Sheep and various other animals have coats which produce natural fibres for providing warmth and protection to mankind and have been utilized since time immemorial. The principal component of hair, wool and fur is the protein keratin. Specialty hair fibres that have the qualities of wool are obtained from specific animals. These fibres are available in smaller quantities than sheep’s wool.
Hence, they are usually more expensive. Specialty hair fibres are of two kinds- the coarse long outer hair and the soft fine undercoat fibres. The former is used for interlinings, upholstery and the latter is used in luxury coatings, sweaters, shawls, suits and dress fabrics. These fibres can be blended into sheep wool of similar staple and fineness and this increases the durability and strength of yarn made from them and allows more economical use of these scarce and expensive materials.
The other animals with coats are ― commonly camel family alpaca and vicuna, rabbit family Angora rabbit and others are yak, musk oxen. Mostly specialty hair fibre animals are reared for their wool, meat, pelts by the small scale producers. All the fibres are not of same type, because they possess inherent qualitative differences and are specific to species.
The production and harvesting of luxury fibres is difficult and labour intensive as these come from remote areas having limited availability and requires special climate. So the prices are very high.
The seasonal weather changes cause corresponding changes in the texture and amount of fibre and its diameter is function of both genetic make-up (genotype) and environment. For an animal to express its true genotype, the environment pressure must be minimized. These fibres are chemically protein fibres (keratin) similar to wool. The notable countries producing specialty animal fibres are China, South Africa, USA, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Iran, Afghanistan, Mangolia, India, etc.
The major users of specialty hair textile are USA, Germany, Italy, UK and other European countries. Fibres obtained from goat, camel and rabbit are also used by man either in pure form or blended with sheep’s wool to produce special fabrics or articles of enhanced value. Nevertheless, these properties have secured firm places in the niche areas of luxury apparel and furnishing fabrics. The notable specialty fibres are Cashmere, Mohair, Yak, Angora rabbit hair, Camel hair, Alpaca, Vicuna, etc.
Vicuna is considered as endangered species because of over hunting in Andes area.
Sources of Specialty Hair Fibres and their Utilization:
The following animals are the rich sources of specialty hair fibres which are utilized for making value added products:
1. Cashmere Goat:
Cashmere itself derives its name from the Kashmiri goats of Tibetan origin which are found in the mountainous regions and Himalayas. The hair obtained its fame through the beautiful cashmere shawls made from it in the mountain valleys of Kashmir. Cashmere goat is smaller than Angora goat. It is covered with straight coarse long guard hairs of outer coat with a fine soft under coat or down or under layer of hair.
The fibres vary in colour from white to gray to brownish gray. The specialty animal hair fibres are collected during molting seasons when the animals naturally shed their hair. Goats molt during second week period in spring.
The coarse hair and down hair of the Cashmere goat are separated by a mechanical process known as dehairing. Only a small part of the fleece is the very fine fibre, which comes up to 450 g of fibre per goat. Separation of the soft fibres from the long, coarse hair is tedious and difficult, contributing to the expense of the fabric.
Cashmere fibres have natural light weight and insulation without bulk. These hairs are extremely warm to protect goats from cold mountain temperatures. Fibres are highly adaptable and are easily woven into fine or thick yarns, with the end product as light to heavy weight fabrics. High moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the air.
The fibres are capable of dyeing to a broad range of colours and take dye equally as wool. The Knitwear Industry is the largest consumer of the Cashmere hair fibre. The soft hair is woven or knitted into fine garments and can also be blended with silk, cotton or wool. Shawls, dressing gowns, sweaters, dresses and long underwear have luxurious, silky, soft and triant texture, beautiful drape and rare wrinkles. The best quality Cashmere fibre comes from China.
2. Angora Goat ― Mohair:
Mohair is a hair covering of the Angora goat. Angora goats originated in the Himalayas. Today the best raw material comes from South Africa. Australia currently contributes 4% and New Zealand only 2% of world Mohair production although the fibres produced in these areas is more lustrous than that obtained from more arid climate.
The brilliant, transparent texture of mohair has made it a valued material. The long, extraordinarily lustrous fibre is stronger and more resilient than sheep wool. Shearing time depends on the area of production. It dyes the best of all fibres and does not shrink. To improve fluffiness, it is blended with sheep wool or synthetics.
One of the few natural fibres with multiple end-users, it can be blended into either upholstery, drapery or rugs, laces, wigs and hair piece, hosiery goods, shawls, suiting’s, etc. Mohair makes a better novelty loop yarn than wool or the other specialty hair fibres. It provides warmth during the winter months but also makes a cool suiting fabric for the humidity of summers. One of the challenges facing the mohair industry particularly the knitting sector is that the fibre has been by much cheaper acrylic yarns adulterating its high quality image.
3. Yak:
Yak is widely used in mountainous region. Yak is found in China, India and Tibet. In India, Yak is an important animal of Ladakh region. It is also found in isolated pockets in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Garhwal hills of Uttaranchal. Yak also possesses two types of hairy coats, viz. outer coat long coarse hairs and under coat of fine wool fibres.
