Submitted To : Pranav Vohra

Submitted By : Ankit Kumar

Bittu Kumar Singh

Harsh Nandan Tripathi

Shubham Kumar

Shubham Singh

8/24/2015 FABRIC SCIENCEASSIGNMENTWOOL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion of this assignment gives us much pleasure. We are much thankful to Mr. Pranav Vohra, Course Instructor, NIFT Gandhinagar for guiding us throughout the work. For a successful assignment as this one, we took help from some people. We would also like to thank heartily all those who directly or indirectly guided us in making this assignment. Many of our classmates and team members gave valuable suggestions which inspire us to continuously improve our work.

Thank You

WOOL- AN INTRODUCTIONHair of the animal sheep is called wool. It is the long furry covering of the animal. Each fibre grows out of a depression in the skin called “Follicle.” This growth is nourished by capillary blood vessels. Whether the wool is coarse or fine, or curly or straight is determined by the follicle.

The oily sebum secreted by sebaceous gland is called “Wool fat.” This is the by product of wool processing. It is used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industry.

The cells fibre is made of are produced at the bulb of follicles. After the completion, such cells are pushed up by the new cells. These harden and die to become wool. They retain the shape given by the follicle.

Follicle bulbs follow cycles of activity and rest. When they are active, the fibre grows. When they are at rest, fibre does not grow. When they shrivel, the fibre is shed. Periodical shedding of a large proportion of hair is called moulting.

PRODUCTION OF WOOLIn India, Pakistan and North Africa coarse wool is produced. Years of selective breeding has helped sheep in being suited to an array of climate and fleece characteristics.

Australia is the leading producer of wool. The main breed of its stock is the Australian Merino. Its contribution stands at ¾ th of its total produce. This breed is suited to dry conditions. It needs vast land to graze. Its wool is even finer during drought times.

New Zealand and India are producers of excellent resilient carpet wools. The main breed found in New Zealand is of English variety called Romney Marsh. This breed is suited to wetter conditions of mountain pastures. The sheep of India are suited to hot and dry conditions.

Lincoln is a breed of sheep know for its long wool. It needs open land to graze so that it can avoid burrs and rubbish. This protects its long wool from harm.

TYPES OF WOOLLong wool is produces when follicles are active for long periods. Short wool is produced when follicles are active for relatively less time. Such wool is fine, dense and curlier.

Fibres can be very fine in diameter (18 microns) to coarser (more than 40 microns). Fine wools are shorter i.e. of 4 to 12 cm average length. Coarse wools are longer i.e. up to 30cm in length.

Length of wool depends on:

breed of sheep, part of fleece from which wool comes, how often a sheep is shorn.

Wool having diameter less than 17 microns is called super fine wool. It is so soft that it can used for making babies’ under clothes.

Fine wool is harvested from Merino sheep and Scottish Blackface sheep. It is fine, short and has small waves of crimps. Most woollen knits and finest worsteds are made from this wool.

Blankets are made from medium diameter wools. Samples having more than 10% coarse diameter fibres will feel scratchy and lead to irritation.

COARSE WOOLSThey are tough, resilient and stiff. They are lustrous due to canal like spaces called Medulla. They have long waves of crimps. These are used in making tweeds and carpets. Romney Marsh, Crossbred, Lincoln and Tukidale produce coarse wools.

MORPHOLOGYWools are chemically and structurally complex.

Central mass of the fibre is called Cortex. It is made up of two cigar shaped cells. These cells may be evenly mixed or maybe not. All para cells can be arranged on one side and ortho cells on the other sides. Such arrangements occur in fine fibres. They are produced from curved follicles. Such a fibre is called a bilateral fibre. It is distributed in two distinct halves. It is called helical fibre.

In coarser wools, cells are uniformly distributed. They have little or no crimps.

Scales are layers of cells surrounding the cortex. Generally there are 2 or 3 layers of flat and overlapping cells. They are laid one above another. They always point in one direction i.e. away from root of the fibre. Scales help in analysis of Directional frictional effect.

Accordingly, it is easier to rub fibre in one direction than the other.

MICRO STRUCTURE AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

Wool fibre is composed of tightly packed cells. These cells are made of well organized fibrillar regions. These filbrils are made microfibrils.

Microfibrils are crystalline and amorphous arrangement of protein molecules. Keratin is a long protein molecule which passes through the crystalline and amorphous regions.

Such crystalline regions have unique organization in which 3 molecular chains wind around in helical arrangements. These chains are held together by Van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds. This helical arrangement allows the fibre to act as springs having unique resilience.

Wool is not 100% elastic. it is distorted by excessive pressure.

Factors affecting extension :

amount of extension duration of time extension is maintained. time allowed for recovering.

