DEMAND FOR SILK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 9 March 1926, Page 9

DEMAND FOR SILK.

THE ARTIFICIAL ARTICLE.

A GREAT NEW INDUSTRY. Those who have followed the development of artificial silk will be little surprised by a cable message, which stated that the best-known Engfish firm in the trade made a net profit last year of £4,411,000 (says a writer in the New Zealand Herald). Undoubtedly artificial silk has come to stay. It. does not possess all the qualities of the natural aricle, but enough of them to capture the fancy of women the world over. Already it is an essential ingredient of nearly every womans’ wardrobe, and the mere man, whether he is aware of it or not, carries about much artificial silk in neckties, socks and shirts. By a reversal of the usual process, the increased supply of artificial silk has created a demand, and an insatiable one,” for goods made from it, A couple of decades ago silk garments were within the reach of but few. Only the product of the silkworm was to be had, and since the silkworm could not be speeded up to meet the demands of modern industry his output went to the well-to-do. Folk with smaller means had to put up with wool and cotton.

To-day all is changed. Science and the resources of modern industry are producing fabrics which could not have been made a few years ago save at prohibitive cost. Not only are they beautiful in texture and lustre, but the colours, thanks to chemical research, are bewilderingly varied and rich. The feminine world needed no urging to buy. The new textiles found a ready sale at once, and in a few short years they have revolutionised women’s dress. AKIN TO GUNCOTTON. Artificial silk was invented a considerable time ago. It is made from cellulose, and is really a harmless cousin to guncotton. At first it was used in a restricted way under the name of “mercerised cotton,” often in combination with cotton itself. The industry was beginning to develop when the war came. All factories using cellulose were requisitioned for explosives, and artificial silk ceased to be made.

When peace came again there was a slow revival. Women discovered that hose of the new material could not easily be distinguished from those of real silk. For millions of them the dream of a lifetime w'as realised. Cotton hose went into the discard, and are likely to remain there for the rest of time.’

In pre-war days the Germans had led research into the properties of cellulose, and it was clear that they intended to take up the work again in earnest. Several English newspapers, headed by the Daily Mail, saw what was ahead, and urged British capita] to make a new British industry while there was time. Factories soon sprang up, not only in England, but also in America, France, Germany Italy, Czecho-Slovakia, Holland, and other European countries.' Since then the industry has never really looked back. Last July the British Government, seeing in it a source of revenue, placed excise duties of Is a pound on artificial silk yarn and 6d a pound on waste, but the demand was not noticeably affected. It is conceded that in many classes of fabrics natural silk still holds its own. Dress materials of pure, genuine silk cannot be readilv imitated by the artificial product. This applies specially to silks of Oriental origin. Moreover. there is a certain feminine pride which has to be reckoned with. “If a woman wants a silk dress she generally ends bv getting a silk one,” said one man in the trade.

THIN, BUT WARM CLOTH US. But admitting this, there is still a vast field for the synthetic article. Hosiery, as has been said, leads the way. Now that good near-silk stockings are to be had, skirts have become short and ever shorter. It is predicted that they will never lengthen again. Then there is lingerie. Industry has placed at the modern woman’s disposal materials which have all the delicate softness of the real silks which not long since were unattainable luxuries, and because of their surprising warmth women wear them in winter and summer alike. That is not all. Artificial silk is mixed with real silk, wool, or cotton to make a wonderful range of brocades, georgettes, crepes, marocains, and other fabrics, to which it gives a most attractive lustre Furnishing textiles —brocades, taffetas, damasks, and tapestries —also come into its scope, and give an added richness to modern rooms.