Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Fancy Yarns For Fashion

A fancy yarn is made with a distinctive irregular profile or a construction that differs from the basic single and folded yarns, the objective is to enhance the aesthetics of the end product.

The fancy yarn gives a fancy touch to the fabrics to a broad range of end uses. Significant demand for the fancy yams is the ladies and children Outerwear. Figure1 shows some of the fancy effect yarns. This is not comprehensive. Various names are used to describe the different yarn effect, these can be classified in to Eight basic profiles.

Fig.1 Twist effect fancy yarns

The basic profiles of the fancy yarns are Spiral, Gimp, Slub, Knob, Loop, Cover, Chenille and Snarl yarns. The fancy effect can be optioned with two ways .1). By twisting and or doubling technique and 2.) With spun effect by means of fibres. The effects may be randomized and regular effects.

Basic Principle

A ground (core) component, an effect component and a binder in a fancy yarn are shown in the figure2. To obtain structural effect, longer length of effect component, relative to ground component must be present to form the required effect. Twisting of the effect component on to the ground component will produce aesthetic effect.

Fig.2 Basic components of Fancy yarn

G roller can be made to stop for a very short period at irregular intervals, while the E rollers are still feeding the effect yarn in to the twisting zone. To assist the occurrence of the effect yarn on the ground yarn, a metal bar (space bar) positioned to separate the yarns.

Fig.4.Threading arrangement for Fancy yarns

The second approach in forming the knob yarn is to have both yarns constantly running over the small over feed of the effect component. The spacer bar is made to oscillate up and down continuously to alter the distance of the travel go the effect component. Fibre fineness, fibre length, count and twist direction of the component yarns are the deciding factors on the fancy yarns.

Types of Fancy yarns
Spiral yarn

Plying technique used here. Typically, two single yarns of different thickness and twist level are plied together with slight over feed of course yarn. It shown in the figure.5

Fig 5. Structure of Spiral yarn structure

Gimp yarn

Both the plying technique and the hollow spindle process could be used to make this yarn. using hollow spindle process two ground yarns on which the drafted ribbon can be made to buckle in to the form of wavy shape, a typical shown in the figure 6.

Fig 6. Structure of Gimp yarn

Loop yarn

The threading arrangement of the component yarns to form loops is similar to that of gimp shown in the figure 7.The considerations to for the loop yarns are the type of fibers, level of twist applied and the percentage of over feed employed at the profile stage.

Fig 7.Structure of Loop yarns

Snarl yarns

This also produced by plying process. The profile component is a highly twisted yarns shown in the figure 8.

Fig 8.Structure of snarl yarn

Knob yarns

The knob yarns can be constructed by the joining or the plying system by using the over feed of 150-200%, but the profile is visually not as well as defined in the spinning process because a drafted ribbon is used as the profile component. The Knob yarn shown in the figure 9.

Fig 9. Structure of Knob yarns

Cover yarn

The cover yarns are made by plying process the threading arrangement is identical to the knob yarn. Two pair of rollers controlling the yarns are made to start stop as required. However instead of stopping, each pair of rollers will in turn slow to a speed ,that allows the other yarn to wrap around that fed by slowed rollers. The level of twist required is high in order of 1600t/m.A typical structure of the Cover yarn shown in the Figure 10.

Fig 10.Structure of Cover effect yarn

Slub yarn

The production of the ground and injected Slub yarns was considered this case the roving is replaced as a profile component, roving periodically stop and start accordingly to the required Slub length and spacing. The Slub thickness is determined by the roving count.

Fig 11.Structure of Slub yarn

Chenille yarn

This was made originally by the Leno weaving Two weft yarns are placed between each crossing of the weft yarns. After weaving the weft ,length extended between the warp yarns is cut to produce the pile effect .this traditional Chenille yarn shown in the figure12.

Fig 12. Structure of Traditional Chenille yarn

A mock chenille yarn effect can be obtained with either hollow spindle or by plying process for the production of small loops and these are wrapped or plied together to give a plied effect.

Summary

Production of Fancy yarns is a combination of art and science. There are lot of scope for the innovators to develop new products in Textiles using Fancy yarns. Apart from the Domestic market, Export of fancy yarns, Fabrics and Garments may provide great Opportunities in future.

Courtesy :Chidambaram Rameshkumar

Work Environment Dynamics

Dynamics at workplace achieves this by relieving employees off the pressure of meeting deadlines and goals. It focuses more on facilitating employees set and meet their professional goals, and in the process achieve the company goals. ... Dynamism enhances communication and knowledge exchange at the workplace.

For an organisation to thrive, the management must foster a culture of trust by ensuring transparency in communication across the organisation, treat employees fairly, provide constructive feedback, invest in skill development, and encourage collaboration and teamwork.

The work environment is undergoing constant change, i.e. in factories, manufacturing units; production houses the work scenario and working condition is changing. Prolonged working hours, specialization of job profiles, technical complexities for jobs, increase in work pressure, etc are some of the major aspects of work environment that are undergoing changes. In the industrial set ups competition is growing by leaps and bounds. So the main concentration of employers is to increase production, maintain quality of the products yet make the long working hours more pleasant and safe in terms of accidents and fatigue for the employees. There are certain aspects of work environment which could exert positive effect on working capacity of the employee like better working atmosphere and certain which could exert negative influence on the employees like unhygienic working interiors.

Hours of work and its effect on production

The main problem in industries is the ratio of the total hours of work and the total production of the industry. It is a general belief that by increasing the work hours production would increase. But it is not important that increasing working hours would increase overall production, because to calculate it, firstly it is important to calculate the real hours of work and nominal hours of work. Generally there is a difference between actual hours of work and the nominal hours worked; any employer or employee is aware of these things is aware of it.

To take out the ratio between them the factors such as -unproductive working time, rest pauses, slowness, early stoppages, absenteeism, and changes in work pace must all be considered. These are the factors that create the difference between actual hours of work and nominal hours of work. As far is overtime is concerned it was found to be lowering the production. A worker consciously or unconsciously accelerates himself when knows he must put in extra hours that day. However if workers are asked to work overtime without prior notice, then it could create dissatisfaction in them and if it is announced beforehand it might increase absenteeism.

Psychological surveys conducted in industrial organizations suggested that breaks during working time assists in increasing overall industrial production. The length and frequencies of the breaks, and the activities of employees, also needs consideration before coming to a specific conclusion. It is advised professionally to provide regular rest pauses to the employees, if it is not provided officially, the employee would anyhow take rest voluntarily during normal working hours.

