Who would be a typical natural fibre researcher?

There really is no such thing as a ‘typical’ natural fibre researcher. To do research on natural fibres you need a multidisciplinary team. The CSIR’s team consist of biochemists, microbiologists, chemists, computer simulation specialists and textile designers, to name but a few.

Sunshine Blouw, who originally studied biochemistry and now is a natural fibres researcher, says that it takes many different types of backgrounds to understand natural fibres and its possibilities. “I will look at wool and not see wool, but proteins all laced together in a specific pattern which can possibly be manipulated to behave differently from what wool traditionally has done. A textile designer would look at the same wool and see ways to make it drape better or a new way to dye it. This really is a melting pot of science and the possibilities are endless”