Jute - Natural Compostables

• The jute bag can carry almost double the weight of its plastic counterpart and outlasts it.
• Jute fiber owes its popularity to its amazing strength. It has been used extensively in the textile and agricultural industries but sparingly in the retail market.
• Jute fiber is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae.
• Jute bags are used for making fashion bags & promotional bags.
• Thus, jute is the most environment-friendly fiber starting from the seed to expired fiber, as the expired fibers can be recycled more than once.
• It is the second most important vegetable fiber after cotton, in terms of usage, global consumption, production, and availability.
• Unlike hemp fiber, jute is not a form of cannabis.

Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibers and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. Jute fibers are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose (major component of plant fiber) and lignin (major components of wood fiber). It is thus a ligno-cellulosic fiber that is partially a textile fiber and partially wood. It falls into the bast fiber category (fiber collected from bast or skin of the plant) along with kenaf, industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc. The industrial term for jute fiber is raw jute. The fibers are off-white to brown, and 1–4 meters (3–12 feet) long.

Jute grows best across the wide Bengal Delta (the fertile basin spanning East India and Bangladesh). Farmers scatter the seed on open soil. In a magical spell of 4 months the crop is ripe for harvest (another case of Mother Nature’s factory outperforming man). The stalks are cut low to the ground, bundled and left to soak for a little more than a fortnight. This softens the tissue. The fibers are later separated from the stalks and rinsed in clear,
running water. Then spread on thatch roofs to dry. In 2-3 days they are ready to be sold. The best variety (which we scour the sub-continent to buy) has a lovely golden sheen.

Jute fiber is often called hessian; jute fabrics are also called hessian cloth and jute sacks are called gunny bags in some European countries. The fabric made from jute is popularly known as burlap in North America.

Jute needs a plain alluvial soil and standing water. The suitable climate for growing jute (warm and wet climate) is offered by the monsoon climate during the monsoon season. Temperatures from 20˚ C to 40˚ C and relative humidity of 70%–80% are favorable for successful cultivation. Jute requires 5–8 cm of rainfall weekly and more during the sowing period.

Several historical documents (including, Ain-e-Akbari by Abul Fazal in 1590) state that the poor villagers of India used to wear clothes made of jute. Simple handlooms and hand spinning wheels were used by the weavers, who used to spin cotton yarns as well. History also states that Indians, especially Bengalis, used ropes and twines made of white jute from ancient times for household and other uses.

Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius) is an Afro-Arabian variety. It is quite popular for its leaves that are used as an ingredient in a mucilaginous potherb called molokhiya (ملوخية a word of uncertain etymology), popular in certain Arab countries. The Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible mentions this vegetable potherb as Jew's mallow.

Tossa jute fiber is softer, silkier, and stronger than white jute. This variety astonishingly showed good sustainability in the climate of the Ganges Delta. Along with white jute, tossa jute has also been cultivated in the soil of Bengal where it is known as paat from the start of the 19th century. Currently, the Bengal region (West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh) is the largest global producer of the tossa jute variety.

For centuries, jute has been an integral part of culture of Bengal, in the entire southwest of Bangladesh and some portions of West Bengal, India. During the British Raj in the 19th and early 20th centuries, much of the raw jute fiber of Bengal was carried off to the United Kingdom, where it was then processed in mills concentrated in Dundee. Initially, due to its texture, it could only be processed by hand until it was discovered in that city that treating it with whale oil, it could be treated by machine[1] The industry boomed ("jute weaver" was a recognized trade occupation in the 1901 UK census), but this trade had largely ceased by about 1970 due to the appearance of synthetic fibers.

Margaret Donnelly, a jute mill landowner in Dundee in the 1800s, set up the first jute mills in Bengal. In the 1950s and 1960s, when nylon and polythene were rarely used, one of the primary sources of foreign exchange earnings for the erstwhile United Pakistan was the export of jute products, based on jute grown in then East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Jute has been called the "Golden Fiber of Bangladesh." However, as the use of polythene and other synthetic materials as a substitute for jute increasingly captured the market, the jute industry in general experienced a decline.

During some years in the 1980s, farmers in Bangladesh burnt their jute crops when an adequate price could not be obtained. Many jute exporters diversified away from jute to other commodities. Jute-related organizations and government bodies were also forced to close, change or downsize. The long decline in demand forced the largest jute mill in the world (Adamjee Jute Mills) to close. Bangladesh's second largest mill, Latif Bawany Jute Mills, formerly owned by businessman, Yahya Bawan, was nationalized by the government. Farmers in Bangladesh have not completely ceased growing jute, however, mainly due to demand in the internal market. Although the price of raw jute decreased for a while, beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2009, the jute market recovered and the price of raw jute has increased more than 200%.