If the management provides regular rest pauses to employees, it would decrease fatigue or monotony if exists, and also it increases the goodwill of the organization in the eyes of its employees. The type and nature of work determines the duration and number of rest pauses to be given. To get maximum benefits during rest pauses the employee should change his posture during the rest pause. For e.g. -If he sits while working, then should be encouraged to stand or walk around or vice-versa. The basic thing that should be followed during rest pauses is change of the activity and posture from that of the job. This would decrease the level of fatigue.

One of the major problems faced by organizations is that of excessive absenteeism that affects the level of production. There could be many reasons for it. An employee often has more than one reason for being absent.

Causes that could be the reason for excessive absenteeism are as follows:

1. Poor work habits
2. Personal adjustments
3. Job dissatisfaction
5. Outside or personal difficulties
6. Sickness or fatigue
7. Irresponsibility

It is interesting to note that absenteeism is highest at the beginning and end of the week and lowest on payday regardless of what day in the week it falls. Also the distance of workplace from house and household responsibilities determine the rate of absenteeism. Absenteeism is a very complex variable which is affected by a variety of factors, sometimes it occurs when employees do not get enough time to take care of their personal needs.

There are many external factors that affect the work, like- illumination, and ventilation, amount of noise and temperature of the work environment. It is observed that when the work environment is made pleasant and favorable, it affects the productivity of the employees. Factors such as use of various color schemes primarily on factory walls, benches and machines and in rest rooms influence the work atmosphere thus affecting the mindset of workers to an extent. Sometimes it becomes difficult to calculate the effect of environment change on the psychology of the employee and the total output of production. But certainly if some positive changes like better illumination, temperature control, noise reduction, etc are introduced at workplaces it definitely have positive influence over the mindset of workers.

Music in Industry

One of the most popular work environment changes is the introduction of music during the work hours. The reason of popularity of music is because it could be presented in a number of varieties and intensity. For example - instrumental, classical, jazz, pop, etc... The playing of music during work hours should be controlled by the organization itself in order to avoid the conflict among the employees over the choice of music to be played. It could be provided through piped-in-music or a standard system of industrial broadcasting by the firm itself.

The music could be provided either during lunch hours or at synchronized interval of time, for instance- for 15mins every two hours or as suitable. In repetitive factory work if music is introduced, it could result in increased production which is ultimately combination of quality and quantity, thus overall production is enhanced. However, specific investigation on introduction of music in organizations suggested that for complex industrial job and under stable conditions music does not increase production.

A factor that should be considered for determining the effect of music on production is - the rhythm. If the music is in rhythm with the employee's rhythm of work or when it tends to pace him, then it does influences production. Music should sound melodious to the ears while working, soft tunes or medium paced songs could be played. The music that exerts pressure on the ears while hearing it is not desirable like rock music or heavy guitar music. If such music is played during work it could exert pressure on the ears of workers, so instead of positive output it would add to the element of tiredness.

Noise

The voice that sounds unpleasant to ears is considered as noise. Noise is generally a sound which distracts ones attention, thus interfere the work efficiency of the workers. The noise is distracter or not, is determined by the factor whether it is steady or intermittent. When it is steady, the workers generally adapts' themselves to it; but when it is irregular, takes greater effort to maintain work efficiency.

The effect of noise on a job is apparently determined by whether the noise is necessary element of the job or not. Sometimes noise is a part of the job, so its effect on the production level is determined by this factor also, for example - in textile yarn manufacturing units, the noise of the machinery is the part and parcel of the job profile, thus for the workers it does not affect their level of production. An employee who has adjusted himself to a noisy work situation may be distracted by a sudden silence. However noise levels above 100 decibels (db) should be considered to be harmful for the ears and if exposed to sound more than this could affect the hearing capacity of the person, so employees should be protected from such noise by ear plugs or ear muffs.

Noise of extreme intensity can be irritating and also could lead to ear pain, partial deafness or permanent ear damage. Although silence is golden but working in total silence is also not desirable.

Illumination

Daylight is the best source of illumination for work. Artificial lighting which is in close proximity to daylight in color and composition is next best source of light during work. The distribution and location of light, the intensity of its glare are some factors that has to be considered before installing the lighting system into the workplace. Also the illumination should be such that there is proper combination of artificial light with daylight. As far as possible the artificial light should be free from colors, but in case colorful lights could not be avoided than, the best color for artificial light is the Mazda or yellow light as this color resembles the day light. Light that is unbalanced and of unmatched color is a hindrance for the work and not a help.

The most important difference between daylight and artificial light is their property of diffusion. Lights that are adequately diffused tend to produce fewer glares. Excessive brightness produces visual discomfort and fatigue. In indirect lighting, the light is directed to the ceiling from there it is reflected to the other parts of the work area. This usually results in a high brightness for the ceiling and low intensity in the work area. Translucent bowls are the source of artificial light that reflect part of the light to the ceiling and transmit part of the light downward hence serves as both direct and indirect lighting.

Some jobs require the people while working at a desk to look up continuously or away from the work area; this requires continual papillary adjustment, which results in fatiguing effects. Yellow color light is found to give the best results and next better option is orange-yellow light, but of all colors white is the best option. Proper contrast between the lights of the work area with relation to the wall color, in certain circumstances reduces eyestrain. The fact that negative afterimages occur when the eye is overestimated by one color has been accepted. If a person looks continuously for two minutes at a red circle, and then looks immediately at a neutral background, he will see a green circle at background. Here the image is negative afterimage.

Miscellaneous Factors

Cafeterias now have become an element of necessity in workplaces. Generally factories now-a-days have some restaurants near-by or any eating joint or else have its own canteen. This factor is helpful to retain and attract employees. Snack bars serving sandwiches, other fast foods, tea/coffee/soft drink dispensers have become common in most of the factories. However it is also seen that these cafeterias often become target of employees criticism.

Complaints regarding food/service of the canteen are common thing. Thus it does serves as the source of dissatisfaction sometimes for the workers. But then also it is important because it necessary as an environmental change. It is observed that a rest pause spent in a canteen is apparently more favored than the regular rest pause. Employees like to socialize with each other over a sip of coffee or a bite of sandwich during the rest pause.

One of the important factors in workplaces is the rest rooms. The amount of space provided in rest room, cleanliness of rest rooms, also hygienic sanitary facilities contribute a lot to the attitude of the employees towards the organization. If these factors are not proper in work place then it could have negative influence on the job performance of the worker.

There are many other environmental aspects like temperature of the work area, humidity level, ventilation, etc that are linked to the ultimate attitude of the employee and that influences the overall productivity. Present work scenario demands the employee to spend on an average 8 to 9 hours at the workplace, thus it has become essential to provide them basic facilities and create favorable working condition in order to achieve greater productivity and job satisfaction. Introducing such extra facilities might cost some extra money for the employer but in turn would provide him better working from the workers thus ultimately profiting the employer.

Understanding Dynamic Working

Dynamism at the workplace recognizes that different employees are talented and skilled differently and that different people are optimally productive at different times of the day. It focuses more on an employee’s output and less on the number of hours worked. For as long as an employee plays his part in helping the company achieve its vision, it really doesn’t matter the technology he used or the time of the day he worked.

The concept of dynamic workplace has been actualized by technology. Employees are now able to log on to a remote computer and work from home just as effectively as they’d have done in the office. This allows employees enough free time to attend to their personal business without compromising their responsibilities at work.

But what are the pros and cons of this new development?

3 Pros of a Dynamic Workplace

1. Increased employee retention

As a corporate leader, one of the primary objectives of Organisation should be to create a workplace where each employee wants to come to every day and never wants to leave. A dynamic workplace achieves this by relieving employees off the pressure of meeting deadlines and goals. It focuses more on facilitating employees set and meet their professional goals, and in the process achieve the company goals. Employees celebrate personal and professional milestones, they share happy moments together, they bond, and they mingle with their seniors freely. The leadership creates situations that cultivate togetherness and the feeling of family among team members. As a result, team loyalty increases, productivity levels rise, the employees feel happier, and employee retention increases. In case that does not work either here’s some tips on how to deal with anxiety at work. The company’s reputation as a dream workplace for most professionals in the industry leads to the top talents wanting to join your company.

2. Better workplace relationships

Dynamism enhances communication and knowledge exchange at the workplace. Not being tied down to a desk allows employees to have serendipitous meetings with other colleagues and interact at a more personal level. There is also a smoother flow of ideas between different departments when employees interact freely. And in the case of open-plan offices, employees find it easier to see each other and exchange friendly gestures. All these lead to a happy and healthy workforce. Research shows that good workplace relationships builds a sense of loyalty amongst peers, colleagues are able to look after one another, and everyone feels the commitment to perform well. Employees are also able to find better work-life balance, which is vital for optimal productivity. More over by investing in regular cleans or having a clean and neat environment, this will only add up to their productivity. Additionally this can also be attributed to the morning meetings that people have in the office kitchen. Coffee, morning chatter, catch up with each other’s business progress, is an integral part of building better workplace relationships. In fact, it makes sense to have a comfortable space that is available to everyone. And the good thing is that it is not that hard to assemble one. Nowadays, there are Ready-to-Assemble kitchen cabinets that can be put in the kitchen within the day, so no fuss is created in the office.

3. Easier rotation

Job rotation in low-sensitive positions curbs low productivity and stagnation. It challenges employees to learn more and acquire new skills, which in turn prevents them from coasting and boredom. It challenges employees to innovate and change constantly.

As much as rotation is important, many corporate leaders are unable to rotate employees who are keen on protecting their status quo than on growing professionally. These employees build networks during their time in 4-walled offices and use those networks to create roadblocks against change.

This is not the case in a dynamic office. When an employee interacts freely with colleagues from other departments, he/she stops being skeptical about change. Such an employee appreciates the need for cross-training; the need to learn new skills for higher future potential. That makes your rotation task a little easier.

Cons of a Dynamic Workplace

1. Communication challenges

In a case where employees work remotely and have to telecommute via their home computers, organizing meetings becomes a bit tricky. Thanks to teleconferencing and videoconferencing technologies, however, this challenge is gradually fading away.

2. Noise

When employees move freely in the office, noise distraction is almost inevitable. The good thing is that you can install soundproofing materials in the office to absorb the noise. You can, for example, install an acoustic board under your carpet to eliminate the noise reflection effect of hard surface floors such as wood.

3. Depletion of individuality

From a worker’s perspective, cross-training in a dynamic workplace makes you easily replaceable. Anybody in the office can take your job. Besides, focusing too much on collective success can easily deplete your individual ambitions.

“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” – Harvey S. Firestone

Management often thinks that wage levels or benefits are the most important elements of creating satisfaction in employees. But instead, workers are saying, “Tell me how I’m doing” or “Help me grow and do a better job.”

Of course they want feedback: It’s necessary to shape their actions and behaviors in the workplace to align with desired culture, established policy, and the leader’s expectations.

For the feedback process to be effective, these three elements must be clearly communicated.

1. Recognition of a specific action or behavior. This recognition can be either in direct response to something we want to see more of or less of in the future. We often say that “feedback is best served warm,” meaning that it should happen as soon as possible after observing the action or behavior, while it is still fresh and relevant.

The feedback process is not appropriate for addressing job performance, attitude, or other longer-term matters. These are better dealt with through a performance review discussion or a coaching session.

The conversation might begin with a description of the action, such as “the way that you helped the team reach a consensus by drawing each person in was great” or “the three crisp and concise conclusions as you wrapped up your presentation really hit the mark.” Or, in the case of corrective feedback, “the tone that you used in replying to Joe seemed very condescending” or “the facts that you presented don’t support the conclusions that you drew.”

Too often people think that they are providing feedback with a very general statement, such as “great job on the presentation” or “you add a lot to this team.” Such general statements have little value for guiding future behavior, thus not really constituting feedback. The more specific and descriptive our statement, the better guidance it provides for future behavior.

Often feedback is better received when we first ask for permission, especially in the case of corrective feedback. Also, when providing corrective feedback, a bit of positive at the front end makes the recipient more open to the negative. An example might be, “Your presentation was good, with a logical flow of the background information and each slide was a nice, bite-sized addition to our understanding, but may I offer some advice?” and then move into identifying specific opportunities for improvement.

2. Identify the impact of the action or behavior. There are two components of impact worth sharing: first, how the action or behavior affected the person giving the feedback and second, the broader impact, whether it be on the organization, audience, peers, etc.

