Banana:Eco Friendly Fibre Used for Household Articles

Like agriculture, textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the dawn of civilization. In India, a growing shortage of natural fibre producers led the researchers to develop new environmental friendly textile and its products. Some eco-friendly fibre fashions are Bamboo, Banana, Aloe Vera, Coir, Corn, Jute, Pine Apple etc. Banana Fibre is more in production in our country and used for many purposes like as household items, dress, ropes etc. Banana is a fast growing and high yielding plant. India is the largest producer of banana next to mango. Banana is essentially hot climate plants. Now-a-day, it is also gaining importance as a source of fibres. Banana has important place in our mythology. They have more lignified and rougher surface fibers than cotton and kapok and soft fibers such as flax, ramie, jute and hemp. The principal constituents of banana fibre are cellulose intermingled with hemi-cellulose and lignin. Banana as natural fibre made from bast has been used in Southeast Asian countries but most of these fibres were too thick to be used in textiles. Being a rich source of natural fibres, the pseudostem can be profitably utilized for numerous applications and preparation of various products. Application of banana fibre for manufacturing textiles is a new concept in India. Banana fibre can be easily blended with cotton or other synthetic fibres to produce blended fabric and textiles. Currently, it is mainly used by cottage industry in Southern India. Banana fibre has the potential to partially replace the consumption of cotton and jute fibre in India. Banana fibre also finds use in high quality security/ currency paper, packing cloth for agriculture produce, ships towing ropes, wet drilling cables and others. Our banana fibre supplier is the first one in the world who is able to produce finer textile fibres.