tree stalks and leaves are removed and processed into a pliable fibre. Different layers of the stem yield fibers for specific uses: the outer layer's fibers are generally used for table cloths while the third layer makes the finest, silkiest fabric, suitable for kimonos and saris. Many Nepalese rugs are made from bleached and dried fibers of the banana plant that are hand-knotted into silk-like rugs. (Source: Ethical Fashion Forum)

Coffee Grounds
In Taiwan the textile firm Singtex has begun using discarded coffee grounds from Starbucks and 7-Eleven to produce melt-spun polyester yarns and fabrics that are said to give improved UV-, odour- and moisture-management properties. Which is perfect for sportswear, and keeps coffee waste from landfills. The fabric is perfect for mid and base layers for adrenalin-powered sports, and the S.Café treatment meets Bluesign standards and is said to use the grounds of only one cup of coffee to make material for a couple of t-shirts. S.Café yarns come in the shades “latte” and “decaf”. (Source: EcoTextileNews)

Milk fiber
This is actually not a new fiber at all. Milk fiber was invented in 1930’s in Italy and America to compete with wool. The fibrr known as ARALAC, Lanatil, Merinova all different brands for the same fiber manufactured from milk casein fell victim to their minor flaws and the war.Though in the 1940’s the fibers were quite popular in America and Europe the market for it collapsed due to World War II. Now regenerated, these fibers are by some said to be more efficient and durable than any other fiber invented before or existing today. Milk fiber is a new synthetic fiber, which adopts milk protein as main material and high-technical process. Milk fiber has the advantages natural fiber combined with synthetic fiber. Milk fiber PH is 6.8 which is the same to human skin. Milk fiber contains seventeen amino-acids and natural anti-bacterial rate is above eighty percent. So milk fiber has sanitarian function.