In humid conditions , hydrogen bonds are broken easily. Thus wool stretches more.Wool is immensely amorphous. Cysteine is one of the proteins wool is made of. When two Cysteines are joined, Cystine is produced. In it, one half is in one chain and remaining half in the other chain. This results in strong covalent bonds. It occurs in the most amorphous parts of fibre. It contributes to strength of wool and elasticity in wet conditions. It holds molecular chains in place.

The disulfide bonds of the fibre break on the actions of alkalis. This is why wool gets damaged by alkaline washing powders and detergents. To ensure no damage is done to the fabric, its properties can be modified.

INDIAN WOOLEN MARKET

Market Size

Fabric production by the mill sector accounted a rise of six per cent during April 2013-July 2014 and in hosiery sector it increased by eight per cent during April-July 2014. Total cloth production grew by two per cent during April-July 2014.

With consumerism and sale income on the rise, the retail sector has experienced a enormous growth in the past decade with several international players like Marks & Spencer, Guess and Next have introduced in the Indian market. The organised apparel segment is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 13 per cent over a 10-year period.

The size of the Indian textiles and apparel industry is expected to reach US$223 billion by 2021, according to a report by Technopak Advisors.

Opportunities

India has witnessed an average GDP growth of approximately 7 per cent in the past decade and forms one of the largest emerging economies of the world. The majority stakeholder in this growth is the mass consuming population of the country. Consumers today are much more evolved and their demands and needs are very different from those of consumers a decade ago.

Apart from the demographic and economic changes, there have been many other transformational changes that lead to a growth in the aspirations and wants of an average consumer:

Young population: The median age of the Indian consumer is 26 years with maximum population lying in the age bracket of 15-60 years. It is expected that India will add another 140 million people in this consuming age group by 2020. This is one of the lowest median ages among the developing countries. This population has more aspiration, is more aware and has a higher spending power and will consume a greater number of categories than their parents.

Higher disposable income: According to the Indian census report, the number of households with an annual income of US$7000 or more is going to treble from about 30 million today to 100 million by 2020. There will be approximately 400 million individuals in the middle to high income bracket by 2020.

Growing media influence/exposure: The role of technology has changed the way people receive/share information. From social networking sites to electronic channels, information travels at the speed of light. The changing lifestyle and “western” culture has also influenced consumer demands and aspirations. People are willing to consume and develop a lifestyle akin to a developed world’s consumer.

Government Initiatives

The Indian government has come up with a number of export promotion policies for the textiles sector. It has also allowed 100 per cent FDI in the Indian textiles sector and retail sector for single brands under the automatic route.Some of initiatives taken by the government to further promote the industry are:

The Ministry of Textiles will implement the scheme for in-situ upgradation of plain powerlooms for SSI sector in Surat and Ahmedabad powerloom clusters in Gujarat.

The government has taken a number of initiatives for the welfare and development of the weavers and the handloom sector. Under revival, reform and restructuring (RRR) package, financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1,019 crore (US$164.72 million) has been approved and the Indian government has released Rs 741 crore (US$119.78 million).

Encouraged by the turnaround in textiles exports, the Government of India plans to set up a US$60 billion target for the current financial year, a jump of over 30 per cent from the previous financial year.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved an Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) with a corpus of Rs 500 crore (US$80.82 million) to make textiles processing units more environment-friendly and globally competitive.Source: Ministry of textiles, India

The global textile and apparel industry at present is divided into distinct production and consumption hubs. Production has been shifting from developed western countries to China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and other Southeast Asian countries. The US, European Union and Japan contribute the most to total textiles and apparel consumption of the world.

Consumption in India and China is also rising. Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements will increasingly play an important role in shaping up global industry structure. With change in business dynamics and global market environment the industry is witnessing more inorganic growth.

India has always been a strong player in the global textiles and apparel industry. With an integrated supply chain, political and economic stability, vast resource of skilled manpower and entrepreneurial spirit.

Rising domestic market and increasing opportunities in global trade will create enormous scope for Indian players. In addition to favourable demographic dividend and relatively stable economic conditions, increasing disposable income, greater media influence, higher brand consciousness is acting as growth drivers for India’s domestic market. Kids-wear, inner-wear, work-wear & uniforms, online apparel retailing and home textiles are evolving as promising segments for Indian players. To tap the above opportunities and sustain businesses in this changing consumption scenario, companies will need to align themselves with the market requirements and develop required competencies. Without a doubt, there are ample opportunities that exist in the textile and apparel space.

FAMOUS INDIAN WOOLEN TEXTILE BRANDS:

1) Raymond 2) Shri Dinesh Mill 3) Modella Woolen 4) Oswal Woolen Mill (Monte Carlo) 5) Jay Shree Textiles

PROPERTIES OF WOOL

PROPERTY EXPLANATIONS IMPORTANCE TO THE CONSUMER

SOFT It is amorphous at the molecular level despite complex fibre structure. Finer fibres are softest.

Characteristic handle of wool depends upon fibre diameter and the processing of wool undergoes.

WEAK Because of amorphous structure. Strength increases with fibre diameter.

