ECO-FRIENDLY USAGE OF JUTE AND ITS HARVESTING

INTRODUCTION

What is jute?
Jute is a natural fiber, and one of the strongest around. It is mainly grown in the Bengal area
(India and Bangladesh), and grows fully in 5-7 months. Jute is a flowering plant, and can grow to
1-4 meters long. Jute fiber is quite strong, and it does not fibrillate or bleach easily. Jute has a
wide range of applications - it can be used to make items such as rope, twine, rugs, chair
covers, hessian cloth and food grade bags for cereals and sugar. It has many uses also in home
decor for example as carpets, curtains.  

Jute has many of good properties - UV protection, sound and heat insulation, low thermal
conduction and anti-static property.

Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibers available, and is second only to cotton in
amount produced and variety of uses of vegetable fibers. Jute fibers are composed primarily of
the plant materials cellulose (major component of plant fibre) and lignin (major components of
wood fiber). It is thus a ligno-cellulosic fiber that is partially a textile fiber and partially
wood. The industrial term for jute fiber is raw jute. The fibers are off-white to brown, and 1–4
meters long.

Jute has been popular for quite a century ago. And only a few years ago we have discovered
jute as an eco-friendly material in bag and fabric industry.

Where does Jute come from?

Most jute comes from the bark of the white Jute plant, or Corchorus capsularis. Jute harvests
take place once a year, after a growing season of around four months (approximately 120
days). Jute is golden-hued, so it's sometimes called Golden Fiber. Its light, has a shimmery shine
to it, and has a flexibility and bounce unlike other fibers.

Jute grows best in tropical zones with mid-to-high humidity, in places such as India and
Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. Jute is also processed in Pakistan using a substantial amount
of imported raw jute from Bangladesh. Jute farmers rotate their crops, to help keep the soils
healthy and vibrant, so each crop of jute remains strong and full of life. Jute thrives on rain, and
with enough water, there's little need for fertilizer to help it along. Nor does it need pesticides.

How is jute rope made?

Jute fibres range in length from one to four meters. Jute stems are cut, and then bundled
together in packs, before being soaked in water for periods of time to separate and loosen the
fibres. This is called biological retting. Once this is done, the outer non-fibrous matter is scraped
off, and then the softened fibres can be pulled straight out from inside the jute stem.

It's a time consuming process but occurs without polluting the earth with toxic chemicals.

This retting process can also be done chemically to strip the fibres from the stem, but it's much
more expensive, which is good news for us. Most producers find it's just as easy to employ the
natural method using water, and so they do.

These fibres are then processed into threads, which are then woven together to make jute
threads (and from this into fabric), or jute rope.

Jute fibre is 100% biodegradable and recyclable, and does not create toxic gas when burned.
This means your jute products such as rugs, mats, bags and carry bags, can also go straight back
into the compost when are too old to be of use anymore, or recycle them in your garden beds
as weed matting.

What is jute used for?

Jute fabric is super versatile and strong, so it's used for many purposes.

The most common way to use jute is in sackcloth.

Jute sacks are used to carry seeds and grains. Jute sacks are also used to wrap and store large
products for sale such as gardening tools, outdoor furniture, indoor furniture, and for packaging -
often replacing plastic-weaved sacking as a biodegradable eco-friendly alternative.

Jute is commonly used in landscape design. Landscapers use jute containers to plant young
sapling trees, employ jute matting to prevent weeds from overpowering a garden, and use jute
sacking to stem erosion. Large-scale projects to stop erosion on roadsides or prevent further
damage on landslips use jute sacking underneath their concrete pours to hold it all in place.
Jute is the tough fabric of choice when designing and implementing their prevention strategy.

Jute is often used in these types of landscape projects because of its biological nature, and the
fact it will break down over time without further invention, reducing the need for follow-up work
to remove it.

In recent times, rug makers have also discovered the versatility and qualities of jute as a sturdy
floor covering.  As homeowners shy away from synthetic floor coverings and search for
alternative eco-friendly and non-toxic carpets, jute has become one of the most popular floor
coverings of choice.

Jute is the perfect mix of natural fibre with a golden hue, and looks good in every setting in the
home; especially those high-traffic areas of the home that need to withstand a cyclone of little
people, pets and general life.
Why jute is called the golden fibre?
The answer is in plain sight: it’s because of its appearance and cost-effectiveness. Jute
fibres are light, soft to the touch and have a yellowish-brown colour with a golden shine
to them. Also, jute is quick and easy to grow, having an excellent cost-to-outcome ratio.
It is 100% biodegradable and it’s the most affordable natural fibre on the market at the
moment.

How is jute made?

