Institute of Pacific Relations

Chemistry Opens New Textile PossibilitiesAuthor(s): W. W. L.Source: Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 5, No. 10 (May 6, 1936), pp. 102-103Published by: Institute of Pacific RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3021849 .

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102 Chemistry Opens New Textile Possibilities May 6

rubber-soled canvas shoes jumped from ?8,529,000 in 1930 to ?16,912,444 in 1935; rubber tires, from

?5,300,000 to ?10,000,000 in the same years; and

bicycle tires, from ?1,901,000 in 1931 to ?5,239,000. Of equal interest here is the fact that imports of rubber tires into Japan, mainly from the United States and Great Britain and formerly the main rubber import item, declined from ?3,832,000 in 1930 to less than

?15,000 in 1935. Due to the active competition within the industry,

Japanese officials are concerned lest an inferior quality of products find their way to foreign markets. The Cabinet Inquiry Council has under consideration a plan for the establishment of an industrial laboratory to serve as a guide in the development of the industry as

a whole. The aim is to bring all Japanese industrial

goods, including rubber manufactures, up to an inter? national level by establishing standards and making technical improvements.

During the years 1932-1934 Japan followed the United States and Great Britain in importance as an

importer of crude rubber. Unsuccessful in her at?

tempts to produce native rubber, Japan's importations of this article increased from 12,752 tons in 1925 to

70,905 tons in 1934. This figure declined in 1935 to

56,000 tons. Japanese investments in rubber planta- tions, valued at approximately ?48,000,000 and con? centrated in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, are surpassed only by the holdings of Great Britain, Netherlands India and the United States. J. R.

CHEMSTRY OPENS NEW TEXTILE POSSIBILITIES

The astonishing rise of rayon in recent years prom- ises to be only the first of a series of startling results from the application of the new chemical sciences to the ancient art of textile production. The industrial revo- lution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while it displaced multitudes of handicraft weavers from their traditional occupations as it moved around the

world, also greatly expanded the demand for the long- used natural fibers?cotton, wool and silk?and stimu- lated the economic development of new producing areas. The present phase of technical development, which has added important new fibers to the list of textile materials for the first time in thousands of years, is likewise expanding and diversifying textile manu? factures in almost bewildering variety. But at the same time it carries with it the threat of reducing the demand for the older fibers and necessitating painful readjustments in those countries which have come to

rely upon specialized production of one or another of these materials.

These observations are prompted by current reports concerning new developments in synthetic textile fibers. World output of rayon yarn again broke all records last year, exceeding the billion-pound mark. The Amer? ican and the Japanese industries are in the vanguard, with production last year of 257 and 224 million pounds respectively, according to the Rayon Organon. The former had increased its output 70% since 1931, while the latter had quintupled its production. In addition to steady expansion in this field, recent reports tell of

many experiments in the use of new materials?of

paper and cellophane yarns in Germany, of fibers made from seaweed in Japan and cornstalks in Texas, of "cotton wool" derived from hemp and of artificial wool made from skimmed milk in Italy. A prominent chem- ist has recently spoken with confidence of the promise of synthetic fibers which will provide the warmth of

wool, the elasticity of silk, and the cheapness of cotton,

while at the same time possessing that diversity among types and uniformity within types which only scien- tific controls can assure.

Most significant of the latest developments and one

already well beyond the experimental stage, is staple fiber. An offshoot of the rayon industry, staple fiber is also made of wood pulp and linters, but in this case the filaments are cut into short lengths and spun into

yarn like cotton or wool instead of being joined to?

gether to form a continuous filament. Staple fiber

adapts itself to a wide range of fabrics, and can readily be blended with cotton, wool, or silk. These spun rayon yarns are being used increasingly in dress goods, suitings, and upholstery materials. They also offer

possibilities as substitutes for both cotton and wool in certain uses. World production increased 136% last

year, though it was still only 5% of rayon yarn output. In part these new developments in synthetic textiles

result from the restless search of industrialists for

profit opportunities. But in part they also reflect eco? nomic necessity and current national policies of mini-

mizing dependence upon overseas supplies of the natu? ral fibers, regardless of the cost. It is significant that

Germany and Italy pioneered the development of staple fiber and far outdistance their nearest rivals in pro? duction. It was Germany which accounted for the bulk of the increase last year. So anxious is she to increase her self-sufficiency in textile materials, that she now requires every domestic purchaser of textile

goods under contract to accept deliveries with admix- tures of staple fiber, up to 20%, in place of pure cotton or wool.

