For those who are not familiar
with the non woven fabric's origination, it is a kind of fabric that does not
need knitting or weaving like our more traditional cotton, linen and wool. This
fabric is simply made by blending or bonding separate synthetic fibers in a
solution until they fabricate into porous sheets. The non woven fabric is not very
strong in its nature but it is cheap to produce and very Eco-friendly since it
can be made by recycling fabric and altered to be soluble leaving no long term
footprint like the plastic does.
Felt from wool which everyone is
familiar with is one such fabric which has a dense quality without any warp or
weft. The non woven fabric made from it retains some of the wool's nature and
the resultant fabric is warm and insulating whereas the non woven fabric made
from polyester is light in nature and elastic.
The non woven fabric is made in
varying thickness called the GSM. The grams per centimetre is inversely related
to the loop length of the fabric. Because of its cost effectiveness and light
weight quality, it has risen in popularity among the food and medical
industries for disposable use. The non woven fabric is both the easier and the
more hygienic option.
In Kenya, the use for the non
woven fabric peaked after the government banned the use of plastic bags in the
year 2017. Following this law, while some reverted to the paper bag as an
option, most opted to use the non-woven bag which became easily available
almost immediately after.
This fabric can also be made
water proof. More recently, it has also been modified to be perfumed or
anti-bacterial. As time goes, the fabric is showing great promise in its
versatility and has been a manufacturer's dream raw material. At MLW, we
manufacture all sorts of items using this fabric, and every so often we realize
we can make this one more product, for example, a pouch to put jewellery in or
an envelope to put an invitation, or a holder for TV remote controls or simply covers
for blankets or other electronic items when keeping them in storage. All this
has shown us how non woven is a glove that fits all hands.
Initially, the ban on plastic
bags forced us to make supermarket, fashion and general product or promotional
bags. Soon thereafter, the demand for laundry bags and shoe bags opened up
meaning that there was a market for these items in the non woven disposable use
range. Aprons and head covers for the food industry followed, and then the most
unexpected occurrence, the Corona Virus hit the globe.
The Covid-19 changed the world
and is continuing to do so even today. We are still in the midst of this
pandemic and the horror of the matter is that we don’t really know how long it
is going to last, and what its long term effects are going to be. The only
thing the whole world knows for certain is that we need to protect ourselves
from it. Our entire concentration is on manufacturing affordable and disposable
Medical PPE at the moment. Humanity dictates that we don’t see this moment as
an opportunity to milk the cow but rather as the lesson we want to teach our
children.
Starting with just face masks in
the beginning, demand for products fashioned out of this fabric has spiked due
to a need for coveralls, head covers, foot covers, aprons, and scrubs. Today dire
as the situation may be, we have to stay positive and do all we can to help the
greater community around us as manufacturers and as citizens of this world.
testing
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