Raw materials for the textile industry. Textile industry in Russia: state and development prospects

Significantly changed its structure. Currently, in the textile industry, depending on the raw materials used, cotton, wool, silk, linen sub-sectors and the production of non-woven materials (artificial fibers) are distinguished.

For a long period of time, the main branch of the world's textile industry remained cotton, followed by wool, linen and processing of man-made fibers. Currently, the share of chemical fibers in global fabric production has increased significantly, while the share of cotton, wool and especially flax has decreased. The creation of mixed fabrics from natural and chemical fibers and knitwear (knitted fabric) was of great importance. The share of chemical fibers in the textile industry of developed countries has especially increased. In developing countries, the main types of textile raw materials remain cotton, wool, natural silk, although the share of products made from chemical fibers is Lately has increased greatly. Today, the structure of the textile industry is as follows: cotton - 67%, chemical fiber production - 20%, wool - 10%, linen - 1.6%, others - 1.4%.

The textile industry as a whole is developing at a faster pace in the group of developing countries. Today, the global textile industry has five main regions: East Asia, South Asia, the CIS, Foreign Europe and. Asia has become the main region of the textile industry in the world, providing today about 70% of the total amount of fabrics, more than half of the production of cotton and woolen fabrics.

The main producers of cotton fabrics are China (30% of world production), India (10%), USA, Japan, Taiwan, France (see table 28 of the textbook, page 394.).
The leading producers of wool and woolen fabrics are Australia and China.

And in the production of the most expensive silk fabrics, with the absolute leadership of the USA (over 50%), the share of Asian countries is also very large, especially China (more than 40%).

The production of linen fabrics decreased significantly. IN large quantities they are produced only in Russia and in countries Western Europe(in ,).

(especially the USA, Italy, Japan, Germany, France), while their share in the production of cotton and woolen fabrics is decreasing, remain the largest producers of knitwear and fabrics made from chemical fibers (synthetic and blended). Although in these types of textile industries their role is steadily declining due to the organization of production in developing countries (India, China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, etc.). Ten largest manufacturers of chemical fibers.

In Russia, which was one of the largest manufacturers of all types of natural fabrics in the world, their production is experiencing a severe decline.

108. Textile industry of the world

The textile industry is the most important branch of light industry, providing approximately half of its total production, and also ranks first in terms of the number of employees. Its main function is the production of consumer goods, primarily fabrics and knitwear. Along with this, it satisfies many production needs with its products. Depending on the raw materials used, the textile industry is usually divided into several sub-sectors - cotton, wool, silk, linen, producing fabrics from chemical fibers, as well as knitting and the production of non-woven materials.

The textile industry is the oldest of all modern industries. It was with it that the industrial revolution began in England in the 18th century, which marked the transition from manufacturing to factory production, which, after the invention of the steam engine, also led to the formation of the first large industrial areas. Then other European countries, Russia, the USA, and some Asian countries followed this path of capitalist industrialization. For a long time The textile industry remained the leading industry in most developed countries of the world, but in the 20th century. its share in both gross output and economic employment active population began to decline, and in the second half of the same century it entered a period of prolonged structural crisis. As countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America The relationship between the North (which in the 19th century, through the export of its cheap factory textiles, contributed to the virtual destruction of this industry in many colonial and semi-colonial countries, such as India) and the South began to change.

The textile industry is not one of the dynamically developing sectors of the world economy. At least in the 90s. XX century World production of textiles of all types remained at approximately 100–120 billion m2 per year. The growth rate of global consumption of textile fibers, which increased quite rapidly until the early 1990s, then slowed down (Fig. 83). However, this does not mean at all that the industry has remained, as it were, in the “rain shadow” of scientific and technological revolution. On the contrary, the scientific and technological revolution had a very great impact on it - primarily due to the automation and electronization of textile production, changes in its structure, the nature of its location, etc. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the main revolutionary influence on the development and location of the textile industry in The last decades have had two factors. Firstly, this dramatic shifts in its raw material base and accordingly in its sectoral structure. Secondly, this is changing the role of individual orientation factors its placement, which led to very significant shifts in its territorial structure.

Rice. 83. Dynamics of world production of textile fibers in 1950–2005.

