FIBRES AND FABRICS
The clothes are product of fabrics. Fabrics are made up of fibres obtained from natural or artificial sources.

Types of Fibres:

 1. Natural fibres: These are obtained from natural sources, called natural resources. Examples: cotton, silk, wool, etc.


2. Synthetic fibres: These are man-made are called man-made or synthetic fibres. Examples: rayon, nylon, acrylic, etc.
(i) Synthetic fibres are product of small units of chemicals joined together within the style of large chain. The formed chain is termed polymer.
(ii) Polymer could be a Greek word within which ‘poly’ means many and ‘mer’ means units. So, a polymer is formed of the many repeating units.
(iii) Polymers occur in nature also. Example: Cotton could be a polymer called cellulose. Cellulose is formed of an outsized number of glucose units.

Types of Synthetic Fibres:

1. Rayon:
(i) Fibre is obtained by chemical treatment of pulp. This fibre is termed rayon or artificial silk.
(ii) Rayon fibre are often made in several colours by dyed. Rayon is extremely cheap compared to silk.
(iii) Rayon is mixed with cotton to form bed sheets or mixed with wool to form carpets.


2. Nylon:
(i) Nylon is man-made fibre. it absolutely was first fully synthesized fibre. the assembly of nylon was started without using any natural staple (from plant or animal) almost simultaneously in the big apple and London, thus it got its name (NY for brand new York and Lon for London) as nylon. it's synthesized from coal, water and air. Cloths from nylon are very strong elastic and light-weight lustrous and simple to clean.
(ii) Firstly nylon was utilized in making bristle of toothbrush commercially. After that, it absolutely was used for creating fabrics.
(iii) Nylon is employed for creating clothes, ropes, socks, curtains, sleeping bags, parachutes, etc. The nylon fibre is stronger than a steel wire.
3. Polyester:
(i) Polyester (Poly + ester) is formed of the repeating units of a chemical called an ester.
(ii) Polyester could be a simulated or synthetic fibre. Fabric made up of this fibre doesn't get wrinkled easily, remains crisp and simple to clean. Example: shirts, pants, jacket, bed sheets, curtains, sarees, mouse-pad, etc.
(iii) Polyester is employed to form ropes, fabrics for transporter, cushioning and insulation in pillow, etc.
(iv) Terrycot is formed by mixing of two varieties of fibres terylene and cotton. Polycot, polywool, etc. are other fabrics are made by the blending of polyester with other natural fibres.
(v) PET could be a very familiar style of polyester. it's used for creating bottles, utensils, films, wires and plenty of other useful products.

4. Acrylic:
(i) Acrylic is man-made or synthetic fibre. Acrylic resembles wool. it's also called as artificial wool or synthetic wool. Acrylic is cheaper than natural wool and might be made in various colours by dyeing.
(ii) Clothes are made up of acrylic are relatively cheaper than cloths are made by wool.
(iii) Acrylic is employed in making sweaters, blanket, and other many clothes.

Characteristics of Synthetic Fibres:
(i) Synthetic fibres are cheaper, stronger and sturdy than fibre.
(ii) it's easy to keep up, easy to clean, dry up in less time and readily available.
(iii) Synthetic fibres possess unique characteristics which make them popular dress materials.


Plastics:
(i) Plastic is additionally a polymer just like the synthetic fibre. All plastics don't have the identical arrangement of units. In some it's formed in linear, whereas in others it's formed cross-linked.Plastic is well mouldable altogether varieties of possible shapes. Plastic are often recycled, coloured, reused, rolled into sheets or made into wires.
(i) Plastic is employed in making toys, suitcase, bags, cabinets, brush, chairs, tables, and plenty of other countless items.
(ii) Polythene (Poly + ethene) is one in every of the foremost famous samples of plastic, which is employed in manufacturing of carry bags.




Types of Plastic:
Plastic are often divided into two main types – Thermoplastics and Thermosetting.

1. Thermoplastic:
(i) Such plastics which get easily bent or deform on heating are called thermoplastic.Examples of thermoplastics are PVC and Polythene.
(ii) it's utilized in making toys, bottles, combs, containers, etc.


