Textile Intelligence
Fibre families: natural, regenerated and synthetic
Basic fibre behaviour for safer cleaning decisions.
Natural fibres include plant fibres such as cotton, linen and jute, and animal fibres such as wool, silk, cashmere and alpaca.
Regenerated fibres include viscose, rayon, modal, lyocell and acetate. They start from cellulose or other source material but are chemically processed into a new fibre.
Synthetic fibres include polyester, nylon, acrylic, elastane and polyurethane. They are man-made fibres with different heat, solvent, static and ageing behaviour.
Workplace checklist
- Identify whether the item is plant, animal, regenerated, synthetic or blended
- Do not assume a blend behaves like the strongest fibre
- Watch heat, dye, shrinkage and coating risk
- Record uncertainty before processing
fibresfabricnaturalsynthetic