Let us first dwell on the characteristics of the raw material base of the textile industry. The main change in this area, closely related to the achievements of scientific and technological revolution, is the gradual but steady reducing the share of natural fibers and an increase in the share of chemical fibers, especially synthetic ones. This made it possible to greatly expand and strengthen the industry’s raw material base. Table 117 shows exactly how the proportion between natural and chemical fibers changed.

An analysis of table 117 shows that by the mid-1990s. consumption of natural and chemical fibers has actually become equal. At the same time, the structure of consumption of natural fibers has changed quite little: as before, 80% of it is cotton, 11% is wool and the rest is other types of these fibers. The structure of consumption of chemical fibers, on the contrary, has changed greatly in recent decades: for example, in 1955 the ratio of artificial (viscose) and synthetic fibers was 90:10, and in mid-2005 it was 7:93.

Table 117

CHANGES IN THE WORLD STRUCTURE OF TEXTILE FIBER PRODUCTION IN 1950–2005.

Another important structural and technological innovation of the scientific and technological revolution era is the rapid development of knitting production, which in Western countries has become perhaps the main sub-sector of the entire textile industry, surpassing the production of fabrics in terms of production value. This is largely due to the fact that labor productivity in knitting production is several times higher than, for example, in weaving. But the industry of nonwoven materials, which are increasingly used for technical purposes, has developed at an even faster pace. In addition, labor productivity in this sub-industry is even higher than in the knitting industry.

Changes in the industry's raw material base have largely determined shifts in its industry structure. At the beginning of the 21st century. the world produced 92 million m 2 of cotton fabrics (on average 14 m 2 per capita), 21–22 million m 2 of silk fabrics (9 m 2 per capita), 2.5 million m 2 of woolen fabrics (0.5 m 2 per capita) and even less linen and other types of fabrics. As for chemical fibers, it must be taken into account that they are now mainly used in so-called mixed fabrics, i.e. in combination with wool, silk, cotton (this especially applies to the most common polyester fiber).

For example, almost all production of silk fabrics these days is based on chemical fibers.

Changes in the geography of the global textile industry are also partly explained by shifts in its raw material base, but to an even greater extent they depend on factors such as labor costs. It turned out that in this regard the differences between economically developed and developing countries are truly enormous: for example, in Indonesia the cost of labor is 0.24 dollars per hour, in Pakistan - 0.4, in India and China - 0.6, and in USA – 13, in France – 14–15, in Germany – 21–22 dollars per hour. It was the cheapness of labor that played a decisive role in the “great migration” of the textile (and, we should add, clothing) industry from developed to developing countries, which has been taking place for at least the last three decades. It should be borne in mind that in India,

In Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, this industry developed before the Second World War and, therefore, needed significant modernization, and in the newly industrialized countries of Asia (for example, Thailand) it was formed relatively recently on a completely modern technical basis. In the 1990s. the process of reducing the production of fabrics (except mixed ones) in developed countries and the increase in their production in developing countries continued especially actively. As a result, from 1970 to 1990, the countries of the South almost doubled their production on the world market and at the beginning of the 21st century. their share in the world production of fabrics has already reached 2/3.

The same geographical shift can be traced in the example of individual sub-sectors of the textile industry, primarily the main one - cotton. To do this, just familiarize yourself with the top ten countries for the production of cotton fabrics. Developing countries, although not numerically dominant, far exceed developed countries in terms of production volume (Table 118).

The same shift is clearly visible in the production of fabrics from chemical fibers, but less so in the production of wool and silk fabrics. It is important to add that in developing world there are differences. For example, the subregions of East and Southeast Asia have now become a kind of epicenter of the global textile industry.

Table 118

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY SIZE OF COTTON FABRIC PRODUCTION IN 2005

Changes in foreign trade in textile goods are also associated with the main geographical shift described above. Back in the mid-1980s. Developing countries accounted for approximately 1/4 of world textile exports, but now have a much larger share of it. In many of these countries, the textile industry has a pronounced export orientation, so that 2/3 or even 3/4 of the goods it produces are sometimes sent to foreign markets. That is why China (together with Hong Kong) now occupies the uncompetitive first place in the world in textile exports, and among the developed countries the group of leaders includes Italy, Germany, the USA, and the Republic of Korea.