Personalizing the impact makes the feedback easier to digest. Did their action, behavior, event, or process make you feel pleased, intrigued, disappointed, angry, confused, excited, etc? If this is important enough to provide feedback, there should be some emotion that arose, telling you that you should address it. Perhaps this is a good time to remind ourselves that, since feedback is important, we may need to train ourselves to notice those opportunities and to respond and provide feedback.

Providing a broader context aligns the person’s performance with the organization’s values and goals. Did an action add value to a meeting or discussion; did it fit nicely into the organization’s desired culture; did it hinder a project or hurt a team’s collaboration?

Again, our goal in feedback is to be as specific as possible in order to tie the referenced action with the results, either positive or negative. Specifics make it more likely for the feedback to be clearly understood and accepted, thus increasing the likelihood of long-term impact. A statement such as “You were rude, and I don’t want that to happen again” has little value. Rather a statement like this is more likely to gain the attention and acceptance of the recipient: “I was disappointed to hear the rude comment you made when you said ___. That sort of comment breaks down the cohesion of our team and makes it more difficult to work together. We want this organization to be a place where each person is valued and accepted.”

3. Set expectations for future actions or behaviors. Feedback is about identifying what we want more, less, or the same amount of in the future. This requires a statement or a discussion of our expectations relative to the specific action that we are addressing. The feedback process must provide clear expectations for the future. This can be a simple statement, such as, “I hope you continue to find more opportunities to repeat this” or “I trust you understand, agree, and will not repeat this behavior.”

Depending upon the situation, the third step of the feedback process might also include consequences or a plan of action. If we are talking about a serious negative action or behavior, the process may call for identifying the disciplinary action that will take place in the event of a next occurrence. If we have communicated the specific action and the specific impact of that action, it is only natural that a specific consequence be communicated.

On the other hand, the feedback discussion may be related to an action or behavior that is beyond the recipient’s present capabilities. In this case, the discussion may call for either the feedback recipient to create a developmental plan of action or it may require that the feedback provider and the recipient together define a developmental plan.

One of the highest priorities for leaders is the development of the people around them. Effective feedback is a tool to guide that development. Spotting opportunities where feedback is appropriate and then providing it in a way that helps the recipient’s development is the best way to guide the growth of the people that we lead. Nudging the actions and behaviors of team members to align with organizational vision, goals, culture, and strategy is the best way to maximize the effectiveness of the organization. As leaders, we need to understand the power of feedback and prioritize the many opportunities for providing it.

Implementing Integrated Work to Create a Dynamic Workplace

As a manager, you have roles and responsibilities that need to be completed for effective work but at the same time you also have the added responsibility of creating a healthy dynamic amongst all your employees.

Today we will be looking at all the different ways in which you can empower employees and all the things that you might want to consider for better office culture.

Give A Voice To The Employees

People only participate when they know they are being valued. You need to make sure that your team knows that their opinion is important for the wellbeing of the company. Crowdsourcing and social choice are two concepts that you embrace. The tools that you arm your employees with today are the answer to all the issues that may crop up in the future.

Not saying that you run a democracy- that is not my intention but rather a constitutional monarchy. This also ensures that your employees are on good terms with you.

Listen

A good relationship is built on the foundation of trust and a good conversation. A good conversation can only happen if you listen. Lending an ear to your employees is a great way to figure out what is working and what isn’t.

You will make your own job easier if you patiently wait for a while and listen to your team before just jumping to the next question without clarifying the first one. A well-intentioned criticism is much better than a hundred compliments. Plus who better to know it from other than the person going through it.

Embrace Randomness

A company always has its own set of goals that it has to follow. But your employees also have some personal goals that need to be fulfilled. Here accountability plays a big role. This is also only possible if you first figure what is that drives a particular person. You need to pinpoint the motivation that drives a particular person.

Create an environment that helps manage this kind of growth. You need to hold individual and team meeting that helps create the opportunity for all employees to define why they want to continue the way they are,

This way you not only manage to create a better environment but also become the accountability partner in their quest to achieve their goal. Genuine interest is the only way to survive.

Follow The Quit Philosophy

This is known as a universal fact. Employees will leave eventually. Not everyone will invest in the same way as you when it comes to contribution to your company. So, then you plan for the inevitable, You train them in a manner that is conducive for the 6 pillars of happiness. These are Relationship, carrier, time off, wealth, health and growth,

This is the only way your employees know that you care for them more than just an employee basis.

Courtesy : Fibre2Fashion.com

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Fibre to fabric manufacturing process of wool

Wool is a natural fibre composed of proteins, as it comes from the fleece of sheep. Each sheep has various grades of fleece found in their coat with the highest grade fibers being found on the sides, shoulders, and back, while the lowest grade are found on the lower legs.

Wool could be sourced from the fleece of sheep and other animals. These include cashmere from goats, mohair from rabbits and other types of wool from camellias, musk ox, Angora rabbit, vicuna, guanaco, pashmina and alpaca. Wool has some special qualities which distinguish it from hair or fur. The best quality wool comes from merino sheep, found in Australia.

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Properties of wool

- Luxurious fibre with excellent feel and touch

- Soft and natural

- Wrinkle-resistant

- Light weight and durable

- Hygroscopic (moisture breathable)

- Highly flexible and durable

- Good drape and fall

- High UV protection

- Biodegradable

- Insulating properties

- High ignition threshold (good resistance to fire)

- Multi-climatic fibre

Physical appearance of wool

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Microscopic view of cuticle cells of wool fibre

The staple structure of wool contains high amount of crimps. Wool's unique cellular structure gives it a number of desirable properties. Wool fibres have a unique surface structure of overlapping scales called cuticle cells. These cuticle cells anchor the fibre to a sheep's skin. Cuticle cells point towards the tip of the lock, similar to the arrangement of fish scales.

The surface scales of the fibres are also responsible for the unique felting and shrinking properties of wet wool. The scales also cause water to form beads and roll off. This helps wool fabric to repel moderate rain and spills.

Fibre to fabric process flow chart:-

To source wool, sheep are sheared of their woollen fleece by a shearer. Typically, each adult sheep is shorn or sheared once each year. The annual shearing often occurs in a shearing shed, a facility designed to process hundreds and sometimes more than 3,000 sheep per day. The fleece can be removed using scissors or mechanical fleece removers (see pic).