2. Thermosetting plastic:
(i) Such plastics which when mould once, can't be softened or deformed by heating. These are called thermosetting plastics. samples of thermosetting plastics are Bakelite and melamine.
(ii) These plastics are utilized in making hard board, electrical switch, handles of electrical appliances, handles of kitchen utensils, floor tiles, etc.
(iii) Melamine is flexible material and poor conductor of warmth. It resists fire, thus it's utilized in making floor tiles, kitchen materials, fabrics which resist fire.
(iv) Bakelite is poor conductor of electricity and warmth, thus it's used for creating electrical switches, handles of assorted utensils and other electrical appliances.


Plastic as a fabric of choice:
Plastic has light weight, lower cost, good strength and simple handling. Being lighter as compared to metals, plastics are utilized in cars, aircrafts and spacecrafts, too.


Characteristic properties of plastics:
1. Plastic is non-reactive:
(i) Plastics don't react with water and air that’s whyit doesn't get rusted like iron. they're not corroded easily. that's why they're accustomed store various types of material, including many chemicals.
(ii) thanks to this property of plastic, it's suitable for creating of container, water tank, bottle, plastic pipes, taps, chair, table and other many sorts of furniture.

2. Plastic is light, strong and durable:
(i) Plastics are light weight, durable, cheap, very strong and might be moulded into different shapes and sizes.
(ii) thanks to this property of plastic, it's pretty much in need today. it's used for various purposes like polythene bags or box, bottle or umbrella, furniture or air craft, the employment of plastic are often seen everywhere.

3. Plastics are poor conductors:
(i) Plastics are poor conductor of warmth and electricity.
(ii) thanks to this property of plastics, it's suitable to form the insulating covering of electrical wires, handles of electrical appliances, handles of utensils, handles of screw drivers, kitchenware, floor tiles, etc.

Some Uses of Plastic in Various Fields:
(i) Plastics find extensive use within the health-care industry. Plastics are used for the packaging of tablets, threads used for stitching wounds, syringes, doctors’ gloves and variety of medical instruments.
(ii) Special plastic cookware is employed in microwave ovens for cooking food without affecting the plastic vessel.
(iii) Teflon could be a special plastic on which oil and water don't stick. it's used for creating non-stick coating on cook wares.
(iv) Fire-proof plastics: Synthetic fibre catches fire easily. The uniforms of firemen have coating of melamine plastic to form them flame resistant.



Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable:
1. Biodegradable:
A substance which gets decomposed through natural processes, like action by bacteria, is termed biodegradable. Examples: peels of vegetables, food stuffs, fruit, paper, cotton cloths, wood, etc.


2. Non-biodegradable:
A substance which isn't easily decomposed or takes a few years to induce decomposed by natural processes is termed as non-biodegradable. Examples: tin, aluminium, plastics, etc.


Plastics and also the Environment:
(i) Plastic could be a non-biodegradable material. It takes a few years to induce decomposed or either doesn't get decomposed.
(ii) thanks to non-biodegradable property of plastic, it's a awfully major problem for environment.

Problem:
(i) Now days, plastic is extremely popular and used it for several purposes. As a result, we generate an outsized amount of plastic waste. Since plastic has non-biodegradable property, so plastic waste is getting accumulated within the environment. It causes environmental pollution.
(ii) Accumulated plastic waste could be a major concern because it doesn't get completely burnt easily. within the process it releases plenty of poisonous fumes into the atmosphere causing pollution.

Preventive measures:
(i) we should always avoid the employment of plastics things as far as possible.
(ii) don't throw plastic bags within the water bodies or on the road.
(iii) The biodegradable and non biodegradable wastes should be collected separately and disposed off separately.

For managing plastic waste, we should always follow the three Rs, i.e. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
1. Reduce:
We should reduce the employment of plastic. Examples: we should always use cloth or jute bag for purchasing any things rather than using plastic bags.

2. Reuse:
We should reuse some plastic things and containers in our homes and offices, For example: Empty plastic bottles and container should be used for keeping other items within the home and kitchen.

3. Recycle:
Thermoplastic are often recycled. So, items product of thermoplastic should be sent to the recycling industry. Examples: Toys, buckets, mugs etc.