WOOL SUBSTITUTES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXII, Issue 4641, 18 May 1938, Page 7

WOOL SUBSTITUTES

GROWTH IN ACTIVITY. A SERIOUS COMPETITOR. London, April 23. The challenge provided by substitutes for wool in the form of staple fibre (produced from wood) and lanital (produced from casein, which in turn is derived from milk) is to form one of the chief subjects of discussion when representatives of European and Dominion wool growers meet in London shortly. It is expected that a plan will be decided upon to promote the interest of the woollen industry generally and to avoid overlapping.

In Great Britain itself, in Germany, in Italy, and in Japan, there is a rapidly expanding trade in these substitutes for wool. It is likely that Holland may also become a producer of lanital, and the suggestion is evidently entertained by a Belgian engineer that New Zealand also may be interested in its production! At any rate, Dr. S. I. Vies has secured from Mr. G. W. Clinkard, New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Europe, an introduction to Mr. F. S. Arthur, the Dominion's representative on the International Secretariat in London.

Dr. Vies is acting on behalf of a large Dutch co-operative dairy organisation, which has engaged him as a technical adviser. The company, anticipates the manufacture of a substantial quantity of casein for the production of lanital under a special process which it has patented. It is expected that this artificial wool will be sold at Is a lb. (The price of scoured wool is in the vicinity of 13d a lb for medium crossbred and 20d a lb for finer grades).

Mr. Arthur understands that Dr. Vies, whom he has yet to meet, has already considered the possibility of the production of lanital in New Zealand under the patents held by his company. Not To Be Taken Lightly. "It looks like a case of taking the war into the enemy's camp," was Mr. Arthur's comment this week. "Dr. Vies will receive no encouragement from the secretariat, of course, but it shows the potential opposition wool growers hav« to face. Lanital is produced extensively in Italy, but it is considered that it does not hold the same threat to wool that staple fibre does. It has been proved that lanital has nothing like the wearing qualities of staple fibre, but it has also been discovered that by mixing, or coating, lanital wilth fish albumen its strength is greatly increased. "A German firm in Hamburg is interesting itself in the production of fish albumen, which, it claims can be used for several purposes. Many people have been deceived, and have been unable to tell the difference, for instance, between fish albumen cooked as scrambled egg and the real article. "Recently, the German company approached an English fishing concern and suggested that it should supply by contract 160,000 tons of white fish, which suggests that they are producing it on a big scale. "The increasing use of substitutes is one of the most serious things with which the wool industry has to contend to-day, and the competition of staple fibre, lanital, and other substitutes must not be regarded lightly. "A member of the secretariat has been wearing constantly a suit made with a large ' percentage of staple fibre, and finds, regretfully, that it wears extremely well."