NATURAL

FIBRES
                             WOOL

– The wool comes from animals like sheep, goat, yak, camel,
llama and alpaca. The wool yielding animals bear a thick coat
of hair on their body. The hair which gives us wool and keeps
them warm during the cold winter season. The hair (wool) on
the body of wool-yielding animals trap a lot of air. Air spaces
between the wool fibres trap air. Since the air is a poor
conductor of heat. So, the air trapped in hair shields the body
from cold and keeps them warm in winter.

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–The fine soft under-hair provide the fibre for making wool. To obtain breeds of sheep
that possess only fine under hair, their parents are carefully chosen. This process of
selecting parents for obtaining special characters in their offspring such as soft under
hair in sheep is termed as selective breeding. Such sheep give not only better quality of
wool but the yield per sheep is also higher.

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CHARACTERSTICS OF WOOL

– Wool has natural UV protection

–Sheep wool has a natural UV protection factor
of up to 30+!  Wool naturally absorbs the suns
UV rays before it can make contact with your
skin; by wearing wool you will be protected
against the sun harmful rays.
 Wool has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties
– 

–The thin waxy coating of wool fibre contains fatty

acids that inhibit the growth of mold, mildew and
bacteria.  The same coating repels water that can cause
mildew and mold to grow. This means that woolen
items do not need regular washing and will smell fresh
after repeated use, unlike synthetic fibres.

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–Wool is stain resistant
–The waxy outer coating of wool helps to repel liquids,
meaning if you spill anything on your knitwear it is most likely
to roll off, and what is left is easily wiped off. 

–. Wool is easy to care for

–It's a well known fact that woolen items do not need regular
washing. Bacteria causing odour is naturally inhibited by fatty
acids that coat wool fibre. Static, which attracts lint, dirt and
dust, is also inhibited by this waxy coating. The scaly surface
area of fibre acts to block dirt and stains from being absorbed.
Instead, particles sit on top which means they are much easier
to remove.

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–The wool is
obtained mainly
from animals like
sheep, yak and
goat. Wool is
acquired from
the fleece or hair
of these animals.
–Figure 1:
Animals that yield
wool
–Rearing and Breeding of Sheep for Wool
–Rearing: It is a process of breeding, feeding and providing medical care to sheep.
These animals are kept since they produce one or more useful products for the human
beings.
–Breeding: Some special breeds of sheep are specially chosen to give birth to sheep
which have only soft under hair. This process of selecting parents for obtaining special
characters in their offspring is termed as ‘selective breeding’. 

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–Step 1: Shearing
–It is a process of removing the fleece of the sheep along with a thin layer of
its skin. Shearing is conducted generally in hot weather so that the sheep do
not feel cold and can survive easily. The shearing process does not hurt the
sheep because the upper part of the skin is normally dead skin.
–Step 2: Scouring
–It is a process of removing dirt, grease and dust from the hair removed from
the sheep. It is generally done with the help of machines.
–Step 3: Sorting
–It is the process of separating the hair of the sheep according to their textures.
–Step 4: Removing of burrs
–In this step, the burrs or small fibres present on the hair are picked out. Then
the hair is cleaned and dried out. The product so obtained is the wool that can
now be converted into fibres.
–Step 5: Coloring of wool fibres
–In this step, the fibres are dyed in different colours.
–Step 6: Rolling of wool
–In the last step, the fibres for wool so obtained is straightened out combed
and then rolled into a yarn.
                                   SILK

– Silk from Animals

– Silk is a natural protein fibre which is obtained from silkworm and
can be used as a textile fibre.
– The different types of silk are produced by different types of
silkworms.
– It can be differentiated on the basis of lustre and texture. Few
examples are Kosa, tassar, mooga, etc. They are produced by various
types of silk moths. One of the common types is the mulberry silk
moth.
Composition: The silk Elasticity: Silk fibre is Strength: Silk as a fibre,
fibre is chiefly an elastic fibre and may has good tensile
composed of 80% of be stretched from 1/7 to strength, which allows it
fibroin, which is protein 1/5 of its original length to withstand great
in nature and 20% of before breaking. It tends pulling pressure. Silk is
sericin, which is to return to its original the strongest natural
otherwise called as silk size but gradually loses fibre and has moderate
gum. little of its elasticity. abrasion resistance. The
This would mean that strength of the thrown
the fabric would be less yarns is mainly due to
sagging and less binding the continuous length of
Resilience: Silk fabrics resulting in the wearers the fibre. Spun silk yarn
retain their shape and comfort. though strong is weaker
have moderate resistance
than thrown silk
to wrinkling. Fabrics
filament yarns.
that are made from short
– staple spun silk have
less resilience. CHARACTERSTICS OF SILK
EXTRACTION OF SILK

– Firstly, as the cocoons are acquired they are kept under the sun
or boiled so that the Silk fibres can separate out from them.
– Then, the reeling of the silk takes place. It is a process in which
the cocoon’s threads are processed to be used as silk.
– The silk fibres thus obtained are drawn and rolled into threads.
HEALTH PROBLEMS OF WORKERS IN
WOOL AND SILK INDUSTRIES

– Respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis etc., are very

common among these workers. ...
– The workers suffer from various skin infections.
– Other health problems include headache, fever, back pain, neck
pain etc.

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