Textile industry in Russia in the 1990s. was in a state of deep crisis: in the first half of that decade alone, its production decreased by 80%. As a result, the share of the textile industry in the country’s GDP decreased during the same time from almost 8% to less than 2%, and in the budget revenues from 26 to 2%. This sharp drop in production was caused by a complex of reasons, including the loss of all traditional sources of supply for cotton and wool, the residual principle of financing, the low technical level and the ineffective production and organizational structure, which is characterized by many large enterprises (employing more than 1000 people), which does not allow flexible and quick response to market demands. Only in the late 1990s. this decline was stopped, so there was hope for the revival of the country's oldest industry.

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The textile industry is divided into cotton, wool, silk, linen, hemp and jute industries, non-woven materials production, cotton production, etc., spinning, weaving and finishing industries. Let's look at the main industries in more detail.

Cotton production is a leading branch of the textile industry. In our country, it has always provided at least 1/4 of the gross output, concentrated over 40% of the fixed production assets and industrial production personnel of the entire textile industry. In the pre-perestroika years, it produced yarn, gray and ready-made fabrics - over 1,300 articles. The leaders in terms of yardage among them are considered to be dress and shirt, linen, clothing and furniture and decorative fabrics. 4/5 of the fabrics produced were used for personal consumption of the population.

The industry is characterized by the broadest industrial connections: Agriculture supplies raw materials, chemical industry - dyes and chemical fibers, mechanical engineering - machines, machines, apparatus and spare parts. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine an industry that can do without cotton fabrics.

The wool industry is a branch of the textile industry that produces primary processing of wool, yarn, fabrics and individual finished products (shawls, rugs, shawls, blankets, carpets and felt products). Among the branches of the textile industry, it ranks first in terms of gross output (due to expensive raw materials), second in the value of fixed assets (after cotton) and third in terms of the number of employees (after cotton and knitting).

The range of produced woolen fabrics is very wide - coats, suits, dresses, shoes and special ones. In total, there are over 2000 product articles. According to the quality of manufacture, woolen fabrics are usually divided into worsted (smooth; the highest quality) and cloth (fine and coarse wool). At the same time, the products of the wool industry, in addition to the population, are consumed by such industries as metallurgical, fuel, building materials, energy and food.

The silk industry, which includes coco-winding, spinning, weaving (the main production) and spinning-finishing industries, produces yarn and fabrics from natural silk, artificial, synthetic and mixtures of different fibers. She releases widest spectrum fabrics - from those consumed by the population (dresses, linen, raincoats, linings, etc.) to technical ones (electrical insulation, parachute, mill sieves); The industry even produces means of production - cords for tires.

The degree of industry combination is very high: 3/4 of the enterprises are combines or combine weaving-finishing and cocoon-twisting in different ways, and only 1/4 of the enterprises specialize in one particular production.

The linen industry is a branch of the textile industry that produces threads and fabrics from linen yarn. In the industrial structure of the textile industry, linen has a very modest place. It accounts for only 5-6% of production output, the value of fixed assets and the number of personnel in the textile industry.

The main type of natural fibrous raw material for the production of textile materials in Russia and Ukraine has been for many decades and remains to this day. cotton. Its consumption is 6-8 times higher than the total use of flax, hemp, wool and silk. In the former Soviet Union in the period 1960-1980. 75% of all fabrics were made from cotton, which was facilitated by the availability, low cost and well-established technology for processing this type of raw material 1 .

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the situation in the textile industry of Russia and Ukraine has changed dramatically. The severe crisis of the entire industry as a whole, the lack of enterprises working capital and the opening of borders for the expansion of light industrial goods, both from the East and the West, led to a decrease in the volume of production of the textile industry by 5-8 times 2 .

One of the reasons for the backwardness of the textile industry is also the outdated equipment fleet that requires modernization, inherited by post-Soviet enterprises.

It is known that several tens of millions of US dollars are needed to technically re-equip a medium-sized textile enterprise. Such expenses are within the power of either the state budget or large financial and industrial groups (holdings) uniting 4-6 textile enterprises.

Cotton

Industrial holdings have now been created in both Ukraine and Russia. They produce a fairly narrow range cotton fabrics: home textiles, fabrics for workwear and technical materials. The cotton industry is the most representative in Ukraine. It accounts for 50% of all enterprises in the country's textile industry - about 40 factories.

The total nominal capacity is 400 million m 2 of gray fabric (final finishing is still the weakest link in the industry) and 100 thousand tons of yarn per year. As of 2006, Ukrainian chemical and chemical plants operate at approximately 70% of their maximum capacity. The situation is approximately the same in the Russian cotton industry. Enterprises are in a state of fierce competition, covering with their products only a small segment (15-20%) of the range of fabrics required by the consumption market.

In this situation for the right choice development strategies and to optimize the balance of fibrous materials used in the textile industry, both Russia and Ukraine need to abandon the entrenched idea of ​​cotton as the main type of natural raw material for the production of fabrics 1 , 3 , 4 .

This is due to several objective reasons.

Firstly, in the global balance of textile raw materials beginning of XXI century, cotton accounts for only 35%, and according to forecasts its share will continue to decline; the remaining 65% of raw materials (which is 39 million tons of fibers and threads) are made up of artificial and synthetic fibers, as well as other natural fibrous materials (various types of wool, flax, hemp, natural silk and other fibers).

Secondly, cotton for Russia and Ukraine is now 100% imported raw material, which is also used for defense needs.

Thirdly, over the past decades, the environmental indicators of cotton grown in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan), where a number of areas are recognized as environmental disaster zones, have deteriorated. 5 Raw materials grown using plant protection products prohibited in Europe may contain residual amounts of chlorine organic compounds, and therefore the possibility of its negative impact on both processors and consumers of final products cannot be ruled out. Already, female workers at a number of spinning mills processing Central Asian cotton have been reported to have skin diseases (eczema and dermatitis) 4 .

Thus it becomes actual problem ensuring widespread industrial use of other fibrous materials alternative to cotton, especially natural ones.

Linen

The primacy in our latitudes certainly belongs to flax. This natural cellulose fiber has higher medical-biological and physical-mechanical properties than cotton. Thanks to such a unique set of flax properties as hygiene, high strength, low electrical resistance and dust holding capacity, comfort, natural bactericidal properties (antiseptic and anti-putrefactive), the demand for flax and flax-containing textile materials around the world is growing year after year.

The use of linen in human clothing has a long history. IN ancient Greece linen clothing was considered the privilege of priests, in ancient Egypt was available only to the aristocracy. The shroud in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped was made of linen fibers. In Rus', linen has been used since ancient times for linen and clothing, including festive ones. The most interesting fact is also the fact that the first Russian standard, personally signed by Peter the Great, was the flax standard.

German scientists have proven that in hot weather, a person's skin temperature in linen clothes is 3...4 o C lower than in clothes made from other natural fibers. The presence of even a small amount of flax fiber (up to 10%) in the fabric almost completely eliminates electrification and reduces the permeability of gamma radiation by 1.5-2 times.

Interest in flax increases every year. According to forecasts of leading French experts (based on medical and sociological research), by 2010 the share of linen and flax-containing fabrics in the total production of textile materials in the world will increase to 70% 6 .

It should be noted that the successful promotion of linen fabrics to the domestic and foreign markets depends not only on their high physical, mechanical and hygienic properties. The environmental friendliness of fabrics is also of significant importance, which must be confirmed by environmental certification according to the international standards ECO-TEX-100, ISO-9000 and ISO-14000.

These standards regulate: the content of light organic carbohydrates (for example, formaldehyde) in tissues; residual amounts of heavy metals and toxic elements (lead, arsenic, cobalt, mercury, etc.); pesticides and herbicides used in flax cultivation; chlorinated organic compounds used in finishing; residual content of dyes and their breakdown products (for printed fabrics).

In terms of quality, Western European flax is recognized as the best in the world. The leaders in its production are France (85 thousand tons/year); Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany (18 thousand tons/year each).

Flax grown in Russia and Ukraine has a degree of woodiness of 40...60% versus 20% for Western European flax and is tougher. In the textile industry of Russia and Ukraine, only 30% of flax (long fiber) is effectively used, and 70% (short fiber) is mainly used for technical and packaging materials (burlap, tow, etc.). Existing technologies for processing long-fiber flax into roving and yarn are very lengthy and energy-intensive processes. As a result, the pure and semi-linen fabrics produced, which are in great demand, especially in the West, are much more expensive than cotton ones.

The disadvantages of linen fabrics - increased creasing and shrinkage - are offset by raw material additives of other types of fibers and new types of final finishing (bio-enzymatic and nanotechnological).

