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.
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.
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