Sorting: After shearing, the wool is sorted. Wool from ewes, rams, and lambs must be sorted from each other and kept separately. Different quality of wool is used for wefts, warps, and piles. Therefore, while sorting wool, factors such as the length of fibres and wool's ability of absorbing dyes should be considered. Wool which is going to be the source of the yarns for pile should be supple, resilient, and soft. The quality of wool varies not only due to the different type of breeds, but it also depends on the geographic location of animals, climatic conditions of the region, the season of shearing, the quality, and composition of fodder.

Wool scouring: - The main purpose of scouring is to remove the impurities in wool like dust, dirt, perspiration, and natural oily matter. Without this, further processes are impossible. The process of sequence is carried out in a large machine called the scouring train. This process is carried out in different ways.

1. Emulsion scouring

2. Solvent scouring (normally uses petroleum ether or carbon tetrachloride)

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Wool Scouring

Drying: While using heavy weight squeeze rollers for final delivery of wash bowls, the wool has 50 per cent moisture, which must be removed before further processing. Wool must have only 15 per cent moisture before heading to next process.

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Wool drying burr -picking

Burr picking: The primary object of burr picking is to remove all the burrs and vegetable matter possible before the stock is passed to the carding machine. Under the head of burrs, particles of vegetable matter that become attached to the fleece during the life of sheep are included, although a burr is really a vegetable seed or husk covered with sharp spines, or prickles. If the burrs are not removed from the wool, they are broken into innumerable small particles during the operation of carding.

Carbonising: Carbonising removes cellulosic impurities from the wool by treating it with acid or acid-producing salts. Carbonising may be carried out in loose wool or on piece goods after scouring. However, it is common practice to carbonise worsted piece goods as well as woollens. The process begins by immersing wool in a solution of sulphuric acid (H2SO4) that reacts with the cellulose impurities in the wool.

$C:\Users\DKTE\Desktop\img006.jpg$ Neutralising: After carbonising, wool is dropped into a cold water rinse bowl and is passed through a pair of squeezing rollers. Then it passes into a soda bath of 100^oF followed by an ionic wash. After that, it is put into a bowl of cold water of ph-6.5. It takes 12 minutes to neutralise. Then, the wool passes into the dryer and is dried at approximately 140 ^oF.

Carding: Wool that is free from fat, suint and dirt is subjected to a process called carding to produce the most staple yarn. In worsted industries, the wool is always carded in the un-dyed or dope-dyed state. If the ultimate fabric is to be coloured, then dyeing can be done after combing, spinning or weaving.

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Backwashing: After carding, the wool, in sliver form, is given additional scour or "backwashing." This removes surface dirt picked up during the mechanical operation of carding and finally cleans the fibres.

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Backwashing Combing

Gilling: This makes fibres straight, uniform, and unidirectional and ultimately makes the sliver finer by reducing weight per unit length.

Drawing: The drawing out of fibre tops into the thickness of one, to thoroughly blend the wool and ensure evenness or regularity of the resulting roving material. Drawing involves passing the top through rollers and reducing slivers to a suitable thickness ready for spinning. The process is repeated several times to ensure regularity or evenness in the finishing, the final stage of the drawing process. A small amount of twist is also added to the sliver at this stage to increase strength. This reduced sliver is called a 'roving.' Drawing simply blends and reduces the wool to a suitable thickness for spinning.

Spinning: This involves drawing the thick rove and making it thinner with sufficient twist, to impart strength. The process ensures a uniform yarn of desired thickness, twist, strength, surface handle and appearance. It is wound on convenient packages such as bobbins, spooks or cops to be used for knitting and weaving. The objective of spinning is to produce yarn with specific linear density, of good quality at reduced cost.

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Spinning AutoWinding

Auto winding: Winding is the most important process in the spinning system. The main objective of winding is to remove objectionable faults from single yarn, to prepare fault-free yarn with the help of electronic yarn clearers, and to transfer yarn from small packages to bigger packages.

Steaming:-

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Steaming is done to set the twist which is imparted in the ring frame and to eliminate snarling. After the yarn is steamed lot-wise, single ring yarn doffs are stored for at least eight hours to cool and condition. Then, it is to be taken for winding. The time between steaming and winding is important so that yarn can retain moisture and get stabilised so that it can be suitable for winding.

TFO: Twisting of parallel wound double yarn can be done by the method of inserting two twists for one revolution of the spindle. It is done to give twist as per requirement of direction for imparting strength to double yarns.

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Weaving:-

The main objective of the weaving department is to weave fault-free fabric of required length by keeping required production rate and maximum level of efficiency. The fabric is woven as per quality, specifications, weave, design effect etc. specified by the customer. After weaving, the fabric is dyed as per requirements. During the whole manufacturing process, the fabric acquires stains and stress. Therefore, it is essential to give the fabric a finishing effect.

End Breakage in Spinning - A Major Performance Indicator of Spinning Mill

One basic way to increase the profit and quality in ring spinning process is to keep the end breakage rate to a minimum level. The end breakage is a critical spinning parameter that not only affects the maximum spindle speed but may also indicate the quality of yarn, the mechanical condition of the machines and the quality of raw material. Therefore it is an important parameter which determines the overall working of a spinning mill. Any attempt to explain the end breakage mechanism in terms of qualitative approach will provide an aid to understanding the problem and to tackling it to any possible degree.

To reduce end breaks, the following few aspects should be taken into consideration.

1. The width of the drafted ribbon at the front roller nip should be reduced.

2. Measures to be taken to reduce mass irregularity of yarn straight after carding.

3. A reduction in friction between ring and traveler could reduce the peak tension during the rotation of the traveler.

4. Since the end breakage in ring spinning is related to slippage of fibers at the spinning triangle as a result of peaks occurring in the spinning tension fiber, the grip at the front drafting rollers should be increased by having a higher top roller pressure. The use of softer cots also enhances the grip at the front roller. If the total pressure on the rollers can not be increased, the grip at the front rollers nip can be improved by reducing the width of cots.

5. The permutation and combination of speeds at different stages of cop build in ring frames can help a lot in reduction of breaks.

6. In case of spring loading top arms in ring frames, when you restart the ring frame after a mill holiday, the breakages are very high. The practice of inching at interval of 8 to 10 hrs on holiday without releasing the top arm pressure, reduce the end breaks to a great extent.

7. In case of pneumatic loading top arms ring frames, when you restart the ring frame after a mill holiday, the breakages are very high. The practice of tightening the material in drafting zone by reversing the back & middle rollers with the help of back roller wheel before starting the machine helps in reduction of end breaks during starting of the ring frames.