Modern flax-containing raw material compositions include: 7 linen-polyester (40+67) linen-polyamide (5+25) linen-viscose (30+60) linen-lyocell (45+55) linen-tensel (45+55) linen-cupra (45+55) linen- polyurethane fibers (2+6) flax-metallized fibers (30+45) flax-cotton (40+65) flax-wool (18+58) flax-hemp (25+73) flax-natural silk (12+40).

For the production of modern fabrics, more complex fiber compositions are also used: flax-polyester-viscose-natural silk; flax-wool-polyamide; linen-cotton-tactel-polyester, etc. 8 .

In the last 10-15 years, equipment has been created (by Truetzschler GmbH & Co HG, Temafa, Rietter Perfojet, Tverlegmashdetail, Cardatex, TsNIILKA) for the production of cotonin - a modified short flax fiber, similar in technological properties to cotton and suitable for joint spinning with cotton and wool. The most widely known are mechanical, chemical and mechanochemical technologies for flax cotonization 9 .

Textile hemp

Along with cotton and flax, hemp is becoming increasingly popular. This environmentally friendly yellow-brown fiber is difficult to bleach, reacts to heat treatment and insolation in the same way as cotton, and its physical and mechanical properties are close to flax.
The best quality hemp textile fiber is produced in Italy. Despite the fact that Ukrainian breeding scientistsGlukhovsky Research Institute of Bast Crops have achieved serious success in breeding elite varieties of textile hemp; in Ukraine, at present, technologies for growing and processing this promising fiber are practically not being developed 10 .

Over the past five years, 12 new types of natural textile fibers of plant origin (from stems, leaves and even petals of plants) have been registered in the world. Among the exotic varieties of natural fibers that are increasingly used in fashion fabrics are the following types: 11 .

Ramie (Chinese nettle)- 2 times stronger than flax, 5 times stronger than cotton. Natural color - white, easily dyed, has bactericidal properties and a natural silky shine. In modern fabrics, this fiber is mixed with natural silk, mercerized cotton and viscose. 12 .

Sisal (agave, pita, sesame)- ultra-tear-resistant and abrasion-resistant fiber with anti-rot properties (cellulose content 70...72%). Previously it was used only for weaving mats, but now - in coats, raincoats, furniture and decorative fabrics and carpet floor coverings. The new raw material composition is also interesting: sisal-cashmere-lurex 13 .

Pima - a type of cotton grown in Peru. Very thin, long-fiber, superior in quality to Egyptian varieties, has a natural silky shine, and does not require mercerization.

Luobuma (luobuma) is a fiber with a 5000-year history, but only now is it being actively used in China in industrial production textile materials. This plant grows in the forests of China (Xinjiang province). Main properties: high hygroscopicity, air and vapor permeability, bactericidal properties, protection against UV radiation, stimulation of blood circulation; Luobum fabric is easily dyed, has low shrinkage, and transmits long rays of infrared radiation, which contribute to the restoration of cells in the human body and the treatment of arthritis.

Pineapple and banana leaf fibers are also now being used industrially; fibers of kenaf, cotton grass, burdock, broom, manila (abaca), jute (Calcutta hemp) and others 14 .

Wool

Among natural fibers of animal origin, as before, the leading ones are protein fibers: wool and silk.

From historical sources It is known that wool, as a textile raw material, has served humanity for over 12,000 years. These fibers have a number of valuable physical and mechanical properties: they have the best hygienic and thermal protection indicators among natural fibers, elasticity, strength, and high technological properties (due to the natural crimp of the fibers and their ability to be felted). Thanks to the unique structure of the surface scaly layer, they easily form a strong adhesion to each other and are the only types of fibers that serve as a raw material base for the creation of felted nonwoven materials - felt and felt. 15 .

In Ukraine, the wool processing industry unites 26 enterprises that produce coats, suits, dresses, shawls pure wool (w/w) and half-wool (w/w) fabrics; for the top and lining of shoes, blankets, rugs, scarves, carpets, black and white yarn.

In total, the wool processing industry of Ukraine can annually produce: 40 thousand tons of yarn, 70 million m 2 of fabrics, 4 million m 2 of non-woven materials, 600 thousand pairs of felted shoes. However, now it is also not working at full capacity. The basis of the raw materials consumed (85%) is imported fine and semi-fine wool. Domestic raw materials (wool from coarse-wool and semi-coarse-wool sheep) are used only 15% 3 .

