ARTIFICIAL FIBRES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23011, 12 April 1938, Page 9

ARTIFICIAL FIBRES

EFFECT ON WOOL TRADE NO SERIOUS COMPETITION ENGLISH MANUFACTURER'S VIEW [BY TKLKGEAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Monday 111 spite of the efforts' of research workers to devise or discover some substitute for wool, the fleece of the sheep, which means so much to New Zealand, is likely to remain unrivalled for the manufacture of clothing, according to Mr. J. R. Shires, a woollen manufacturer of Huddersfield, England, who was a passenger by the Empress of

Britain when she arrived at Wellington yesterday. Mr. Shires said that as long as the price of wool was maintained at something like the present level there was no fear of serious competition, from any other type of fibre. "About a jear ago fine wool prices soared in England and at once substitutions were made to cheapen the cost of producing fabric," added Mr. Shires. "The manufacturer had no other means of' sellingat a popular priced 1 . ' . i "In Germany and Italy determined efforts are being made to find substitutes for wool, but artificial fibres have none of the qualities that render wool ideal for clothing," he continued. "People are loth to use substitutes and ! cannot be forced to do so. Rayon and j artificial silk, and the modern tendency j toward lighter clothing, have undoubt- ; edly had an adverse effect on the over- ! eeas market for Australian and New Zealand wool. It has affected, too, sales of coarser wools, which are in less demand. English manufacturers, however, do not wish to push the price any lower, and they realise that the producer must have a fair price if he is to maintain the quality and bulk of his output. . ? ; "In England the price of clothing is more or less fixed," said Mr. Shires. "Suits can be had from 50s upward and the manufacturer has to take this into account. If wool prices rise he has no choice but to substitute some cheaper, fibre."