1. The lowering of spindle speed by 5 to 6% just after putting new travelers for 2 hours for running-in of travelers helps in reduction of end breaks to large extent.

2. The use higher twist multipliers will reduce breaks even at higher spindle speeds than at lower spindle speeds with low twist multipliers.

3. The higher twist than required in roving reduces the creel breaks in ring frames.

4. The delay in change of travelers will increase end breaks in spinning. Hence timely change of travelers is a must.

5. The use of common tube suction system improves suction of pneumafil system further without increasing power consumption compared to individual suction tube system in ring frame and reduces end breakages to a large extent.

6. Any compromise in right selection of fibre properties may lead to higher end breakages in spinning ring frames.

7. The frequent stoppage of Over Head Travelling Cleaners accumulates fly and results into higher breaks due to loading of traveler with fly.

The end breakage in spinning not only increases physical exercise of workmen, but also increases waste. Hence ultimate effect is on productivity of spinning mill.

There are many such points, but uncommon points are mentioned to share with fellow technicians of other organizations, academic institutions, research associations and machinery manufacturers etc.

Banana Fibre: A revolution in textiles

The use of banana stems as a source of fibre declined after other convenient fibres such as cotton and silk became popular. But in recent years the commercial value of banana fibre has increased and it is used all over the world for multiple purposes from making tea bags and sanitary napkins to Japanese yen notes and car tyres. Avneet Kaur writes about the story of banana fibres, explaining in detail its use in ancient times, its characteristics, the extraction process and the possible uses of the eco-friendly fibres in the textile industry.

What was earlier regarded as agricultural waste and a nuisance for farmers is now a raw material for good quality silk grade fibre yarn.

That's the story of banana fibre. Also known as musa fibre, it is one of the strongest natural fibres. This biodegradable natural fibre from the bark of the banana plant is so durable that if we make currency notes from it, the notes can be used for more than a hundred years. It can be used to make silk grade saris and just as it can be used in car tyres.

Banana stem, hitherto considered a complete waste, is now is now being made into banana-fibre cloth which comes in differing weights and thicknesses based on what part of the banana stem the fibre was taken from. The innermost sheaths are where the softest fibres are obtained, and the thicker and sturdier fibres come from the outer sheaths.

Made up of thick-walled cell tissue and bonded by natural gums, banana fibre is similar to natural bamboo fibre but its fineness and spin ability are better bamboo and ramie fibres. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.

When, Where, and How?

According to archaeologists, the banana was first domesticated in the Kuk valley of New Guinea around 8,000 BCE. Though this is the first known location of banana domestication, other spontaneous domestication projects may have occurred throughout South East Asia and the South Pacific.

Historically, banana stems had been used as a source of fibre with the earliest evidence dating to the 13th century. But its popularity faded after other convenient fibres such as cotton and silk were made popular. For centuries, banana fibre textiles were made in Japan and Nepal.

In Japan, banana fibres were a prized substitute for silk and were traditionally woven into ceremonial garments for the wealthy. In both Nepal and Japan, the outermost sheaths of the banana plant were used for making cloth that was not intended for articles of clothing. Coarser banana cloth was used for place mats, floor mats and sun shades.

Initially, people in Japan and Nepal realised that except for the fruit, the complete banana tree is cut and thrown as a waste. After exploring the tree, they figured out that the stalk can be used to make strong ropes. Eventually, they discovered other uses of banana fibre.

Today, banana fibre is used all over world for multiple purposes. Commercial value of the fibre has increased over the years. Transforming the waste into a usable fabric and other products is a great achievement.

Though popular for its fruit, the banana plant has long been a source of fibre for high quality textiles. Banana fibre was used in Philippines for making shirts and other dresses. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. The fibres, extracted from the banana stem, are odourless and can be dyed. They do not shrink and the colour does not fade after a wash. The fabric's stiffness, even in the absence of starch, could make it a favourite among politicians. The fabric could be 100 per cent banana fibre; a mix of 60 per cent cotton will give it maximum durability.

Characterstics:

• Natural sorbent: Fabric from theses fibres lets you breathe well and will keep you cool on hot days.

• Soft, supple and shimmer: Banana fabric is soft and supple, though not quite as soft as cotton or rayon. Nearly all plant stem-based fibres are a little more stiff and coarse than cotton or rayon. Its natural shimmer makes it look a lot like silk.

• Comfort: Banana fibre clothing is comfortable and not likely to trigger allergies.

• Biodegradable.

• Resistance: It is grease-proof, water-, fire- and heat-resistant.

• Durability: Even if the banana fabric is made from the tough outer sheath, it is not as strong and durable as any fabric like hemp, bamboo, or other natural fibre.

• Insulation: It is not particularly insulating.

• Spin ability and tensile strength: It is better than other organic fibres in terms of spin ability and tensile strength.

Properties	Banana fibre	Jute	Paper	Hemp	Sisal
Highest Tensile Strength	Yes
Extensibility	Yes
Water resistance	Yes
Softness	Yes		Yes		Yes
Fire resistance	Yes			Yes	Yes
Grease proof	Yes

What makes banana fibres special?

• Banana fibre is a good alternative to all the synthetic and natural fibres.

• Banana fibre is eco-friendly, chemical-free, non-toxic and odour-free.

• The natural coolant and medicinal property of banana fibres helps in the health of its user and is 100 per cent safe as no harmful chemicals and colours are used.

Fibre properties

Tenacity	29.98 g/denier
Fitness	17.15 denier
Moisture regain	13 per cent
Elongation	6.54
Alco-ben extractives	1.70 per cent
Total cellulose	81.8 per cent
Alpha cellulose	61.5 per cent
Residual Gum	41.9 per cent
Lignin	15 per cent

Banana fibre is also blended with many different fibres to make ring spun yarns and open end spun yarns. The following table shows their count:

Banana fibre ring spun yarn
Description	Count (Ne)
100 per cent banana fibre yarn	8-40
70 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent combed cotton	16-40
50 per cent banana fibre 50 per cent combed cotton	16-40
30 per cent banana fibre 70 per cent combed cotton	16-40
70 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent modal	16-40
30 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent tencel	16-40
50 per cent banana fibre 50 per cent soybean fibre	16-40
Banana fibre open-end spinning yarn
Description	Count (Ne)
100 per cent banana fibre yarn	8-21
70 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent combed cotton	16-30
50 per cent banana fibre 50 per cent combed cotton	16-30
30 per cent banana fibre 70 per cent combed cotton	16-30
70 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent modal	16-30
30 per cent banana fibre 30 per cent tencel	16-30
50 per cent banana fibre 50 per cent	16-30

Over the years

In the last decade, there has been revived interest in India, and now in China, to use banana fibre to make textiles. In the last few years, the Tiruchirappalli Regional Engineering College Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park has been working in conjunction with the Indian government's Department of Agriculture, on a patented machine that can efficiently turn the stalks of banana plants into fibre suitable for textile manufacture. India will probably be the location where banana fibre textiles will make their first large public offering.

Unlike hemp or bamboo, the modern process of turning banana stalks into usable textile fibres requires no time-consuming bacterial retting process or any crushing or "scrutching" process (a mechanical operation which, by breaking and beating the retted material, separates out the textile fibres in the stem). So, harvesting banana fibre is relatively fast and not too labour intensive. Banana fibre can easily be sorted for thickness. The innermost stalk fibres are the softest and most pliable; the outer fibres are the thickest and strongest. The process of turning banana stalks into textiles is the opposite of the relatively slow and labour-intensive process of turning woody stalks of bamboo, hemp, or flax into fibres suitable for textiles.

In major banana-growing regions, discarded banana stalks sitting around every year are just waiting to be termed into useful textile. Until recently, there was no fast and efficient method of doing that. There's another big reason that banana fibres have not yet seen any large-scale application in the international textile industry: the ready availability of cheap, mass-produced cotton.

Now the question that arises is, can banana fibres be produced on a large scale and are the fibres an economically viable alternative to cotton?

Banana fibre textiles can definitely lessen the demand for cotton to a large extent. However, banana-fibre textiles are not able to completely replace cotton without creating severe environmental problems. Banana fibre and other fibre work well as a complementary fibre to cotton. A few manufacturers in India and China now incorporate banana fibre into cotton blend fabrics. The blending of cotton and banana fibre could lessen the demand for cotton cultivation.

India is the largest, and China is the second largest grower of bananas. The recent interest in turning banana stalks into textile fibre has been due partially to the need to process and make use of the huge amounts of agricultural waste products that are a by-product of growing banana. In both India and China, there is also a growing awareness of problems associated with large-scale cotton cultivation.

There is some good news concerning banana cultivation worldwide. There is rising consumer awareness in many places concerning labour disputes, political and environmental issues surrounding banana cultivation. Increasingly, there is an international effort to rotate bananas with other crops and to use organic growing methods. The history of labour practices and profit distribution related to banana cultivation has been contentious in Central America, but the same set of political controversies have not existed in other banana-growing places like India and China. There are also growing international efforts to ensure a better payment rate given to local banana producers in Fair Trade agreements.

As bananas are mostly grown in small family farms in India and in Caribbean, the use of chemical fertilisers, fungicides, pesticides and herbicides on small farms is usually minimal.

Unlike banana cultivation on small family farms, large corporate plantations have a poor record concerning environmental impact and social responsibility. Corporate cultivation is basically a furious race to shore up the earnings from bananas. That involves a lot of chemical use in the growing process, which has greatly damaged the environment and caused terrible health problems for people living in places where large corporate-owned banana plantations exist.

Extraction of banana fibre

The process for making yarn from banana fibre varies from region to region. Most popular methods among these are in Japan and Nepal.

Japan

Cultivation of banana for clothing and other household uses in Japan dates back to the 13th century. Care is taken right from the stage of plant cultivation. The leaves and shoots are pruned periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are boiled in lye to prepare the fibre for making the yarn. These banana shoots give fibre with varying degrees of softness. This further results in yarns and textiles with differing qualities that can be used for specific purposes. The outermost fibres of shoots are the most coarse. They are more suitable for making home furnishings like tablecloths.

The softest part is the innermost section that gives fibres widely used for making kimono and kamishimo, the traditional Japanese apparel. The banana cloth making process is a lengthy one and all the steps are performed by hand. The Japanese method was a traditional handicraft and not a large-scale undertaking. It involved a very labour-intensive process, requiring a lot of skill. The banana fibre required a high level of expertise to extract and weave. The fibre were painstakingly sorted and carded by hand without a bacterial retting process to soften up the stalks, or a scrutching either. The innermost fibres of banana stalks are already very soft and supple, thus making a retting process unnecessary.

Nepal

In Nepal, the trunk --- not the shoot --- is harvested. Small pieces of these trunks are put through a softening process for mechanical extraction of the fibres, and then bleaching and drying. The fibre obtained looks similar to silk which has become popular as banana silk fibre yarn. This fibre is refined, processed and skeined mostly by the women. Only the aged bark or the decaying outer layers of the banana plant are harvested and soaked in water to quicken the natural process. When all the chlorophyll is dissolved, only the cellulose fibres remain. They are extruded into pulp so that they may become suitable for spinning into yarn. The yarn is then hand-dyed. They have high textural quality similar to silk and are employed in making high end rugs. These traditional rugs are woven by hand-knotted methods again by the women.

In Nepal, a process involving both a bacterial retting and scrutching/crushing was used to make the extraction process faster and less labour intensive. The banana stalks were retted in the fields or in baths of water, similar to the process involved in the production of hemp or flax cloth. While this had the unfortunate result of the fabric being less exquisite than the fabric made by the Japanese method, it did make the fabric more available to the common person. Still, for reasons unknown, banana fibre fabric never caught on in a big way in Nepal.

India

India has the largest land under banana cultivation in the world followed by Brazil, contributing about 30 per cent of the total world production. Among the fruits, banana holds first position in production and productivity in India. Maharashtra is the leading banana producing state.

Banana fibre has an affinity to colours that makes it easier to weave attractive designs with it. The process maybe cumbersome but saris fabricated from this fibre are very comfortable and are in much demand.

These saris are very comfortable to wear and have a cooling effect. They are supplied to both national and international markets where there is good demand.

National Research Centre for Banana in Tamil Nadu is carrying out a study and if the proposition turns viable, the country can soon expect the domestic market to be flooded with an array of banana fibre textiles and garments.

Production capacity

One of the leading producers of banana fibres in India is Jalgaon Banana Fibre based in Maharashtra. It is an eco-friendly venture in the banana fibre industry intending to promote use of organic fibre in textile and paper industry as a cost-effective product. Based in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, the largest land area under banana cultivation in India, they are manufacturers of the best quality banana fibres. The manufacturing plant is strategically located near banana cultivated land of thousands of acres with an annual capacity of over 150 tonnes of banana fibres.