Wool, as a raw material, must be differentiated by type and even by breed of animal. According to requirements International Federal Trade Commission(FTC) all wool products must have a special tag with a decoding of the raw material composition, which indicates information about the types of wool fibers included in the product and their percentage, as well as international symbols on how to care for this product 16 .

Despite the fact that the basis of the industrial raw material base is sheep wool (approximately 85%), it cannot be identified as a single raw material group, since today more than 140 types of sheep wool are used in the production of woolen materials, which differ from each other in the length and fineness of the fibers, the degree crimp and luster shine, spinning and dyeing ability, heat-protective properties and carcass. The most popular is fine-fleece and semi-fine-fleece wool from merino sheep. Products made from extra-fine merino wool are marked Gold Woolmark and looks like natural silk 17 .

Other types of wool include: mohair, cashmere, angora, camel, goat, sarly (yaks), dog, rabbit, hare and horse hair, wool from humpless camels (llamas, alpacas, vicunas, guanacos), bison and other animals.

In the last 10 years, mink, muskrat, otter, marten, sable, and chinchilla wool have been used as minor raw material additives (up to 12%). These fibers are obtained by plucking or shearing natural fur, if so specified by the design.

Mohair - This is the wool of the Angora goat. The fineness of the fiber depends on the age of the animal: in young animals - 25...33 microns, in adults - 33...45 microns (For comparison: the fineness of human hair is 48...50 microns). The fiber has a special luster shine, a smooth surface, and a soft touch. Average length - 75...100 mm. Main suppliers: USA, Turkey, China, and more recently Australia and New Zealand.

Cashmere - Kashmiri wool mountain goats. The fibers have an exceptionally soft and delicate touch. The main parameters of down fibers: fineness - 11...18 microns, length - 25...80 mm. The main parameters of coarse fibers: fineness - 30...100 microns, length - 40...200 mm. The largest volume of this raw material is procured in China and Mongolia.

Alpaca . Its fibers are divided into 3 groups depending on their fineness: Royal- 19 microns Baby- 22 microns Standard- 26 microns .

Interestingly, in nature there are 24 natural shades of alpaca - black, white, various shades of gray, brown, beige and brown-red. With such a wide range of natural colors, these fibers do not require industrial dyeing and are increasingly being used around the world to produce environmentally friendly textiles.

Vicuna has the finest natural wool fibers in the world. Average fineness - 10...15 microns, length - 30...50 mm. Down fibers have a fineness of 6-8 microns. Vicuna wool is one of the most expensive raw materials in the world. The fibers have a delicate, plastic, flowing texture, silky shine and are distinguished by a unique property - they do not pill at all in finished materials.

Perino . Of the latest raw material innovations, fiber has attracted the attention of textile workers. Perino, presented by New Zealand at the exhibition Expofil-2005. This is fiber from the tail of an opossum.
Its fineness is 15...18 microns. This fiber is very soft to the touch, similar to cashmere; it has a peculiar structure - it tapers towards one end and is hollow inside. As a result, high heat-shielding properties and very light weight. Today these fibers are used in luxury women's fabrics, adding 25...40% to cashmere, angora, cotton, natural silk 11 .

Particular attention of foreign and domestic researchers to wool rare species animals is explained, first of all, by the high commercial demand for these types of raw materials. For example, in Italian industry, the share of cashmere in the total volume of processed raw materials is steadily growing (the annual increase over the past 5 years has been 12-15%). Mohair, especially produced in Texas (USA) and Turkey, is in steady demand among textile manufacturers. Alpaca, llama and vicuña fibers were in short supply on the world market during 2001-2003. The only supplier of industrial quantities of these fibers is Peru 17 .

Company Woolmark in collaboration with International Wool Secretariat carries out certification of wool and wool blend fabrics according to a number of physical-mechanical, technological, environmental and performance indicators.
Currently labeling Woolmark is identified as an international quality mark for wool and wool blend fabrics. Fabrics are assigned the following types: Woolmark- 100% content of pure fresh wool from live animals (up to 7% synthetic fibers are allowed without notifying the consumer) Wool-blend-mark- fresh wool content of at least 50% Wool-blend- fresh wool content from 30 to 50% Top Wool- guarantee of environmental purity of raw materials; the wool does not contain alkaloid components, since the animals were kept in an environmentally friendly environment with a controlled diet. For products marked with this sign, additional purification of raw materials is carried out using special technology Bioclean 14 .