Italy is now in an even more critical position as re-

gards foreign trade now that sanctions are having their effect. Last year her rayon yarn output increased

only 26%, but production of staple fiber tripled. Mus- solini's armies in Ethiopia are now reported to be wear-

ing spun rayon shirts and uniforms in the field. In a

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1936 Chemistry Opens New Textile Possibilities 103

further effort to discover wool substitutes, Sina Viscosa, Italy's leading rayon producer, has recently begun the commercial production of lanital, a new synthetic wool made from casein derived from milk. Enough skimmed milk is available in northern Italy, it is estimated, to

produce 12,000 tons of lanital; but this, together with an estimated wool clip of 10,000 tons would supply only a fraction of Italy's normal wool requirements. Never-

theless, serious trade and exchange difficulties, now further aggravated by sanctions, make the problem of raw materials acute. The intentions of the Italian

government are evidenced in the fact that the import tariff on raw wool has recently been raised tenfold, while the government has taken over the entire wool

clip for 1936. Despite feverish effort to discover do? mestic substitutes, however, neither Italy nor Germany is yet in a position to forego imported textile fibers without enormous sacrifices in the standard of living.

Japan has experienced no import difficulties com-

parable to those of Germany or Italy. In fact, as is well known, her import and export trade have lately enjoyed a boom of unprecedented proportions. The rayon industry has shared in this boom, thus compen- sating in a measure for the adverse effects of rayon on Japanese silk markets abroad. Capacity has steadily outrun demand, however, with the result that increas?

ing curtailment among members of the rayon cartel, amounting now to 30%, has failed to keep production within the bounds which would maximize the profits of cartel members. Checks in the rayon field in turn have stimulated staple fiber production which has increased by leaps and bounds. According to a recent estimate

staple fiber capacity was 5 million pounds per year in the middle of 1934; at present it is 25 millions; and if present plans materialize it will be 65 millions annu-

ally. Young as the staple fiber industry is in Japan, it is

already faced with acute overproduction, which ex-

plains in part the recent sharp increase in shipments of staple fiber to the United States at low prices. Im?

ports from Japan commenced in August of last year and mounted rapidly, until in February 1936 they had reached a level of 445,000 pounds. Imports of Japa? nese rayon waste have also registered a sharp increase. Production of staple fiber in this country is still com-

paratively small, but with its current expansion and the

increasing popularity of spun rayons the competition between the imported and domestic fiber is expected to become increasingly keen. The question of raising the tariff has already been broached in trade circles.

In common with Germany, Italy, and other industrial

countries, Japan is manifesting increasing concern over her dependence upon overseas supplies of textile mate?

rials, especially cotton, wool, and woodpulp from the United States and the British Empire. Her efforts to curtail that dependency, however, have so far at- tained but slight success on the whole. In this connec?

tion, some interest attaches to a recent announcement of preparations for the low-cost production of staple fiber from a common variety of Japan's abundant sea- weed.

The effect of pending developments in synthetic fibers upon Japan's heavy textile trade are still quite uncertain. So far rayon has not checked Japan's im?

ports of cotton and wool, though it has adversely affected Japanese silk in the American market. In the

Pacific, as elsewhere, these new developments are not

likely seriously to cripple the livelihood of cotton, wool, and silk producers, provided the economic and politi- cal systems of the nations affected permit a general expansion of purchasing power enabling people to clothe themselves more adequately. If the contrary proves true, the various fibers will then be forced to do battle for a static or shrinking market, with the probability of heavy losses for producers of the natural fibers. W. W. L.

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