Technology has completely revolutionized the textileindustry. Not so long ago it was considered a cottage industry which had verylittle returns; but now textile industry is the backbone of many countriesacross the world especially the south-east Asian countries. The textileindustry serves as much as 32% of the GDP in many cases and these numbers areconstantly increasing.

Clothing is the one of the most basic requirements of ahuman being and it is so readily available that it can be taken for granted butyou will be advised against doing that. The clothes that we eventually wear,reach us after going through different phases of the textile industry.

Textile industry has certainly come a very long way from itsmodest cottage beginnings. Before the industrial revolution began, the textileswere made in home in through interweaving different fibers such as wool, cottonand linen. Cotton was known as the imported fiber in Northern Europe in thelate medieval period and it was preposterously believed that the cotton wasobtained through tiny lambs that grew on special trees that allowed the lambsto eat the food by lowering themselves to the ground. With its modestbeginnings, it has now reached a point where it is considered the mostcontributing factor to the GDP of certain countries. The textile sector is thelargest employer of people in many countries. This sector is fuelling theeconomy of various developing countries. There was a time when the textilesector was the main contributing sector to even the United Kingdom's economy.Do not be surprised, because that was back in the beginning of the 18^thcentury. Textile was formed by using the wool that was obtained by the largeareas where cotton was cultivated especially in the Midlands.

Textile industry eventually grew from an exceptionalindustrial revolution in the 18^th century into its large industrialbase, which it boasts now. There was a time when a single worker could onlywork on one loom but with the industrial automation trends setting in and anincrease in the sophisticated machinery a single worker can operate up to 50looms at a time, thus decreasing the cost of doing business and in the processincreasing the profitability of the textile industry.

The process of making a cloth requires three steps; thepreparation of fibers, spinning and weaving. The preparation of fibers is not ahomogeneous and uniform task, it involves different task for different fibers,and for example, wool's preparation of fibers involves the processes of cardingand washing. Spinning initially comprised of spinning fibers into a singlethread at home and then it transformed into a much-mechanized activity that wasdone through a spinning wheel. The weaving involves the inter twining ofdifferent fibers into a cloth.

Whatever the fate of human beings is, one thing is for sure,wherever they go and whatever they do, they will have to eat food and dress upin some sort of textiles so the textile industry will continues to growunabatedly.

About the Author

Mr.Chandresh Pant is the Product Manager at Fashion Networks