History of jute fibre
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White Jute (Corchorus capsularis)
The origin of White Jute (Corchorus capsularis) is debated. Some say that, it is a Chinese variety. But, according the historical evidence of cultivation, it is stated as an Indian variety. The start of the history of Jute started with White Jute. Because, fibrous property of the finer variety Tossa Jute was discovered later than the White Jute.In several historical documents (especially, Ain-e-Akbari by Abul Fazal in 1590) during the era of great Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542–1605) states that the poor villagers of India used to wear cloths made of Jute, especially white 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.
The wide use of the White Jute fibre by the Bengalis has attracted British East India Company for long time. The Company has been successful in finding markets for Indigo, a vegetable colouring material. The Indigo cultivation had several controversial drawbacks, since it disrupted the cultivation period of food crops by the Indians. Therefore, numerous farmer unrest had always disturbed the British Rulers of East India. On the other hand, the cultivation of Jute didn’t harm the cultivation time of other food crops. Moreover, Jute cultivation made the soil more fertile for future food cultivation. Therefore, the British Rulers found sustainable business opportunity here and were desperately looking for new markets for Jute (white).
In March, 1791 (Some say in 1793), William Roxburgh of East India Company sent the first consignment of Jute to Dundee for experiment. That was the first initiative for the start of the Dundee Jute Industry. After a successful experiment & having suitable industrial setup, Dundee’s Flax Industry turned to Jute.
Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius)
Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius) has a different history. It is an Afro-Arabian variety and a member of the Mallow Plant family (same family of Marshmallow).
It was and still is quite popular for its leaves that were used as ingredient of an okra slimy Arabian potherb called Molokhiya (ملوخية = of the kings). The Jewish Book of Job mention this vegetable potherb as Jew's Mallow. To make Jew's Mellow, from ancient times the Afro-Arabians used the dried powder of the leaves of Tossa Jute, which was called Nalita or Nalta. Therefore, Tossa Jute is also called Nalta Jute in some Middle-Eastern countries.
With the help of Silk Route, the news of this popular potherb also spread to China and Japan by the Arabians. The Molokhiya is also very popular in China and Japan as Moroheiya (モロヘイヤ in Japanese and 埃及野菜 in Chinese, meaning Egyptian Potherb). In recent years, Moroheiya has been more popular to the health conscious and slimming diet seeking population of China & Japan. Therefore, the recent Japanese know Corchorus capsularis as Jute and Corchorus olitorius as Moroheiya.
In Indian Sub-continent, Tossa Jute is cultivated for Bast Fibres and it is the place in the world producing largest amount of Tossa Jute variety. However, this variety is also popular in this region for its leaves and they locally call it Mitha Pat or Sweet Jute. Tossa Jute as fibre has been introduced in India, later than White Jute.
After experiencing the success of White Jute in Dundee’s Flax Industry, enthusiastic William Roxburgh created another history. In 1796 (six years after sending first consignment of raw jute to Dundee) he brought a Tossa Jute plant from Africa to Calcutta Botanical Garden. He was one of the first believers of fibrous properties of Tossa Jute. Along with White Jute, Tossa Jute was also introduced to the Dundee’s Jute Industry.
Tossa Jute Fibre is softer, silkier, and stronger than White Jute, but has Cupric or Golden Colour. This variety astonishingly showed good sustainability in the climate of the Ganges delta. Along with White Jute, Tossa Jute was also being cultivated in the soil of Bengal 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 (Corchorus olitorius) variety.
Brief on Jute Industries
- 1833 – The beginning of the Dundee Jute Industry by the Jute Barrons
- 1845 - Jute totally replaced flax in the Dundee’s Textile Industry
- 1855 – First Jute Spinning Mill was established in Calcutta, India by the Jute Barrons of Dundee
- Several other Jute Mills mushroomed surrounding Hoogly River of Calcutta, utilizing the relatively finer Jute Fiber of Bangladesh
- 1951 – Bawa Jute Mills Limited, the first Jute mill in Bangladesh was established in Narayanganj
- The second Jute Mill in Narayanganj, Adamjee Jute Mills was the largest Jute mill in the world, which closed its operations in 2002
- 1951 to 1971 – The Golden Era of the Golden Fiber (Jute)
- 1970s – The start of the invasion of Polypropylene Products
- 1980s – Cheaper Polypropylene substitutes and transportation in bulk further shrinks the demand for traditional Jute products.
- 1941 – Henry Ford invented a car trunk from soy-protein plastic reinforced with glass, which was stronger, lighter, and more flexible than conventional car panels. This experiment revolutionized the use of natural Fibers in the Automobile Industry. However, Soybean Fibers had problems in molding. This made Automobile manufacturers search for alternatives. After research, Jute was proved to be the most cost effective fiber in this sector with very high tensile strength in comparison with other bast fibers.
- Non-woven, composite, and technical textile manufacturers found Jute as the most manufacturer friendly fiber. Jute is now being used for manufacturing materials of Green Cars, like: car interiors, door panels, padding, etc.
Dundee Jute Industry
-->Dundee was Europe’s centre of flax (linen) production in the 19th century. The textile industry of Dundee used flax from local sources, but heavily depended on the imported flax from Russia. But, after the outbreak of Crimean war, the supply of Russian flax was obstructed in the Baltic Ports and the Dundee textile industry came at the brink of collapse.
