Textile Industry

Technology has completely revolutionized the textile industry. Not so long ago it was considered a cottage industry which had very little returns; but now textile industry is the backbone of many countries across the world especially the south-east Asian countries. The textile industry serves as much as 32% of the GDP in many cases and these numbers are constantly increasing.

Clothing is the one of the most basic requirements of a human being and it is so readily available that it can be taken for granted but you will be advised against doing that. The clothes that we eventually wear, reach us after going through different phases of the textile industry.

Textile industry has certainly come a very long way from its modest cottage beginnings. Before the industrial revolution began, the textiles were made in home in through interweaving different fibers such as wool, cotton and linen. Cotton was known as the imported fiber in Northern Europe in the late medieval period and it was preposterously believed that the cotton was obtained through tiny lambs that grew on special trees that allowed the lambs to eat the food by lowering themselves to the ground. With its modest beginnings, it has now reached a point where it is considered the most contributing factor to the GDP of certain countries. The textile sector is the largest employer of people in many countries. This sector is fuelling the economy of various developing countries.
There was a time when the textile sector was the main contributing sector to even the United Kingdom’s economy. Do not be surprised, because that was back in the beginning of the 18th century. Textile was formed by using the wool that was obtained by the large areas where cotton was cultivated especially in the Midlands.

Textile industry eventually grew from an exceptional industrial revolution in the 18th century into its large industrial base, which it boasts now. There was a time when a single worker could only work on one loom but with the industrial automation trends setting in and an increase in the sophisticated machinery a single worker can operate up to 50 looms at a time, thus decreasing the cost of doing business and in the process increasing the profitability of the textile industry.

The process of making a cloth requires three steps; the preparation of fibers, spinning and weaving. The preparation of fibers is not a homogeneous and uniform task, it involves different task for different fibers, and for example, wool’s preparation of fibers involves the processes of carding and washing. Spinning initially comprised of spinning fibers into a single thread at home and then it transformed into a much-mechanized activity that was done through a spinning wheel. The weaving involves the inter twining of different fibers into a cloth.

Whatever the fate of human beings is, one thing is for sure, wherever they go and whatever they do, they will have to eat food and dress up in some sort of textiles so the textile industry will continues to grow unabatedly.