On the Topic of Fibers

So, a little while back I was unaware of just what Modal was and it was in one of my favorite pieces of clothing. Well, now I have some idea of just what that is thanks to the wonderful help of Wikipedia. Alright, I'm sure that everyone is just dying to know what Modal is (at least those who don't already know.)

Modal is a fiber that is designed to dye just like cotton; however, modal is a variety of rayon. Modal fibers are produced by spinning the reconstituted cellulose fiber from beech trees. Modal is much less likely then cottons to shrink or to fade it will also absorb more water then a cotton. Modal was created by an Austrian company (Lenzing AG), a company that specializes in textiles and fibers. The Lenzing AG company specifically looks at natural fibers made from cellulose.

Alright, this will lead us to the next question: What exactly is Rayon?

Most people have probably heard of Rayon but are not entirely aware of what Rayon is. Rayon is again like Modal a fiber that is manufactured out of reconstituted cellulose fibers. Thus making it not completely a natural fiber and not completely a synthetic fiber. The term for such materials is a semi-synthetic fiber. Rayon is popular because of it's highly shiny surface texture and softness that is akin to silk.

Rayon came into being and was first developed in 1855 though it was patented in 1894, where it was marketed as the first "artificial silk" or for a time the "mother-in-law" of silk. The first version of rayon was produced bu a company in the UK in 1905 (Courtauldas Textiles). It wasn't until 1910/1911 that Rayon was first sold and produced in the United States by Avtex Fibers. In 1924 the name 'Rayon' was adopted for the first "artificial silk".

So, what exactly is Rayon. Nathan Rosenstein invented a method by which a hard fiber (such as wood) could be turned into fabric. Rosenstein's method was found to be highly flammable and much more expensive to make. It wasn't until Paul Schutzenberger discovered the acetate method of doing the same thing that Ryon truly went into production.

In the early 1930's the production of Rayon was highly detrimental to the environment. The production, produced contaminated water waste by carbon disulfide. It wasn't until later developments in the production of Rayon in the 1940's. There are now two main types of Rayon in production, viscose rayon and polynoscis.

Links: Rayon - The Multi-Faceted Fiber, FiberSource, Rayon: How Products are Made, Rayon History Types & Manufacturing Process

Alright so a brief history on Rayon, we will come back later with more information on Rayon and current manufacturing process.

Clothing and Fibers

I'm starting this project out of curiosity. I started working with an older woman about a year or so ago who refuses to by any of her products--if at all possible--from other countries. Thus she spends a great deal of her time in grocery stores and other places looking at the labels on things. I was not aware in any real way of how many products within the greater United States, came from other countries until I met Wanda.

I would like to start a map of the world. A map that has lots of pin in it. Pin's that indicate where people's clothing is made.

While, I am speaking from within the United States, I am hoping to get the participation of people outside of the US as well. Hopefully I can get enough people to participate, that I can color code the pins based on country.

This blog will follow the progress of this mapping, information about various types of fibers that our clothing is made out of and what that implies. Hopefully along with this information, I can get feed back, stories and other things from people in other places. This may also involve into a project that myself and a fellow student/friend of mine are working on in-conjunction with a class being presented and taught by the Canary Project.

Alright so that's the bare bones of the idea for the moment. I will hopefully get this rolling and advertise for it more in the days to come. Thanks! disappears