Yak hair is locally used for woven coverings for the huts, blankets, mats and sacks. Strong ropes are made from the tail hair. The fine down hair is also made into yarn comparable to cashmere hair fibres.
4. Angora Rabbit:
Angora rabbit hair fibre is finer and shorter in length as compared to woolen standards. Through blending, length of fibre can be increased. Angora rabbit have the characteristics of super whiteness, high bulk and warmth. It is softer, finer and warmer than sheep’s wool. China is by far the world’s leading producer of Angora rabbit hair. Small amount is produced in East European countries. Individual yields are in average of 300 grams.
The Angora fibre has a smooth silky texture which makes it difficult to spin. The fibre is preferred for its texture, warmth, light weight and pure white colour and it is primarily used for items such as sweaters, mittens and baby clothes. The international standard organization has given WA abbreviation for Angora wool where W stands for fine animal fibre and A for Angora rabbit. Therapeutic garments made from the blended yarn, are other sources of income to angora farmers.
5. Camel Hair:
The camel hair is known for its natural colour and is comparatively coarser than other specialty hair fibres. The younger camels produce relatively finer and softer fibres. This fibre is mainly used for making patties for camel carts, rough floor coverings, etc. with appropriate technology and proper spinning techniques. Camel hair can be used for over coating, blankets and carpets through the combination of different fibre components which forms a blend.
Fibre Processing:
Specialty hair fibres are finer, smoother and straighter than wool and lack cohesion which is due to absence of crimp that create problem in processing. This problem can be overcome by blending. Static charge development is also very high in these fibres.
Stages of Processing Specialty Hair Fibres:
1. Cleaning:
This is the first stage of process. Sand, dust and to some extent the vegetable matter are removed at this stage. This can be done manually.
2. Scouring:
This process is done to remove the grease and suit present in the fibre. Less amount of detergent is used.
3. Fibre Opening and Blending:
Fibres are opened and different fibers are blended at this stage in different ratios.
4. Carding:
This is for making the fibres parallel or more parallel. The leftover material after scouring is removed as much as possible. After carding, wool opens up.
5. Gilling:
Gilling straightens and aligns the fibres by drawing them through a bed of pins into the delivery rollers. Fibres are passed through gill box in order to prepare more homogenous tops for better spinning.
6. Spinning:
In spinning operations of drawing/drafting, straightening of fibres, testing and winding of yarn into package of adequate shape and size are carried out.
Processing of fine wool is done on worsted system where fibre length is about 70 mm and diameter ranges 22-25 µ. If the length is shorter, there is a need to identify a system where such short and fine fibres can be processed. Ghandaria Charkha, Bageswari Charkha, Medlay and Electric spinner (Pant Charkha) are generally used in Indian Himalayas. With the advent of micro-processors and computer the control on yarn formation is possible. Some of them are siro spinning system, solo spun and self-twist spinning system, etc.
7. Weaving:
Such prepared yarn can be woven into fabric on handloom or on a power loom. In either case, the fabric that is produced will be made by interlacing one yarn with another. Through weaving, aesthetic properties can be improved with reduction in cost which in turn will assure the availability of specialty hair fabric to more people at affordable rate.
These fibres are utilized in the cottage sector for manufacturing blankets, ropes, durries, etc. These fibres also have properties of warmth without weight. So sweaters, shawls, mufflers, tweeds, stoles are usually prepared from different specialty fibres and their blends.
Use of Specialty Fibres for Technical Textiles:
Technical textiles are the textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical and performance properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics. Specialty hair fibres provided for less versatile and economic for most industrial applications although it is still valued for its insulating and flame retardancy properties. It finds use in several high temperature and protective clothing applications. Wool and specialty hair fibres and their wastes in pure form or in blend with other fibres can be used in technical textiles.
It can be concluded that success of specialty fibres depends on the quality and productivity. Cost of production should be competitive with other countries with infrastructure for utilizing such fibres so that producer get remunerative price for their produce of specialty hair. Utilization of animal hair blends can be efficiently and profitably used in the decentralized sectors with the help of Charkha and other Khadi spinning units for enhancing small scale employment potential.
The market outlook for specialty hair fibre is good and can provide greater financial security. There are indications that fashion favours specialty animal hair fibres. Product and market development are priorities in various segments of the market, with developments in the furnishing textile sector holding exciting prospects for future demand.
There is evidence of an increase in the use of specialty hair fibres in the production of hand knitting yarns. The introduction of new spinning technology could open new avenues for the use of specialty hair in weaving. The future prospects of these fibres, therefore, lies in exclusive, luxury nitch markets, and quality conscious consumers at the very high income level. This market segment in term of specialty hair fibre is regarded as a growing market.
The specialty hair fibres have tremendous potential for encouraging the farmers revolutionizing the cottage industry and providing great scope for producing high value products by the industrial houses. It also helps in conserving the endangered species of various animals, which are proved to hunting sprees.