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A NEW fibre developed by the Britishtextile firm Courtaulds - Lyocell - iscausing considerable interest in themarkets in Europe, and now in India.Courtaulds claims that Lyocell blendsthe

favourable qualities of cottonwith those of synthetic fibre, and can bemass produced in an envirpnmentfriendly process. Fibres like cotton are obtained fromplants and are by nature

comfortable,ecologically sound and completelybiodegradable. Moreover, fabrics madefrom plant-based fibres (cellulosic)breathe and absorb moisture, withoutstanding colour yields for brightand

natural colours. On the other hand,synthetic fibres like nylon offer superiorstrength, are more stable, and retaintheir colour better than cellulosic fibres. Fibres made from

petrochemicals,however, are not easily biodegradable.In addition, they do not breathe orare planted to compensate for the loss",says Anil Agarwal, director of the Centrefor Science and

Environment, NewDelhi. But Tencel's unique manufacturing process and its biodegradabilityscore in a big way over the sourcing ofits raw material. Unlike conventional viscose

fibre,produced by chemically digesting thewood pulp leading to heavy gaseousemissions, the Lyocell process consistsof pulpifying the raw material in amineoxide medium, which is fully

recoveredin the process and can be used continuously, to extract the fibre. The processlets out a negligible amount of emissions as a result. Tencel has proven to be a strongfibre, whether

wet or dry. Its tensilestrength, claim Courtaulds, is muchgreater than that of cotton and evenpolyester, when dry. Being a 100 percent cellulosic fibre, it absorbs moistureeffectively, the

reason why it gives comfort equal to that of cotton. "The fibrecan be put to a variety of uses, both inthe original form, as well as in blendswith other synthetic and natural

fibres,"says M L Gulrajani, the head of the textile technology department at the IndianInstitute of Technology, Delhi. He saysthe fabrics made by Tencel exhibitexceptional drape in

luxurious handdyed and machine-dyed colours. Lyocell also scores on fibrillation, orthe coming out of the minute ends ofthe fibre when rubbed hard against arough material, Courtaulds

asserts.These minute micro-fibrils can be engineered to produce unique aestheticeffects. Tencel fabrics are gaining popularity with the top garment designersand labels in the fashion

industry in the West. Lyocell was introduced under thebrand name Tencel in limited quantityin Britain in 1988. It was also marketedin Japan as a luxury fibre. Mass production began in 1992.

At present, world-wide production of the fibre stands at43,000 tonnes. "In the next five years it'sgoing to explode, absolutely explode,"says Michael Glasser, the

Californiandesigner whose Democracy Jeans, madefrom Tencel, are already a hot favouritein the market. Italy's Georgio Armanisays that Lyocell is a great fabric forsportswear. Many

textile market expertspredict that Lyocell will soon replacerayon and will also eat into the cottonand polyester markets.