RESEARCH _ Spinning a yarn

The world is moving towards yarns from eco friendly sources and those which are recycled and regenerated. As one researches into yarns and the various blends being developed in India, one comes across a wealth of possibilities and of course options. Though the blending is being done with cotton, there is immense potential to blend this with silk be it mulberry, tussar, eri or muga. Not only that while weaving it is possible to alternate such yarns with silk to have a blended fabric. The various blended yarns can be combined with silk be it in the warp or weft. It could be on the warp only or weft only or in a mix and match mode. One of the most innovative of entrepreneurs I have come across who is working with a host of yarns to produce some excellent fabrics is R. S. Balagurunathan (Bala) Managing Director, Anandi Enterprises. He has worked in a range of fibers, yarn and fabric involving organic cotton, project under BCI or better cotton initiative. He says, “we began in 2000 as there were a lot of enquiries from foreign brands. At that point we focussed on organic cotton. Since then we have come a long way. Today our offerings in the organic / eco-friendly / sustainable bouquet consists of fibers, yarns, fabric and garments. We work with almost all top brands both internationally and in the domestic market. This includes Levis, Arvind, C&A, Toad & Co, Li&Fung and M&S.”

 Today what is Bala and Anandi’s strength is his work with innovative fibres like Aloe Vera, Hemp, Banana and Arecnut. As Bala says, “normally recycled cotton strength is low as well us length is also low 12 to 17 mm only so if we blend we can get optimum strength and spin the yarn. In spinning we blend with natural fibers like aloe vera, hemp, banana and arecnut. In the above the combination with organic cotton. Usually 20% Recycled yarn with 30 % natural fibres and remaining organic cotton.” He further says, “fiber blending is done at spinning stage. It is very tough to run in normal spinning. So we have designed and optimised the machine to run the same. We have replaced imported linen fiber and bamboo with our indigenous fibers.” What stands out is that these fibres – aloe vera, hemp, arecanut and bamboo are farm waste products. Bala says, “ all the natural fibers are farm waste. They have wellness properties. We blend with cotton to get the same thus we save cotton consumption. There is saving on water, energy, additional income for farmers from farm waste, there is less carbon foot print. 

Apart from this there is plenty of wellness aspect. Banana has high moisture absorption, it is antifungal with positive energy. It also cools the body. Aloe vera has High vitamin D properties. It is a very strong fiber and is excellent for the skin.” This is not the only innovation that exists. There is plenty of others too which have been developed by various Government Institutes like SITRA, ICAR-NINFET, The Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute etc. As per the Director, ICAR-NINFET (erstwhile ICAR-NIRJAFT), “Jute is a lingo-cellulosic bark fibre with high tensile strength and low elongation. So, the fibres with similar properties can easily be blended with it. ICAR-NINFET has developed many jute blends with banana fibre, flax fibre, ramie fibre, sisal fibre, pineapple leaf fibres etc. We have also developed jute blends with many synthetic fibres like polyester and polypropylene fibres etc. We have also developed unique jute blended yarns with yak hair fibre, Indian coarse wool fibres.” Regarding the manner in which jute is blended is described as, “The characteristics of blended yarns depends on the blended component fibres and the blend proportion. If fibres with high tensile properties such as sisal or flax are used with jute then the tenacity of the blended yarn will be higher. On the other hand if fibres like yak hair is used in the blend then the yarn will have excellent thermal characteristics with good tensile properties. Generally the blend yarn is manufactured in such a way that the component fibres compliment each other in targeted properties.” 

The Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute has developed fabrics using wool and eri. It has also come up with unique dyeing options for the same. Technology for aroma finishing of wool fabrics is also available as also water repellent finishing for eri and muga combinations. There are various such innovations done by Textile Research Institutions and bodies which the industry is unaware of, an integration with the industry will help this technology spread and of course offer further business potential.