To save the Dundee Textile Industry, the British rulers in East India suggested an alternative Indian fibre that is very similar to flax. Jute was first brought to Dundee from India in 1850 for testing. Jute proved to be a best substitute raw material for the machineries producing linen. After this successful testing the era of Jute began with a big roar. The success of the Dundee Jute Industry to adopt Jute instead of flax, made several countries to go for Jute. The demand rapidly rised and it became the most cultivated and most used fibre after cotton.
Indian Jute Industry
Rishara Jute Mills Ltd. was the first Jute mill in the Indian Sub-continent established in Sirampur (now in West Bengal, India) on the bank of Hoogly River. Within next two years other Jute spinning mills also came into being surrounding the Hoogly River, because of the convenience in transfer of goods to Europe.Before the demolition British rule in Indian Subcontinent in 1947, India and Pakistan had 108 Jute mills. 80% of the raw material of these Jute mills were from East Pakistan (Now, Bangladesh). Due to relatively high quality, these Bangladeshi fibres were production friendly. But, when the Pakistan and India became separate countries, the tension rised between these two countries and Pakistan decided to stop exporting Jute to the Indian Jute mills, when they have their own mills. This created crisis for the Indian Jute mills. The Indian Jute Industry started to shrink and Pakistani Jute Industry started to rise. But, sharing the part of Ganges Delta, India also went for Jute production. This initiative is now very successful, because India is currently the largest producer or cultivator of Jute.
Bangladesh Jute Industry
Bawa Jute Mills was the first Jute Mill in Bangladesh, which was established near the bank of Sitalakhaya River in 1951 at Narayanganj. The next Jute Mill, Adamjee Jute Mills was also established in Narayanganj. After the liberation of Bangladesh, steadily this mill surpassed all other Jute Mills and became the largest Jute Mill in the world. However, since most of the Jute & Jute Goods were exported out of Bangladesh, the need for Jute Mills near the seaport seemed quite necessary. Therefore, several Jute Mills grew up in Chittagong, the port city of Bangladesh. Victory Jute Products Ltd. was the first Jute Mill established in Chittagong. Form 1954 to 1971, as much as 80 mills of different size and product-line were running on Bangladesh with 26,000 looms with production capacity of 0.63 million per year, and earning foreign exchange of 770 million BDT.In the 50's and 60's when nylon and polythene were rarely used; The United Pakistan (then the world leader in Jute products) was earning money through Jute of East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh. It was called The Golden Fibre of Bangladesh, when it used to bring major portion of the foreign currency reserve for Bangladesh. But, as the use of polythene and other synthetic materials as a substitute for Jute started to capture the market; most economist said that Jute Industry is experiencing a sunset. Thus the industry of this Golden Fibre turned into a sunset industry. For several years, farmers in Bangladesh burnt their crops as they did not get an adequate price. Many exporters that were dealing with Jute, found other commodities to deal with. The Jute related organisations and government bodies also experienced closures, change, and fund cutting. The long hibernation of demand, forced the largest Jute mill in the world (Adamjee Jute Mills) to close. But, the farmers of Bangladesh surprisingly did not stop growing Jute; mainly due to demand in the internal market. Recently, (2004-2006) the Jute market turned back again and the price of raw Jute increased more than 50% due to high demand of Jute products worldwide.
History of The Revive of Jute
During 1941, Henry Ford tested the strength of a car trunk made from soybean fibre (one of the best fibres). The trunk was made of soy-protein plastic reinforced with glass, which was stronger, lighter, and more flexible than conventional car panels. This experiment revolutionised the use of natural fibres in the Automobile Industry and made cars lighter to burn less gasoline. The previously used glass fibre proved to be very heavy and emitted poisonous gas when burnt. Therefore, most people died of poisonous gas inhalation, not by wounds during car accidents. This fact has driven the European Union to ban the use of Glass fibre in automobiles. When Henry Ford's experiment gained huge response, the automobile companies started to search for other bast fibres, as soyabean fibre had problems in moulding. They found that, flax was the best bast fibre for the automobile interior production.But, Jute was recognised as the next to the best at a quite late time. In some cases, Jute has become the better option than flax in producing car interiors. Moreover, Jute proved to be the most cost effective fibre in this sector, as Jute is the cheapest vegetable fibre with very high tensile strength. However, there are contrasting information regarding this history. Some say that, the car trunk of Soy-protein Plastic Reinforced with Glass was invented by an African American employee of Ford Motor Company[[Citing sources citation needed]].
Not only the automobile industry used Jute. Jute has entered various diversified sectors, where natural fibres are gradually becoming better substitution. Among these industries are paper, celluloid products (films), nonwoven textiles (for car interiors and other uses), composites (pseudo-wood), and geotextiles.
Geotextile is another fact that made this agricultural commodity more popular in the agricultural sector. It is a lightly woven fabric made from natural fibres 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 geotextile left to rot on the ground keeps the ground cool and is able to make the land more fertile. This brings new hope in turning the deserts into Oasis. Methods such as this could be used to transfer the fertility of the Ganges Delta to the deserts of Sahara or Australia.
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 industrialisation. Thus, Jute is the most environment-friendly fibre starting from the seed to expired fibre.
References
- Pat Sharajantra (Jute Conspiracy - in Bangla), Fazlul Bari, Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB), Dhaka, 2000, ISBN 984-756-005-6
- [Banglapedia: Jute Industry]
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