Jute has entered many diverse sectors of industry, where natural fibers are gradually becoming better substitutes. Among these industries are paper, celluloid products (films), non-woven textiles, composites (pseudo-wood), and geo-textiles.

In December 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibers, so as to raise the profile of jute and other natural fibers.

Jute matting is being used to prevent flood erosion while natural vegetation becomes established. For this purpose, a natural and biodegradable fiber is essential. Jute is a rain-fed crop with little need for fertilizer or pesticides. The production is concentrated in Bangladesh and some in India. The jute fiber comes from the stem and ribbon (outer skin) of the jute plant. The fibers are first extracted by retting. The retting process consists of bundling jute stems together and immersing them in low, running water. There are two types of retting: stem and ribbon. After the retting process, stripping begins. Women and children usually do this job. In the stripping process, non-fibrous matter is scraped off, then the workers dig in and grab the fibers from within the jute stem.[2] India, Pakistan, China are the large buyers of local jute while Britain, Spain, Ivory Coast, Germany and Brazil also import raw jute from Bangladesh. India is the world's largest jute growing country.

Jute is the second most important vegetable fiber after cotton; not only for cultivation, but also for various uses. Jute is used chiefly to make cloth for wrapping bales of raw cotton, and to make sacks and coarse cloth. The fibers are also woven into curtains, chair coverings, carpets, area rugs, hessian cloth, and backing for linoleum.

While jute is being replaced by synthetic materials in many of these uses, some uses take advantage of jute's biodegradable nature, where synthetics would be unsuitable. Examples of such uses include containers for planting young trees which can be planted directly with the container without disturbing the roots, and land restoration where jute cloth prevents erosion occurring while natural vegetation becomes established.
The fibers are used alone or blended with other types of fibres to make twine and rope. Jute butts, the coarse ends of the plants, are used to make inexpensive cloth. Conversely, very fine threads of jute can be separated out and made into imitation silk. As jute fibres are also being used to make pulp and paper, and with increasing concern over forest destruction for the wood pulp used to make most paper, the importance of jute for this purpose may increase. Jute has a long history of use in the sackings, carpets, wrapping fabrics (cotton bale), and construction fabric manufacturing industry.

Traditionally jute was used in traditional textile machineries as textile fibers having cellulose (vegetable fiber content) and lignin (wood fiber content). But, the major breakthrough came when the automobile, pulp and paper, and the furniture and bedding industries started to use jute and its allied fibers with their non-woven and composite technology to manufacture nonwovens, technical textiles, and composites. Therefore, jute has changed its textile fiber outlook and steadily heading towards its newer identity, i.e. wood fiber. As a textile fiber, jute has reached its peak from where there is no hope of progress, but as a wood fiber jute has many promising features.

Jute can be used to create a number of fabrics such as Hessian cloth, sacking, scrim, carpet backing cloth (CBC), and canvas. Hessian, lighter than sacking, is used for bags, wrappers, wall-coverings, upholstery, and home furnishings. Sacking, a fabric made of heavy jute fibres, has its use in the name. CBC made of jute comes in two types. Primary CBC provides a tufting surface, while secondary CBC is bonded onto the primary backing for an overlay. Jute packaging is used as an eco-friendly substitute.

Diversified jute products are becoming more and more valuable to the consumer today. Among these are espadrilles, floor coverings, home textiles, high performance technical textiles, Geotextiles, composites, and more.

Jute floor coverings consist of woven and tufted and piled carpets. Jute Mats and matting’s with 5 / 6 mts width and of continuous length are easily being woven in Southern parts of India, in solid and fancy shades, and in different weaves like, Boucle, Panama, Herringbone, etc. Jute Mats & Rugs are made both through Power looms & Hand looms, in large volume from Kerala, India. The traditional Satranji mat is becoming very popular in home décor. Jute non-woven’s and composites can be used for underlay, linoleum substrate, and more.

Jute has many advantages as a home textile, either replacing cotton or blending with it. It is a strong, durable, color and light-fast fiber. Its UV protection, sound and heat insulation, low thermal conduction and anti-static properties make it a wise choice in home décor. Also, fabrics made of jute fibers are carbon-dioxide neutral and naturally decomposable. These properties are also why jute can be used in high performance technical textiles.