For the purpose of marking ultra-fine wool fabrics made from worsted uniform yarn, the company Woolmark introduced a notation system Super (S). Today there are fabrics marked: Super-100 And Super-200. This means that the material is obtained by using worsted yarn with a diameter of 18.5 microns and 13 microns respectively. 17 .

The largest Japanese company producing wool and wool blend yarn Nikke introduced new technology that made it possible to change the circular cross-section of wool fiber. The technology does not impair the physical and mechanical properties of wool, but it does affect the microstructure of the fiber, as a result of which the materials acquire a special flowing shine and high drapability. 11 .

Silk
Natural silk is a cocoon protein thread of organic origin. This raw material brings hygiene, comfort, drapability, and the highest aesthetic and optical properties to the fabric. Despite the centuries-old history of silk, modern researchers are discovering new properties of this unique raw material. Japanese scientists have proven that natural silk is an immunostimulating, anti-allergenic and bactericidal raw material, which has a particularly beneficial effect on women's and children's bodies.

In modern textile production, natural silk is used for the manufacture of dresses, blouses, shirts, suits, coats, furniture, decorative and curtain fabrics, bed and underwear, hosiery, clothing for infants and special-purpose materials (including medical) .

The development of technologies for processing natural silk is aimed at preserving its natural environmental purity, i.e. to create silk eco-textiles. It is interesting that to implement this promising technological direction, specialists often resort to old and even ancient methods of producing materials. 18

For example, a finish called tea silk, known in China since the 12th century. The fabric was buried in soil with a high iron content, which oxidized, giving it a dark red-brown color. Then the fabric was laid out in the sun on one side. The whole process took 4 or more months. The result was an elegant double-faced silk fabric with the dark, waxy sheen of strongly brewed tea. Nowadays, “tea silk” is proudly used in their collections by designers of world fashion houses. 11 .

Biostructuring of natural silk can certainly be considered a new technology. A new fiber called bio-steel, registered company Nexia, is a biosilk of increased strength, lightweight, elastic, hygienic, the cross section of which resembles a cross with 12 corners 14 .

The latest technologies that are already being used in the world to improve consumer properties, productivity and the production of natural fibers are genetic engineering, bioselection and even cloning of especially valuable types of woolen animal breeds.

NOTES

1 Zhivetin V.V., Sychev V.N. - Textile chemistry, 2002, No. 1(17), pp. 4-14.

2 Aizenstein E.M. Textile Chemistry, 1997, No. 3 (12), pp. 20-27

3 companion.uk - 2005.

4 Moryganov A.P., Zakharov A.G., Zhivetin V.V. - Russian Chemical Journal, 2002, vol. XLVI, No. 1.

5 Guseva T.V., Mikhailidi D.Kh., Zaika E.A. - On Sat. abstracts of reports of the scientific and practical conference “Science for the flax complex”, Vologda, M.: TsNIILKA, 2000, pp. 98-101.

6 Textile Report, 2005, no. 4, p.23-24.

7 Below are the percentages of flax + second component in a flax-containing composition - approx. ed.

8 Contemporary issues and textile trends" - "Textile Plus", 2005, pp. 18-20.

9 Voronova M.I. etc. - In Sat. works V International conference“Theoretical and experimental foundations for the creation of new highly efficient technological processes and equipment”, Ivanovo, 2001, IHR RAS, p.428.

10 Hemp (cannabis sativa) is one of the oldest industrial crops, the first mention of which dates back to the 9th century BC. Unlike Indian hemp, which is common in southern latitudes and contains narcotic ingredients, it has been used since ancient times, in particular, for the production of twisted products (from female plants - materka), textile yarn (from male plants - poskon), wiping and technical heat-insulating materials (from inferior quality raw materials and waste). It became widespread in Russia, especially with the beginning of the construction of the sailing fleet, and was one of the strategic items of Russian export, including to England and the USA. The growth of hemp acreage peaked worldwide (about 1 million hectares) in the 1920s, after which it began to decline under pressure from the growth of the market for cheap cotton fiber. By 1931, 920 thousand hectares of hemp were sown in the USSR; by 1960, crops were reduced to 450 thousand hectares.

