Let's Talk Natural Fibers

Natural Fibers are derived from the Genus BORINGus family. Just kidding! We do understand that this might not be the most interesting topic to read about, but it is another fundamental piece to understanding the materials that make up our belting products.  

Let’s try that again! Natural fibers are obtained from plants, animals, or minerals, and are biodegradable, renewable, eco-friendly, and just plain amazing. They are broadly classified into three main categories, based on their source: Plant Based Fibers, Animal Based Fibers and Mineral Based Fibers.  

PLANT BASED FIBERS 

Plant based fibers, also called cellulose fibers, are primarily made of cellulose and are derived from different parts of plants. There are 5 plant based fiber groups to discuss: Seed, Bast, Leaf, Fruit, and Grass/Straw. 

SEED FIBERS

Seed Fibers (or #1 seed Fibers if they were the Buffalo Bills), are made up of either cotton or kapok. The Cotton are from the seed hair of the cotton plant, and are used in textiles and industrial fabrics. The kapok are from the seed of the kapok tree and are used in insulation and upholstery.  

BASIL FIBERS

The Basil Fibers, or stem fibers, have several subcategories, such as flax, jute, hemp, ramie, and kenaf. Sounds like the class list for my daughter’s third grade. These fibers have a variety of uses, such as linen fabric, sacks, ropes, mats, clothing, paper, and blended textiles.  

LEAF FIBERS

Three common leaf fibers are the sisal, abaca, and pineapple fibers, used in ropes, mats, brushes, textiles, and fine textiles.  

FRUIT FIBERS

The main fruit fiber, coir, is a recognizable name, and is from coconut husks and used in mats, brushes, and mattresses.  

GRASS/STRAW FIBERS

The final plant based fiber group, the grass/straw fibers, have 2 main types, wheat straw, and sorghum & corn stalks. These are used in paper, building products, and industrial materials.  

ANIMAL BASED FIBERS (Protein Fibers) 

These fibers are made of proteins like keratin or fibroin and are derived from the hair, wool, or secretion of animals. 

HAIR/WOOL FIBERS

The hair fibers are all very commonly known: sheep wool, cashmere, alpaca, mohair, and camel hair. As you would guess, these are used mainly for clothing, luxury products, coats & blankets, and insulation.  

SECRETED FIBERS

The secreted fibers, AKA Charlotte’s Web, are silk and spider silk. These are used mainly for luxury fabrics and research materials.  

MINERAL BASED FIBERS

The final grouping of natural fibers are the mineral based fibers, which are naturally occurring inorganic fibers.  

The main category of mineral based fibers had its heyday in centuries past, but is now about as welcome as an invite to a Diddy party. Asbestos was once widely used in insulation and fireproof materials but is now restricted due to health risks. 

Now that we’ve looked at these classification groups of natural fibers, we are realizing that whoever came up with the game 20 questions, was probably trying to fight the boredom of studying natural fibers- is it an animal, vegetable, or mineral? Now you know!