By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Professor, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 15, 2024)— In both the industrial and textile industries, sustainability is the way to go.
Strategies that will aid in increasing the usage of natural fibers include outreach and education to businesses and customers. Additionally, given the demand for sustainable products, efforts must be made towards outreach, research, and the distribution of outcomes because natural fibers have not permeated technical textiles as much as synthetics have. While its application in every field involving advanced textiles might not be feasible, there are already opportunities in such like health, insulation, and environmental protection.
To increase its use, young leaders and consumers need to be informed about the opportunities for cotton in sophisticated textiles.
Two young African leaders paid a visit to Texas Tech University’s (TTU) Cotton and Advanced Materials Laboratory on July 12, 2024. They are spending six weeks at TTU on their first visit to the country as government-funded Mandela Washington fellows.
Tanzanian physician Dr. Idda Mihindi established the Fursa Foundation, which produces and provides washable sanitary pads made of cotton to underprivileged rural and secondary school girls. Greogory Rakobe, a native of Botswana, is interested in creating skin care and health products utilizing local botanicals. These two young leaders, who work in the sustainability field, indicated that they would like to visit the Advanced Materials Laboratory to see what cotton is used for in industry.
Mihindi and Rakobe studied the oil sorption properties of cotton through tests with nonwoven pads made from discarded cotton. Idda Mihindi said, “It’s eye-opening to me how sustainable cotton use is.”
Visiting scholars engaged in conversation with postgraduate students in the lab who focus on innovative uses of cotton and sustainability initiatives.
The sustainable goals of the textile and manufacturing sectors will be advanced by promptly distributing knowledge on novel uses for cotton and natural materials. Having conversations with the leaders of the next generation will increase the consumption of natural fibers because the African continent has a large population and is developing economically.
