Why use natural fibres rather than synthetic fibres?

The use of natural fibres only recently became popular once again, especially in the automotive and aerospace industries, because of the drive for more environmentally friendly products and because of a number of advantages natural fibres hold over synthetic ones. These include, among others, the fact that

• it costs less to produce, since the fibres are often obtained as a by-product during the manufacturing of textiles, they are usually more readily available and can be sourced cheaply from local sources
• it has a low density, which means it is light-weight and would, for instance, reduce the overall weight of a vehicle in which it is used and therefore better its fuel consumption
• it has specific mechanical properties, such as flexibility, thermal insulation and acoustic insulation
• it is a sustainable resource of which the production requires little energy; carbon dioxide (CO2) is used while oxygen is given back to the environment
• it is easy to recycle natural fibres, as they are biodegradable and will not pollute the earth
• thermal recycling is possible, where glass fibres causes problems in combustion furnaces
• when used in textiles for clothing, natural fibres are known to be more comfortable (i.e. more sweat absorbent, no skin irritation, cooler in summer and warmer in winter, softer and less scratchy).

On the other hand, natural fibres have their shortcomings, and these have to be solved in order to be competitive with synthetic fibres such as glass fibres. Natural fibres have lower durability and lower strength than glass fibres. However, recently developed fibre treatments have improved these properties considerably.