Textiles

Textiles, fabric and cloth are manufactured and produced through crocheting, knitting, knotting, weaving, and pressing. Textiles generally consist of a network of fibers or yarn threads, networked together. Yarn itself is also a network of fibers, having been spun from raw fibers like cotton, flax, hemp, silk, wool, animal hair, and synthetic fibers such as polyester and other petrochemical sources.

Lyocell, a manmade fabric derived from wood pulp, is considered a silk equivalent, and is especially durable when combined with other fabrics. Most synthetic textiles are used for the production of clothing. These various raw fibers are categorized by source: animal, plant, mineral and synthetic.

Weaving is the dominant global method for the manufacturing of textiles and was mechanized through the loom during early industrialization, although hand-woven fabrics and clothes are common to consumers worldwide. Mineral textiles such as asbestos and glass fibers are produced through thermal and mechanical bonding. Asbestos and basalt fiber are additionally used for adhesives, stage curtains, acoustic ceilings, fire blankets, and vinyl tiles. Other textile production methods like crocheting, knitting and knotting are more commonly completed by hand.

Even with rising mechanization in textile industries, many value-added stages in textile, fabric and cloth production are labor-intensive and have supported the development of textile manufacturing bases in developing regions with lower labor costs. Textile manufacturing represents one of the largest industrial and consumer materials manufacturing industries worldwide.