6th Chapter in Fashion Marketing

1. Textiles
Chapter 6

2. Textiles
 Textiles : Fibers and Fabrics
 The Fiber Industry
 Fiber – an extremely fine, hair-like
strand almost invisible to the eye- is
the smallest element of a a fabric
 Types of Fibers
1. Natural Fibers
2. Man-made Fibers

3. Raw Materials
Regardless of the design or manufacturing process, the basic raw material for making rayon is cellulose. The major sources for natural
cellulose are wood pulp—usually from pine, spruce, or hemlock trees—and cotton linters. Cotton Linters are residue fibers which cling to
cotton seed after the ginning process
To make rayon, sheets of purified cellulose are steeped in caustic soda, dried, shredded into crumbs, and
then aged in metal containers for 2 to 3 days. The temperature and humidity in the metal containers are
carefully controlled.
After ageing, the crumbs are combined and churned with liquid carbon disulfide, which turns the mix into
orange-colored crumbs known as sodium cellulose xanthate. The cellulose xanthate is bathed in caustic
soda, resulting in a viscose solution that looks and feels much like honey.
cotton linters. Cotton linters are residue fibers which cling to cotton seed after the ginning process.

4. Textiles
 Natural Fibers
 Cotton- substance attached to the
seed of a cotton plant
 MOST WIDELY USED NATURAL
FIBER
 “THE FABRIC OF OUR LIVES”

5. Textiles
 Wool – is the fiber that forms the
coat of sheep
 Is a natural insulator and is used
to make warm clothing
 Absorbs moisture slowly and dries
slowly

6. Textiles
 Silk – comes from the silkworm.
The silkworm forms silk by forcing
two fine streams of a thick liquid
out of tiny openings in its head.
These streams harden into fibers
upon contact with air.
 Has a luxurious feel and can be
worn year round.

7. Textiles
 FLAX – comes from the stem of
the flax plant. Flax fiber is spun
into yarn and woven into fabric
becoming linen.
 Is the strongest fiber
 Has a tendency to wrinkle

8. Textiles
 RAMIE – comes from woody-
leafed Asian plant grown mostly
in China
 Is linen-like
 Is inexpensive
 Has tendency to wrinkle!!!

9. Textile
 Man-Made Fibers- are made in a
chemist’s laboratory. They are
made from wood pulp, petroleum,
natural gas.
 Ex: rayon, acrylic, triacetate,
spandex, acetate, polyester

10. Textile
 Man-Made Fiber Development
 75% of all fibers used in America are
man-made
 All man made fibers start out as thick
liquids
 SPINNERETTE- a mechanical device
through which a thick liquid is forced
to produce fibers or varying lengths

11. Textiles
 Types of Man-Made Fibers
1. Cellulosic Fibers
2. Non Cellulosic Fibers
Cellulosic Fiber- cellulose fibers made from
soft woods chemically treated.
Ex. rayon, triacetate, acetate

12. Acetate RAYON

13. Textiles
 Noncellulosic fibers- fibers made from
molecules of petroleum, natural gas,
air and water. Fiber chemist’s link the
molecules into long chains called
polymers.
 Polyester and Nylon account for
75% of the man-made fiber market

14. Textiles
 Man-Made Fibers are sold to
fabric manufacturers:
1. Unbranded
2. Branded or Trademarked
3. Licensing agreement (fabrics must
pass tests)

15. Textiles
 Licensed trademark – A fibers
registered trademark used under a
licensing agreement whereby use
of the trademark is permitted only
to those manufacturers whose end
products pass established tests.
 Ex. Fortrel is a licensed trademark
Fortrel®

16. Textiles
 Marketing of Natural and Man-Made
Fibers
1. Advertising – WWD
 Cooperative advertising- costs shared by a
store and a fiber producer
2. Research and Development-
improve fibers for wash-ability and
wrinkle resistance
3. Customer Service- technical advice,
films

17. Textiles
 The Fabric Industry
 Textile Fabric- any material that is made
by weaving, knitting, braiding, knotting,
laminating, felting, or chemical bonding.
 Yarn- a continuous thread formed by
spinning or twisting fibers together

18. Textiles
 Greige goods (gray goods) – unfinished
fabrics (not printed or dyed yet)
 Textile converter- a producer who buys
greige goods, contracts to have them
finished (dyed, bleached, printed) and sells
the finished goods
 Yarn-dyed – yarns dyed before being
woven or knitted
 Piece-dyed – yarns dyed after being
woven or knitted

19. Textiles
 Advantages of a Textile Converter
1. A textile converter can spare the
fabric mill the trouble of anticipating
what colors, textures and types of
fabric will be in future demand.
2. A textile converter can supply
apparel producers with smaller runs
of a specific fabric than a mill can.

20. Textiles
 Marketing of Fabric
1. Fashion experts – Color Association of
US International Color Authority
2. Textile trade shows –
 Textalia; Milan, Italy
 Interstoff Textile Fair; Frankfurt, Germany
 Ideocomo; Como, Italy
 Premiere Vision; Paris France

22. Textiles
 Government Regulation of Fabric:
 1954 – Flammable Fabrics Act:
banned ignitable fabrics and apparel.
 1972- Care Labeling of Textile
Wearing Apparel: required that all
fabrics be labeled to show the type of
care they require, including wash-ability,
water temperature, bleach/no bleach,
ironing