ANY FUTURE ON A SHEEP'S BACK?

Korero (AEWS), Volume 2, Issue 4, 28 February 1944, Page 18

ANY FUTURE ON A SHEEP'S BACK?

ARTIFICIAL FIBRES WILL BE BIGGER FACTOR AFTER WAR

By

in Salt, Australian Army Education Journal

Say you are a shopkeeper, selling a number of lines, one of which makes up over half your total sales. If your customers begin to tell you that somebody else is selling a substitute at half the price, you begin to ask questions about your own product and about the substitute. This is the Australian woolgrowers’ worry to-day. Australian wool formed about one-half of all Australian exports. Australians have been hearing rumours about synthetic fibres. They have been forced to use them because of war conditions in the wool textile trade. Now they are beginning to ask questions about wool and these synthetic fibres. Until sixty years ago the whole textile field belonged to the “ natural fibres ” —wool, silk, cotton, flax, hemp, and so on. In 1884 Chardonnet, a Frenchman, produced the first artificial fibres from nitrocellulose. This was the first of the rayons (or cellulosic artificial fibres), now common in stockings.

out through tiny holes into spinning baths, or warm air, forming threads of rayon. Rayons have been called “ artificial silk ” and “ wood wool.” But their basis is cellulose, whereas silk and wool are “ protein.” Gradually scientists found that cellulose had very definite limitations, and attempts were made to coat the fibre surface with protein material, to get better effects. This in turn led to the use of cheap sources of protein material for a new group of artificial fibres- the protein artificial fibres.

Cellulose is a very cheap raw material, forming part of the walls of vegetable cells, in trees, cotton, bamboo, hemp, straw, &c. In bulk production cheapest sources of the rayons are wood pulp and cotton linters (very short cotton fibres). To produce them the wood pulp or cotton linters are transformed into chemical solutions of cellulose, which are pressed

Protein is the solid constituent of animal tissues, plant cells, and other products of animal and plant. Like cellulose, it occurs in many cheap forms. Among these are fish-oil, soya beans, castor-oil, corn-meal, milk casein. “ Milk wool ” was made by the Italians from milk casein ; its best-known form is called “ Lanital.” These protein fibres were evolved only in the 1930’5.

The manufacturers of these new fibres argued this way : we haven’t got the pastures and the sheep, or the silk-worms and the mulberries, or the cotton plantations, but we can turn some of our other resources into fibres, and so get around the difficulties of geography and economic boundaries and, at fine same time, make some of our own cheap or useless materials pay handsome dividends.

This is sound logic. And they did not just talk about it, but gathered teams of well-trained chemists, physicists, and engineers, backing them with the necessary finance (which means equipment and facilities) and turning them loose on the problem. The Du Pont firm in U.S.A, spent several million dollars over a decade on sound fundamental research, one of whose fruits was the new fibre group, known as the “ nylons,” announced in 1937. Already any Australian woman will tell you how good nylon stockings are, and how she wishes she could get some now. They are made from air, coal, and water —raw materials easily obtained.

The Germans produced another of these resinous or plastic fibres from coal and chalk. A still more recent development is a cellulosic fibre made in England from seaweed. Summarized briefly, the field of competitors in the textile stakes of the world is : — Natural fibres — Animal origin : Wool, silk, animal hairs. Vegetable origin : Cotton, flax, hemp, jute, ramie, &c. Mineral origin : Asbestos fibre. Artificial fibres — Cellulosis origin : From woodpulp, cotton linters, seaweed, &c. Protein origin : From milk casein, soya beans, fish-oils, castor-oil, corn-meal, &c. Resins and plastics : Nylons, &c. (from coal, air, water, chalk, &c.). Other : Glass. The price, availability, and the fact that some artificial fibres are best for certain jobs, has had much to do with the great increase in production of these new fibres. Because cotton (average cost, Bd. (Australian) a pound raw) is so cheap it finds its way into fabrics as a linen, wool, or silk substitute. Since silk sold pre-war at about 10s. (Australian) a pound on the average, the artificial fibre manufacturers have tried many times to imitate its properties.

In 1937 raw wool in Australia averaged I2|d. a pound and an average flax on world markets brought i2d. a pound after treating. But the natural fibresneed preparation before they pass into manufacture. In the case of wool, thismeans that of the ,000,000,000 lb. sold, greasy in the present Australian clip, the clean wool obtained after washing' or scouring is about 550,000,000 lb. Hence, when Courtauld’s staple fibre ispriced at around I2|d. (Australia) a pound needs no cleaning, and can beturned out at the required staple length,, it has many advantages over the natural fibre.

The production of these new fibres hastherefore gone ahead by leaps and bounds. Natural-fibre growers are shaken to hear that world production has approached, that of the world wool clip (although it is no more than the greatest fluctuation between annual world cotton crops). The conclusion : artificial production is impressive ; artificial fibres are here to stay. & * What is likely to happen in the textile world after the war ? Sir Robert Pickard, Director of Research of the British Cotton Industry Research Association, sees “ that the trend of textile products is toward mixtures of fibres, and that textile science suggests that, for any specific purpose, there is an ideal fibre or mixture of fibres. If so, should we in Australia sit back and squeal every time we hear about artificial fibres and do our best to decry them ? Or should we show some fighting spirit and, besides examining and studying the economic and scientific aspects of the production of our own fibre, also delve into the subject of blending wool with these artificial fibres, so that justice is done to wool in a world of “ mixedfibres ” textiles ?

Because wool has some remarkable characteristics which so far have not been successfully imitated by its textile competitors (and which the customer will pay for), dishonest manufacturers and shopkeepers often foist on the customer the inferior substitute cloth, under the blessing of the name wool, or merino,

or other words. For instance, there is a school of thought that likes to think that cloth containing 3-5 per cent, of other fibres can be labelled “ All Wool,” and so on. This must be combated and proper labelling enforced. Testing of fabrics for fibre content is a specialized chemical, physical, and microscopical matter ; the provision of such facilities will be necessary.

What HAS wool got that the other fibres have not got ? And vice versa ? Wool has a remarkable elasticity; it absorbs moisture ; it “ felts ” well, and, because of its wavy nature, forms yarns, which enclose air readily— why woollen fabrics hold heat in cold weather and provide insulation in hot weather. Many of the artificial fibres are highly inflammable, but wool burns with difficulty, and can be considered reasonably fire-resistant. Wool is very soft and light, dyes readily and evenly, and will withstand rough treatment the Army overcoat.

But wool has what its supporters call a “ tickle ” and its enemies call an irrita-

tion. A method of removing this has been worked out. The felting power of wool can be removed by one of a number of treatments, and in hosiery, underwear, and flannel this has already been proven in use.

The rayons, on the other hand, tend to be very weak when wet, but the fact that they dye differently from wool means that they can be used to produce fancy effects. Their lustrous appearance is very attractive to women. The cellulose synthetic fibre from seaweed absorbs moisture remarkably well. Some of the new resinous fibres are immune to attack by acid and alkali, can be moulded while hot, or are waterproof.

When we speak of textiles, we mean anything from suitings and trackings to woolpacks and tarpaulins, from parachute fabric to insulation and upholstery, from tent-cloth to industrial filters. It is a very wide field. Given fair treatment in international politics in the post-war period, and given reasonable scientific support to enhance its special characters, wool will come through.