Return of a fabric

POLYESTER is back again. And this time it looks much better. After an initial roaring success in the '70s, when this petrochemical based fibre made a stunning impact (and later became embarrassing to wear) on the dressing style, polyester became a cliche, a way to say an archaic dressing sense' or 'sleazy'. But textile engineers did not loose hope. They kept on experimenting with it. New uses emerged. And finally it has become fashionable all over again. There are several reasons for the resurrection of polyester fabric. Technological developments have turned it

Wonder weed

Weeds are more often a nuisance., and so was the case with Banmara or Eupatorium adenophorum which was the bane of farmers in the eastern Himalaya and Uttar Pradesh. Shunned even by animals, the weed had no uses except for being used as an antiseptic and anti-bleeding agent at times by some locals. However, it is now being used to make high grade handmade paper which is providing gainful employ- ment opportunities in these areas and also has export potential. A green dye has also been extracted from Banmara which is being used in textile mills in place of synthetic

All Silk

How does the idea of silk-coats leather sound? Scientists at tic National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science Japan are working to realise the ideT with the help of Indem,*3 Petrochemical Co Ltd Silk, now only made into yarn fibip has been crushed to powder forzT for coating various mate 'al r, I S give them the sheen. The technolol involves boiling raw silk in sodium carbonate solution for a few houg and then crushing it is stages using fibroin powderi afi technique and precision crush]! (Science and Technology in Jap Vol 14, No 54).

Plastic clothes

AFTER cashmere, alpaca and mohair, the latest fad in the global textile market may well be recycled plastic clothes. Going by the recent developments in the chemical and textile industries, it may not be long before a sweater or a jacket made from recycled plastic bottles becomes an essential fashion accessory as much in demand as Bally shoes or Gucci leather items. At a press show in London recently, the Brasher boot company, a small British concern, launched Europe's first

Dying without killing the skin

Indian textiles using toxic dyes will be banned in Germany from July 1. Indian exporters, already struggling to adjust to 'environment friendly' production norms of the West, will have to juggle themselves afresh to tackle the German ban on azodyestuff. These have been found to release harmful amines which cause skin diseases.

DuPont goes green

Problems of pollution of the Rs 400-crore Thapar-DuPont project to manufacture nylon in Goa has become a bone of contention between the partners. Evidently, pollution control experts reporting directly to DuPont headquarters in the US have warned that more comprehensive planning has I to be done to control the 4 operational areas expected to cause pollution.

The protection racket

A RECENT study conducted by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Bombay shows that about 60 per cent of Indian exports go to the industrialised countries. This should be cause for immediate, close attention for anyone who is familiar with the growing trends in the environmental standards of internationally traded goods.

Green standards put india in the red

No sweat over this shirt

How often have you sat in an overcrowded bus on a summer day, irritated by the shirt sticking to your body, wet with sweat? Now, thanks to a new absorbent synthetic fibre, shirts may no longer adhere to the skin, and you may breathe free.

Bright colours, dark secret

A gaily coloured dress might be a visual treat, but the dyes used in them might hide a dark secret. Studies at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology in the US have revealed that treating azo dyes -- noxious effluents released by textile mills -- with hydroxyl ions may actually be doing more harm than good to the environment (Environmental Science and Technology, Vol 28, No 7).