330 16.From Natural Fibers to Man-Made Plastics TABLE 16.1.Major sources of natural fibers,usage,and raw and retail prices Raw world market price (U.S.cents/pound) Principal growing Fiber Usage 1995/96 2000 countries Flax/linen Fine textiles,cordage, 18.5 58.2 Belgium,Netherlands, raw,retted yarn Russia,France,China Ramie Garment blend with 28.3 51.8 China,Taiwan,Korea, farm price cotton Philippines,Brazil Cotton Garments,paper, 75.6 51.8 China,USA,Pakistan, farm price explosives,oil,padding India,Uzbekistan,Brazil Wool Knitting yarn,tweeds, 192.5 75 Australia,New Zealand, 3"and up flannels,carpets, China,South Africa, blankets,upholstery,felts Russia,Argentina Retail price Fiber Retail price Fiber ($/1 pound,Sept 2003) Almost white cashmere $130.00 Superwash Merino wool $16.33 Fine baby camel 46.00 Ramie 14.10 Baby llama 40.80 Goat hair 11.88 Cultivated silk 40.80 Fine Shetland wool 11.14 Water retted flax 24.76 Moorit English wool 9.28 White alpaca 19.68 Dew retted flax 8.17 Fine mohair 17.45 Source:Department of Commerce,U.S.Census Bureau,Foreign Trade Statistics. Rubber Probably the most fascinating natural material,however,is rubber, also known by the Maya name caoutchouc.4 Knowledge of the elas- tic properties of rubber was brought to Europe in 1496 by Christo- pher Columbus,who observed inhabitants of Haiti playing with bouncing balls.Considerably later,in 1615,a Spanish explorer re- ported how"milk"(latex5)gathered from incisions made on specific tropical trees was brushed on cloaks,rendering them waterproof af- ter drying,or on earthen,bottle-shaped molds to produce contain- ers.It was not until 1735 that a French geographical expedition iden- tified caoutchouc as the condensed sap of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, today called the rubber tree,because rubber has the capability to erase (rub off)pencil marks.Hevea trees grow only about ten de- grees north or south of the equator and need heavy annual rainfalls of about 250 cm,that is,a tropical climate.The rubber tree is cul- tivated at present particularly in Malaysia,but also in Ceylon,South- east Asia,and West Africa.Wild rubber is still harvested in South America(Brazil,Peru). HCaa wood and o-chu weeping,i.e.,weeping wood. 5Latex (Latin)=fluid.Probably the most fascinating natural material, however, is rubber, also known by the Maya name caoutchouc. 4 Knowledge of the elas￾tic properties of rubber was brought to Europe in 1496 by Christo￾pher Columbus, who observed inhabitants of Haiti playing with bouncing balls. Considerably later, in 1615, a Spanish explorer re￾ported how “milk” (latex5) gathered from incisions made on specific tropical trees was brushed on cloaks, rendering them waterproof af￾ter drying, or on earthen, bottle-shaped molds to produce contain￾ers. It was not until 1735 that a French geographical expedition iden￾tified caoutchouc as the condensed sap of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, today called the rubber tree, because rubber has the capability to erase (rub off) pencil marks. Hevea trees grow only about ten de￾grees north or south of the equator and need heavy annual rainfalls of about 250 cm, that is, a tropical climate. The rubber tree is cul￾tivated at present particularly in Malaysia, but also in Ceylon, South￾east Asia, and West Africa. Wild rubber is still harvested in South America (Brazil, Peru). 330 16 • From Natural Fibers to Man-Made Plastics 4Caa
wood and o-chu
weeping, i.e., weeping wood. 5Latex (Latin)
fluid. Rubber TABLE 16.1. Major sources of natural fibers, usage, and raw and retail prices Raw world market price (U.S. cents/pound) Principal growing Fiber Usage 1995/96 2000 countries Flax/linen Fine textiles, cordage, 18.5 58.2 Belgium, Netherlands, raw, retted yarn Russia, France, China Ramie Garment blend with 28.3 51.8 China, Taiwan, Korea, farm price cotton Philippines, Brazil Cotton Garments, paper, 75.6 51.8 China, USA, Pakistan, farm price explosives, oil, padding India, Uzbekistan, Brazil Wool Knitting yarn, tweeds, 192.5 75.0 Australia, New Zealand, 3" and up flannels, carpets, China, South Africa, blankets, upholstery, felts Russia, Argentina Retail price Fiber Retail price Fiber ($/1 /2 pound, Sept 2003) Almost white cashmere $130.00 Superwash Merino wool $16.33 Fine baby camel 46.00 Ramie 14.10 Baby llama 40.80 Goat hair 11.88 Cultivated silk 40.80 Fine Shetland wool 11.14 Water retted flax 24.76 Moorit English wool 9.28 White alpaca 19.68 Dew retted flax 8.17 Fine mohair 17.45 Source: Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics