Raw Materials
Viscose pulp prices at historical lows
The current price of hardwood viscose pulp in China is $650/tonne. This is the lowest price in real (inflation-adjusted) terms in at least the last 20 years, and probably an even longer time period than that. Today’s price is 10% less than the previous lows posted in the fourth quarter of 2002 and the second …
What is a microfiber, really?
Microfiber can be found everywhere, from cleaning products, furniture, active wear and in filtration, but what is it exactly? The term microfiber, refers to a synthetic fiber that less than one denier in diameter, but larger than 0.3 denier. To be certain that is a very small fiber, as it is thinner than silk and …
Student Spotlight: Morphological structure of wool from different breeds
Subhadeep Paul is pursuing his Ph.D. in Technical Textiles at the Technical Textiles Research Centre, University of Huddersfield. Paul came to Huddersfield after completing his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Textile Engineering and Textile Chemistry, respectively, in India. In his master’s project, Paul developed a multi-functional protective textile that could be used as a UV-resistant, …
Band-shaped smooth viscose fiber offers advantages for papers, nonwovens & apparel
Viscose fibers are manmade fibers produced from 100% cellulose pulp. Although the viscose process was introduced more than 100 years ago, development of new viscose fiber types is still ongoing, driven by a trend to highly functionalized products and lately by an increasing demand for biodegradable fibers based on renewable resources. Due to its high …
How the US-China trade dispute is affecting cotton markets worldwide
As has been the case in many financial markets, the global cotton supply chain has been distorted by the U.S.-China trade dispute. At the fiber level, the dispute has interfered with flows between the world’s largest exporter and the world’s largest importer. Since July 2018, U.S. cotton fiber exports to China have been hit with …