Most wool fibres are suitable for garments. Where strength is parameter, such as in carpets.

RESILIENT Covalent disulphide-bonds pull the molecular chains back into place after tension is released.

Wool garments do not crease easily, but do not hold pleats well without special treatment.

HYDROPHILIC Polar and ionic groups, and many amorphous regions.

Absorbs moisture from perspiration- comfortable to wear.

SENSITIVE TO ALKALI

In the presence of the hydroxide ion released by alkalis, the peptide bonds and disulphide bonds hydrolyse (breakdown) readily.

Great care needed with detergents. Only neutral soaps and non-ionic detergents should be used.

WEAKEN WHEN WETS

As water water is absorbed into the wool fibre, its amorphous region swellsand the fibre becomes weaker than it was when dry.

Care must be taken when washing wool garments. They must never be hung out to dry, or weight of the water may permanently stretch the garment out of shape.

SCORCHES IN DRY HEAT

In the presence of moist heat, the molecules in the amorphous regions can break and reform hydrogen bonds as they rearrange to absorb the heat energy. If dry heat is used, this is not possible, so the molecules themselves tend to breakdown.

When wool garments are ironed, steam, rather than dry heat must be used.

YELLOWS IN SUNLIGHT, AND FROM CONTACT WITH CHLORINE BLEACHES

Ultraviolet light and chlorine bleaches can degrade (breakdown) some of the amino acids to yield brown or yellow products.

Wool garments must be dried in the shade, and must never be bleached with household bleaches. If wool must be bleached, hydrogen peroxide is relatively safe.

FIRE RESISTANT This may be partly because wool normally contains considerable amounts of absorbed water. However, all protein material are relatively fire resistant, so the tendency of wool to char rather than burn, and its self-extinguishing property, appears to be because of its protein nature.

Wool is fibre recommended for fire-fighting and other uniform, for padding in aeroplanes, and in other high fire hazard. situations

Felts in The scales give rise to a directional friction effect fibres migrate towards root only.

Care is needed when handing wet wool fabrics: warm, wet, alkaline condition, combined with string agitation, produce maximum felting and shrinkage.The ability of wool to felt is put to use in the manufacture of strong nonwoven felt materials.

Warm The amorphous fibre does not transmit heat readily. Also, crimp and scales can hold still, insulating pockets of air. In addition, wool gives off heat when it absorbs moisture, which adds to its comfort in cold, damp conditions.

Wool is reputed to be warmer than other fibres processed in identical ways.

GLOBAL WOOLEN MARKET

International Wool Market In 2014 the woolen textile market has recorded diversified results compared to the previous wool selling season. Around the world fine wool have struggled due to over- production whereas medium crossed and coarser micron wools have fared better as the year has progressed.

China continues to be the most dominant country in the world in terms of being a producer, processor, exporter and consumer of textile fibers. Although the Chinese economy is still quite tough at around 7% annual growth, they are facing many new challenges. The Chinese government is transitioning the economy away from the “old normal” which was based on high investment to build capacity, cheap labour and exports, to the “new normal” which will feature developing domestic

consumption, focusing on quality, brands and technology with a shift from production orientation to service orientation in their economy. One phase of this transition has been a shrinking of access to credit and this is having an impact on many wool textile mills in China and their ability to determine new business because of cash flow questions. As a result China’s wool imports are down over 12% compared to the previous year. Another distress for the wool textile industry in China is the new environmental regulations that are being introduced. This will require significant investment to develop surplus control systems that will meet these new standards. As a result, this is taking away some capital from wool purchasing as factories invest to upgrade their recycling and disposal methods to comply with the new regulations.

China is still by far the world’s major wool importer, processor and exporter of wool goods, however Vietnam’s upright to the wool supply chain continues to raise. This has been due to good circumstances for wool apparel manufacturing, a solid export reputation and the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement debates. Wool demand improvement continues to be contingent on the Chinese economy, their export market and on global economic recovery. Although key economic indicators for Europe and USA have been encouraging, other global occasions such as the Ukraine disaster, ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the Ebola rampant will not be helpful for the wool business and could undermine achieving global economic stability. Despite struggle from other fibres, raw wool demand is projected to improve in the approaching months as the economies of major wool overwhelming countries continues to make positive progress, albeit at a slow pace. World wide wool production will drop again this year in most major wool producing countries. In Australia wool production is predicted to fall by 3.7% in the 2014/15 season due to on going drought conditions and the subsequent reduction in sheep numbers.

FAMOUS GLOBAL WOOLEN TEXTILE BRANDS

1) Woolmark Brands2) Lion Brand

REFERRENCES :

Books :

Consumer Textiles ; by Anne Fritz & Jennifer Cant

Textiles : Fiber to Fabric ; by Bernard P. Corbman

Websites:www.indiabrandequityfoundation.org

www.internationalwooltextileorganisation.org

www.quatr.us

WOOLWOOL