Being high-yielding in conditions temperate latitudes(fiber up to 2.9 t/ha) and even temperate northern latitudes (fiber up to 2 t/ha in Finland and Canada, according to All-Russian Institute of Plant Growing - VIR), hemp fiber has great strength under high humidity conditions and the highest abrasive resistance (it’s not for nothing that the first jeans were made from it Levi's), Very long length(up to 300 cm), and in terms of elasticity and linear density (40 Nm) it is close to linen.

This whole complex of consumer properties, as well as the fact that agricultural technology for growing hemp does not require (unlike cotton) the use of powerful chemical protection crops, have led to its “rebirth” in recent decades as a good raw material for eco-textiles. Suffice it to say that by 2002 in France its crops occupied more than 30 thousand hectares (EU subsidies - 63 euros/t fiber), while in Russia only 3 thousand hectares (subsidies from the Russian Government - about 54 euros/t fiber) .

The largest producer of hemp yarn in Europe is currently an Italian company Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale. The project for the full production chain of pure hemp eco-friendly fabrics (from growing raw materials in Kent to weaving and finishing in London) was implemented in 1995 in the UK by the company Bioregional Development Group. German textile workers are showing significant activity in the revival of traditional culture under the auspices of the National Association for United Development Hanfcom. In particular, the group of companies Hanfhaus currently produces environmentally friendly 100% bast products in the shirt and denim range, and the company Flaksy- industrial production for mechanical processing of fibers with a capacity of 4000 tons/year. Wholesale supplies of eco-clothing made from bast fibers to Russia are carried out by LLC Assol , selling goods through ethnic stores in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Ufa and outside the country (in Kyiv).

Actually, Russian projects in this area still do not reach the commercial level, remaining within the framework of scientific and technical developments and generalizations. So, Institute of Solution Chemistry RAS offers a highly environmentally friendly technology for mechanochemical cotonization of bast fiber, in which the fibers acquire crimp, plasticity, their bending and torsional rigidity is reduced, as well as optimal compositions of yarn blends. Proposals for organizing the integrated development of the sub-industry remain unrealized - see Grigoriev S.V. Opportunities for expanding the raw material base of the textile industry through the use of cannabis sativa bast fibers in European countries and Russia ( SPGUTD, VIR) - approx. ed.

11 International Textiles, 2004, no. 2 (7), p. 5, 12-18.

12 Among the largest importers of this fiber, yarn and finished products from ramie and traditional blends (55% ramie + 45% cotton with polyester) are China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, the Philippines and Indonesia. Until recently, ramie was used mainly in textiles that took advantage of the strength properties of the fiber - twisted products, sails, linen, home textiles. The powerful development of ramie confection in recent years is due to the fact that it is not subject to quotas for textiles of other raw materials from Southeast Asian countries. In this case, the high absorption capacity, good resistance to dry cleaning, comfort and environmental friendliness of fabrics made from this fiber come to the fore. Knitwear, casual and children's clothing made from ramie have included the following in their assortment: trade marks, How Mango And Westland - approx. ed.

13 Until recently, agave fiber (sisal) was used mainly for the production of technical textiles (carpets, book bindings, twisted products, wallpaper, nets, washcloths and bath shoes, upholstery of furniture and sports equipment). Now its largest exporters - Brazil, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar (total export of 123 thousand tons / year) - focusing on the launch of industrial processing enterprises, can count on its wider use - approx. ed.

14 International Textiles, 2003, no. 4, pp. 4-5, 59-60.

15 Volynets T.A., Dregulas E.P., Shevchenko G.I. - Easy Promislovist, 2005, No. 1, p. 25.

16 See also Boris Khramov (regional representative of Woolmark in Russia) - in Art. The crisis of the Russian wool complex. Problems and solutions// Light Industry Market, No. 27, 2002 - approx. ed.

17 Razumeev K.E. Textile industry, 2004, No. 5, pp. 18-20.

18 See Oksana Fominova. Affordable luxury: myths and truth about natural silk, recommendations for sellers and artists// Light Industry Market, No. 44, 2005 - editor's note