Welcome

International Year of Natural Fibres

• Video

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FAO/CFC/NZTE

• Panorama

Fifteen natural fibres
We present profiles of 15 of the world's major plant and animal fibres, ranging from cotton, wool and jute to "specialty" fibres such as cashmere, camel and alpaca

• Fibre stories

New deal for Peru's alpaqueros? Peru's alpaca herders raise their animals in one of the world's most isolated regions. But they know that the fine fleece of their alpacas fetches high prices on world markets.

Hemp's future in Chinese fabrics The key is "cottonization" - removing the gums that prevent hemp fibres from being spun and finished on slightly modified cotton or wool processing equipment.

Sisal starts comeback in Tanzania In 1998, Tanzania's sisal output shrank to 19 000 tonnes, less than 10 percent of its peak in 1964. Now, small-scale farmers are helping revitalize the industry.

Malgorzata Milaszewska Tajikistan's "mohair magic"
A project trained female spinners and knitters to produce high quality mohair yarn and knitwear for Western markets

Malgorzata Milaszewska Market pressures on an ancient art In India, economic recession threatens the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of low-wage handloom weavers, who make an estimated 90% of the country's silk products

Cotton: less pesticide, more income Insecticides accounted for 40% of cotton production costs in some Asian countries. Now, with "cotton ecosystem analysis", farmers learn that not all pests require control at all

• Why natural fibres?

Hugo van Tilborg

Natural fibres are important not only to producers and industry, but to consumers and the environment. Why natural? Five good reasons...

• Focus on jute

FAO

Dubbed the "golden fibre", jute is one of nature's strongest vegetable fibres and ranks second only to cotton in terms of production quantity. Discover jute...

• Fibre people

Don Moore

She's founder and publisher of Wild Fibers Magazine, "the National Geographic of the fibre world". Meet Linda Cortright, fibre person...

• Get them now!

Giancarlo de Pol

Free and ready to print: The IYNF T-shirt, factsheets, poster and brochure. See Media resources...

Contact us to get involved:

IYNF Coordinating Unit
Trade and Markets Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy
Fax: +39 06 57054495
E-mail: IYNF-2009@fao.org

Our logo...

Cotton, very close up

IYNF in Australia

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Welcome

International Year of Natural Fibres

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