Moreover, jute can be grown in 4–6 months with a huge amount of cellulose being produced from the jute hurd (inner woody core or parenchyma of the jute stem) that can meet most of the wood needs of the world. Jute is the major crop among others that is able to protect deforestation by industrialization.

Jute is also used in the making of ghillie suits which are used as camouflage and resemble grasses or brush.

Another diversified jute product is Geotextiles, which made this agricultural commodity more popular in the agricultural sector. It is a lightly woven fabric made from natural fibers that is used for soil erosion control, seed protection, weed control, and many other agricultural and landscaping uses. The Geotextiles can be used more than a year and the bio-degradable jute Geotextiles left to rot on the ground keeps the ground cool and is able to make the land more fertile. Methods such as this could be used to transfer the fertility of the Ganges Delta to the deserts of Sahara or Australia.

Jute leaves are consumed in various parts of the world. It is a popular vegetable in West Africa. The Yoruba of Nigeria call it "ewedu" and the Songhay of Mali call it "fakohoy." It is made into a common mucilaginous (somewhat "slimy") soup or sauce in some West African cooking traditions, as well as in Egypt, where it is called mulukhiyya and is often considered the national dish. It is also a popular dish in the northern provinces of the Philippines, where it is known as saluyot. Jute leaves are also consumed among the Luyhia people of Western Kenya, where it is commonly known as 'mrenda' or 'murere'. It is eaten with 'ugali', which is also a staple for most communities in Kenya. The leaves are rich in betacarotene, iron, calcium, and Vitamin C. The plant has an antioxidant activity with a significant α-tocopherol equivalent Vitamin E.

Other Diversified byproducts from jute can be used in cosmetics, medicine, paints, and other products.

Picture of cutting lower part of the long jute fiber.

The lower part is hard fiber, which is called jute cuttings in Bangladesh and India (commonly called jute butts or jute tops elsewhere). Jute cuttings are lower in quality, but have commercial value for the paper, carded yarn, and other fiber processing industries. Jute fibers are kept in bundles in the background in a warehouse in Bangladesh. Jute fiber is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally friendly.

It is a natural fiber with golden and silky shine and hence called The Golden Fiber.

It is the cheapest vegetable fiber procured from the bast or skin of the plant's stem.

It has high tensile strength, low extensibility, and ensures better breathability of fabrics. Therefore, jute is very suitable in agricultural commodity bulk packaging.

It helps to make best quality industrial yarn, fabric, net, and sacks. It is one of the most versatile natural fibers that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, construction, and agricultural sectors. Bulking of yarn results in a reduced breaking tenacity and an increased breaking extensibility when blended as a ternary blend.

The best source of jute in the world is the Bengal Delta Plain in the Ganges Delta, most of which is occupied by Bangladesh. Advantages of jute include good insulating and antistatic properties, as well as having low thermal conductivity and a moderate moisture regain. Other advantages of jute include acoustic insulating properties and manufacture with no skin irritations.

Jute has the ability to be blended with other fibers, both synthetic and natural, and accepts cellulosic dye classes such as natural, basic, vat, sulfur, reactive, and pigment dyes. As the demand for natural comfort fibers increases, the demand for jute and other natural fibers that can be blended with cotton will increase. To meet this demand, it has been suggested that the natural fiber industry adopt the Rieter's Elitex system, in order to modernize processing. The resulting jute/cotton yarns will produce fabrics with a reduced cost of wet processing treatments. Jute can also be blended with wool. By treating jute with caustic soda, crimp, softness, pliability, and appearance is improved, aiding in its ability to be spun with wool. Liquid ammonia has a similar effect on jute, as well as the added characteristic of improving flame resistance when treated with flame proofing agents.

Some noted disadvantages include poor drapability and crease resistance, brittleness, fiber shedding, and yellowing in sunlight. However, preparation of fabrics with castor oil lubricants result in less yellowing and less fabric weight loss, as well as increased dyeing brilliance. Jute has a decreased strength when wet, and also becomes subject to microbial attack in humid climates. Jute can be processed with an enzyme in order to reduce some of its brittleness and stiffness. Once treated with an enzyme, jute shows an affinity to readily accept natural dyes, which can be made from marigold flower extract. In one attempt to dye jute fabric with this extract, bleached fabric was mordanted with ferrous sulphate, increasing the fabric's dye uptake value. Jute also responds well to reactive dyeing. This process is used for bright and fast colored value-added diversified products made from jute.