Fionna's Fabric Research March 2022

Fabric is fabricated.

Fabric is made by weaving together thread in a specific pattern and volume. Process of fabric begins with plant fibers or synthetic fibers. Material composition, thread construction, structure and weight, specific weave or pattern construction, including density may dictate the fabric’s identity. For example, Gabardine and Ventile are types of fabric that can be made from various fibers.

The implications of war on the fashion industry are profound. Scarcity of resources caused industrialization in all sectors of life including fashion. Technological developments caused huge changes in the market by introducing a new wave of products. Synthetic fabrics are engineered for performance and affordability.

About each of the natural fibers, I want to investigate who has been major producers and exporters through time. I want to know how war and politics affect what is on the market. Cotton, wool, flax, and silk make up what I call “the divine four” from my early research and thoughts. Natural fibers are abundant and rapidly renewable though human population has outgrown its availability in the last hundred years.

Flax is apparently the oldest known fiber humans have been using for fabric. It appears around 5000 BC. Egyptian linens (shrouds) in burial grounds.

Cotton 3000 to 5000 BC. Egyptian evidence earlier 2500 BC. Eli Whitney 1793 cotton gin. Power loom 1884 brought improvement and variation.

Wool. 3000 BC (late Stone Age) Apparently, there are 40 breeds of wool producing sheep and 200 types of wool with variations. 

Silk 2600 BC The production includes 2 continuous filaments cemented together used to form cocoon of silkworm. 1725 BC brings the silk culture due to emperor's wife. Chinese guarded soak secrets for 3000 years.

I want to determine how cultures around the world use these natural fibers and what it has meant to them over time. There are so many legends surrounding natural fibers. For instance, the origin of silk is highly mythologized. The most common one is that a princess discovered silk thousands of years ago. Theres another story of a Chinese Prince and Indian Princess which brings silk to India. Another one about two monks.

The following countries appear to be major players the natural fiber industry: Producers are the Soviet states, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, China, India, America, Australia, New Zealand, China, South Africa, Argentina, Japan. Exporters are Northern Ireland and Belgium.

Birth of Artificial Fibers

The industrial revolution transformed every industry, and fabric production was no exception. Apparently, it was an early adopter of the steam engine which was powered by fossil fuel. The race to the moon was only possible because of the race to find synthetic silk beginning in the 19^th century.

Synthetic fibers are crafted to increase comfort, drape, color fastness / dyeability, precision of weave, tensile / abrasive strength, blending with other materials. For the consumer, they are marketed as easy to launder and afford. Additives provide even more qualities such as flame retardancy, wrinkle and stain resistance, and antimicrobial properties. The composition of synthetic fibers and additives leads to distinct physical properties which achieve the desired overall function. In the 70’s people became conscience of fireproofing their clothes, probably fueled by corporate propaganda, which stimulated the demand for flame resistant fabric. The US federal trade commission established generic names and definitions to identify synthetic fibers. By the 1950s, the basic array of synthetic fibers we know today had been discovered. Refinement of physical and chemical properties has led humanity to creating Kevlar which is bullet proof and Nomex which is fire/electricity proof. Later Many synthetic fibers and films are fossil fuel / petro chemical based such as acrylic, nylon, polyester and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The search for artificial silk began in the 19^th century. An1855 patent we're all granted in England 2 SWV's chemist (alchemist) Audemaurs. The process begins with the inner bark of Mulberry which is then dissolved and chemically modified to produce cellulose. Needles are dipped in a fiber bath and drawn out to form threads. In the early 1880s, Sir Joseph W Swan, an English chemist and electrician, attempts to extrude the solution. Miss Swan crafted fabrics to showcase the materials potential. Thomas Edison’s electric lamp used carbon filaments which would soon be replaced by rayon. The first commercial production French.

1891 Rayon is produced in Europe by French chemist count Hilaire de Chardonnet (known as the father of the rayon industry). Eventually, Rayon manufacturing can produce fabric which is half as expensive as silk.  

1910 Rayon is produced in the USA. American Viscose Corporation (formed by Samuel courtyards and company Ltd) introduces artificial silk to the market. It is the first commercial synthetic fabric in America, and only producer of rayon in the US for a long time. Cellulose based, viscos and cuprammonium.

1924 Acetate comes to the US. It was first produced by a Celanese corporation.

1939 Nylon is first produced in the US by American chemist Wallace Carothers working for Dupont. Nylon was called the “miracle fabric”, known for its strength and versatility. It is formed from two stretches of six carbon atoms each, it is formed entirely from petrochemicals. It replaces silk and cotton in World War II as parachutes and tents. Toothbrushes were the first product, then stockings soon after. It revolutionized the market before and after war. As the war ended energy and resources became focused domestically and synthetic fabrics continued to rise. Soon, the global market began to reflect a growing demand for synthetic fibers, the US would dominate this rising industry.

1941 Polyester. First examined as a part of Wallace Carothers’s early research with Dupont in the 1930’s. The first production is in Calico, Great Britain. JT Dickinson and Jr. Winfield produced polyester fiber by condensation polymerization of ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid. DuPont acquires patent rights in US and imperial chemical industries (ICI) globally.

1950 Acrylic is a nylon offshoot with wool-like qualities.

1954 Triacetate Celanese. US domestic triacetate production seized in 1985.

1959 Spandex. Elastomeric stretches 100% and snaps back to her original shape like natural rubber. Used in filament form.

1961 Polyolefin / poly propylene. Hercules incorporated US.

1989 Microfiber/micro denier EI DuPont. uses a variety of synthetic fiber. Microfiber means less than one denier / filament. Finer than silk, human hair is 100 times as thick as microfiber.

1993 Lyocell. Produced by Courtauld’s UK fabric manufacturer. Produced from wood pulp. Effluent “flowing out or forth”.

Landmark Events and Market Changes

In 1939 cotton was 80% of all fiber production. 1945 sees 75% cotton, wool / natural fabrics or 10%, and synthetic fabrics at 15%. In 1953, polyester is apparently the most abundant synthetic fiber on the US market. By the 1960s synthetic fabric was 40% of the market. 1966 saw the first and only fiber Nobel Prize. Neil Armstrong, dressed entirely in synthetic materials, implanted a nylon flag on the moon in 1969. Polyester makes up 54% of the market today. Nylon is second most abundant synthetic fabric.

Limitations of Synthetic Fibers

Some fibers are hydrophilic meaning they will swell with water and consequently lose structural integrity. Die oxidizes in sunlight and causes fading and possibly molecular degradation.UV damages most synthetic fabrics and their strength decrease in sunlight. Polyester is more resistant to UV damage than nylon. All fabrics degrade from radiation just as skin does though you cannot replace your skin.

SOURCES

It was TextileSchool.com that provided me with basic information on dates and timeline back in 2022. In the synthetic fiber overview, I also took notes on an article from Andy Kirkpatrick. This is a preliminary exploration which becomes a springboard for “real” research going forward.

My Original Document is called "FABRIC MATTERS" What I know about fabric dated March 1st, 2022