Jute geo textile, which has superior advantages over synthetic fibres, has a mammoth potential in both the local as also global markets. Owing to extensive availability of the inputs it is possible to produce the same even in the domestic mills.
Also, the textile used to rein in soil erosion on roadside, riverbanks and hillsides could be prepared from substandard jute. Since it is recyclable, it does not affect the nutrition of soil and its hydroscopic quality allows it to consolidate with soil and draw water, thereby, adding elasticity to soil. To date, domestically, jute geo textile has been utilized in two projects in the capital city.
In India the jute geo textile is utilized for construction of national highways. Also, it could be largely used to safeguard the riverbanks. It is a textile that can be a solution to various geo technical issues. There are different types of geo textiles, vis-à-vis, coir geo textiles and a combination of different fibres.
A five-year project referred to as 'Development and application of potentially important jute geo textile' for promoting the jute geo textile is ongoing in Bangladesh and India with sponsorship from the Common Fund for Commodities. Pursuant to the project, it has been planned to set up a total of 26 trial fields, with 16 of them in India and the rest in Bangladesh.
The textile now, as it has found international usage in USA and Australia, is mainly sourced from Bangladesh. If the use of textile continues to rise, it would prompt a hike in the demand of jute.
Each year around 2,500 tonnes of geo textile is being sourced from foreign countries by the two mills. However, in spite of that, the textile holds the potential to reinstate the sheen of the golden fibre, but the volatile jute market does not allow its production to rise beyond a certain limit.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India