They have tied up with several farmers from whom they procure good quality banana stems in advance. This has generated a source of additional income for farmers. The organic manure, made from banana stem, is provided to farmers to increase productivity and promote organic farming. The client is assured of timely delivery and good quality banana fibre.

Clients

Enquiries have come from Europe, South America and Asian countries. In India, enquiries have come in from reputed textile, paper, carpet and automobile companies.

Products

Organic banana fibre is used to make various eco-papers like tissue, filters and currency paper. Being natural, heat resistant, having good spinning ability and high tensile strength, it is used for making yarn, fabrics and garments. It can be blended with other fibres.

Eco-friendly bags are made from banana fibre. Banana fibre paper can be a substitute for polythene bags.

It has high nutrition content to nurture the growth of plant/crops. It increases production or yield and gives organic output, which is very beneficial.

Banana fibre cloth is eco-friendly. Clothes made from banana fibre have a silk-like feeling and do not require any chemicals to make.

Revolution in banana fibre industry

The banana fibre separator machine created this revolution. The separator is one of the innovative ventures incubated at TREC-STEP, India, which uses the agricultural waste of banana harvests to produce silk grade fibre for local handicrafts and textile industries. What was previously regarded as agricultural waste and a nuisance for farmers is now a raw material for good quality silk grade fibre yarn. TREC-STEP gives us an insight to this innovative venture.

The entrepreneur behind this venture, Mr. K. Murugan, a mechanical engineer by training, designed and produced the machine to extract valuable parts of the remaining pseudo stem of banana harvests into a commercially viable product.

He was originally attracted by the shiny texture of the banana fibre that was left over after harvesting and began to wonder whether a refined form of this could replace the rich silk fabric his mother often used. After many trials with a resourceful mechanic, he developed a crude machine for extracting banana fibre and ended up with products such as silk yarn and silk zari, new and unrivalled products on the market. It took nearly 12 years of study and research, and 40 trials with various extraction machine models, before Murugan and his colleague managed to produce a successful prototype and arrive at the current version of the banana fibre separator machine.

There are numerous potential clients for organic banana fabrics. The realisation of this client potential depends on the market penetration strategy. Presently there are huge exports potential and orders are available on hand.

Advantages of the machine over manual process

• Reduces drudgery

• Fifty times increase in fibre production compared to manual process

• User friendly and economic

• Less maintenance cost and safe to operate

• Clean work atmosphere

• 30 kg of fibre production per day

• Superior quality fibre in terms of length and softness, strength & colour

Sanitary napkins from banana fibres

The International Institute for Environment and Development has even launched a programme to educate women in Rwanda in making low cost and environmentally friendly sanitary pads out of banana fibres.

1. Harvest banana fibre

Cut 1 to 1.5 meter long pieces of banana fibre from garden early in morning or late in evening when it is soft. If it is picked when it is too dry, it rips apart during preparation.

2. Clean fibre

Wipe the banana fibre with a damp cloth to remove dirt.

3. Straighten fibre

Hold fibre with one hand and with your other hand gently, but firmly, pull your palm along length of fibre from one end of fibre to the other.

4. Peel fibre

Carefully peel off waterproof layer from surface of fibre (the "Intestine layer") that will lie against the skin.

5. Cracked fibres

If the banana fibre cracks near the middle, it cannot be used. If it cracks near edge, tear off the cracked edge (as long as remaining width is sufficient for user.)

6. Fibre ready to use:

The banana fibre is ready for use once the waterproof layer that will lie against the skin is completely peeled off.

7. Use fibre:

Attach the fibre to belt made from leather, cloth or string in front of belly button, then bring fibre down and attach it to belt at the back. Banana fibre can be attached to belt by either rolling fibre around belt (see picture on left, below) or by tearing the ends of the fibre and tying the torn bits to belt (see picture on right, below). The natural sanitary napkin can be changed as needed.

8. Disposal of the used banana fibres

Get rid of used banana fibres by:

Use of banana fibre in Japanese yen notes

During research it was found that the paper made out of this fibre has a shelf life of over 100 years and it can be folded as many as 3,000 times. The fibre has the potential to find application in making of paper for printing currency.

Use of banana fibres in making tea bags

Tea bag paper is made primarily from abaca hemp, a product of a Philippine banana tree that is also known as Manila hemp. This is bleached and processed and then treated with a heat sealable thermoplastic such as PVC or polypropylene on the inside. Banana paper is much stronger than regular paper. It is used for cement bags to carry up to 25 kilograms, and other heavy duty bags. Since the tenacity of banana fibre is high, some automobile companies use it to reinforce the body of the vehicle.

Use of banana fibres in car tyres

The second-generation Mercedes-Benz A class designed the spare tyre recess covered with a composite material, polypropylene, thermoplastic with embedded banana fibres, with high tensile strength and rot resistance. It can withstand stone strikes and exposure to the environment, such as UV from the sun, water, some chemicals.

Drawbacks

There have been longstanding disputes in Central American banana-growing regions concerning the rights of workers to organise, and complaints about low wages, long working hours, and bad working conditions. There has been a long and troubled history of labour disputes between the local banana-plantation workers and the American corporations investing in the banana plantations. There have been contentious political issues concerning the flow of money from the profits of the banana sales. Like cotton, banana cultivation has been, and often still is, associated with one-product regional economies. The accusation against large American agricultural corporations doing business in Latin American banana-growing regions has been that they are not putting enough money back into the local economies.

- Intense cultivation of bananas in some places has created a one-crop local agricultural base. No crop rotation and intense cultivation leads to depletion of soil nutrients and a reliance on chemical fertilisers. Heavy use of chemical fertilisers leads to increased soil erosion and to polluted watersheds in those areas where chemical fertilisers are used.

- The need to cut down more tropical rain forests to increase banana cultivation has led to an effective worldwide halt to banana-plantation expansion. Now, the focus of the international banana-growing industry is on increasing the productivity of land already used for banana cultivation.

- The need for large numbers of people working a banana plantation creates a desire to keep wages as low as possible. Bananas still have to be cut by hand, and the heavy bunches of bananas often have to be carried a short distance by human labour.

However, these problems cannot take the shine out of the future of the banana plant.