Fashion, Textile and Agriculture

Courtesy of Our Style Kenya. Art by this blogger

The fashion industry is a very lucrative industry. The global apparel market is estimated to be worth
US $ 1.7 trillion (Fashion United-)2012. We are still going to talk about Agriculture but in a fashion
context. So is there a correlation between Agriculture and fashion.Apparently  there is.

Agricultural raw materials are derived from textile industries and tanneries. The textile industry depends on fashion trends and the textile industry depends on Agriculture.The textile industries rely on natural fibers while tanneries rely on hides and skins to make leather. Though synthetic fiber is in common use there is still demand for natural fibers . This is especially true in manufacture of organic clothing .

The following are natural fibres used to make clothes:

Animal fibre

  Cashmere.This is hair derived mostly from the cashmere goat.

  Mohair.Referred to as ' Diamond fibre', it is derived from the Angora goat.It is used to make quality knitwear.

  Silk.It is a natural protein fiber produced from certain insect larvae(mainly moth caterpillars) which form cocoons.

  Wool

       Angora wool. This is hair from An Angora rabbit.

       Alpaca wool. This is wool from an Alpaca. It is used to make knitwear.

Plant fibres

  Cotton. Made from the Cotton boll of the cotton plant.

  Flax .One of the strongest vegetable fibre, also known as linen . It is from the common flax plant.

  Jute. A vegetable fibre

  Hemp.It is from certain cannabis(yea,the drug marijuana) plant variety.

  Abaca.Made from the leaves of the Abaca plant.

  Coir.  It is obtained from the husk of the coconut.  Commonly used in making mats.

  Ramie. One of the oldest vegetable fiber. The processing is quite expensive therefore not commonly used for textile.

Banana leaves: Used to make baskets

Animal bones, teeth and horns are also used to make buttons and jewellery.

P.S Sisal is also a natural fiber but rarely used to make clothing due to coarseness of material.
Used  to make composite material in cars and furniture.

 Agriculture makes major contribution to the fashion industry through textile industry.