After harvesting the jute plant, it is kept submerged in slow running water for 10 to 30
days. During this period, bacteria dissolve the sticky material that holds the plant fibres
together. This process is called “retting”.

Once this step is complete, the fibres present in the stem remain and can be separated
from the non-fibrous matter by hand. Then, the separated fibres are washed, dried,
sorted and sent to jute mills, where they are processed to make jute yarns. Eventually,
the jute yarns are sent to manufacturers to make sacks, bags, ropes and other eco-
friendly products.

Is jute eco-friendly?
It certainly is! Actually, jute is one of the world’s most eco-friendly fibers to produce.
That’s because it’s completely biodegradable, it absorbs carbon dioxide and releases
oxygen (even faster than trees do), it grows without the use of pesticide or fertilizer, can
enhance the fertility of the soil it grows in and it doesn’t release microfibers, reducing
the pollution of waterways. It’s not only eco-friendly but sustainable.
What Makes Jute Sustainable?
Many factors, like its ability to reach maturity in less than 6 months, which means that
less land is required to cultivate it. There’s no need to encroach upon wilderness and
natural habitats thanks to its efficiency of growth, it needs little intervention to grow and
replenish. Also, it relies on natural rainfall, needing less water to survive than cotton.

Can Jute be recycled?

100% it can be recycled. Besides using the same fibres of a product to build another
one, you can grab your jute goods like mats, bags and rugs that are too old to use
anymore and turn them into compost for the garden, your plants will be really grateful.
As you can see, jute is highly environmentally friendly.
What is jute used for?
Jute applications are nearly endless. It’s a very versatile fibre as it can be used
independently or blended with a range of other materials. The fibre can be made into
textiles like yarn, sacking, twine and it can be used to make rugs, rope, burlap and
clothing (fabric and material in general).
Rugs
As jute is soft to the touch, rugs made of jute make an excellent home decoration. They
can be round, square or rectangular, they look fresh and bring naturalness, personality
and warmth to any environment, whether a modern one or a rustic one. And the best
part of all? They are quite durable and don’t require much maintenance. Just don’t
subject them to excessive humidity, that’s its only enemy.

Rope
Jute ropes are not only versatile and highly resistant to heat, sunlight, heavy weight and
friction, but can be used in crafts, sewing and decoration. Hello eco-friendly DIY door
wreaths! You should avoid getting a Jute rope wet if possible and store it in a low-
humidity environment to lengthen its life. Most natural fibre ropes have a life of about
10 years with proper care.

Burlap
Burlap is a fabric that can be made of jute that is well known as one of the most
preferred packaging materials. Why? Because of its resistance to heavyweights and
tears.
Besides packaging, burlap can be used in decoration, crafts, upholstery and gardening.
Have you seen the biodegradable tote bags that are trending nowadays? Well, many of
them are made of jute burlap. This fabric can also be dyed or printed, so you can
customize it as you wish.
Clothing/Fabric/Material
Many clothing brands and designers are realizing the impact of fast fashion on the
environment, making them look for new eco-friendly fabrics to produce both affordable
and sustainable clothing. This is where jute fabric makes its appearance, could it be a
solution? Absolutely!
While jute isn’t very popular in the western fashion industry, jute footwear, sweaters and
jackets are earning their spots step by step, even new softening techniques are being
developed to make jute more comfortable because the fibre can be a bit rough on the
skin if it’s not blended with other fibres like nylon.
Moreover, jute fabric is highly breathable – a plus for fashion elements. Finally, it should
be noted that jute fabrics can be used not only for clothing, but also for tablecloths and
curtains. What more could you ask for?
Advantages of jute
 It’s 100% eco-friendly, biodegradable and sustainable.
 One of the strongest natural vegetable fibers.
 Cost-effective.
 Has insulating and antistatic properties.
 Low thermal conductivity.
 Highly breathable.
 Can be dyed and printed.
 Can be blended with both natural and synthetic fibers.
Disadvantages of Jute
It gets along poorly with humidity as it can get moldy and brownish.
It is very absorbent, which makes it a drawback when it comes to removing stains from
jute rugs or fabric.

Burlap, for example, cannot be washed in washing machines. As jute is a natural fiber, it
can disintegrate if fully immersed in water for long periods of time.

Jute is not only eco-friendly it is a great material for all

sorts of products!
Gradually, the world has become increasingly aware of the use of sustainable
and biodegradable products. While synthetic fibres continue to dominate the market,
natural fibres such as jute are expanding their presence in industries and households.
Besides the fact that, let’s face it, rugs and tablecloths made from jute look great, its
eco-friendly production and reusability has kept more and more people interested in
the golden fiber. And with good reason! Its uses are practically endless.

From ropes to even clothing, jute fiber is very versatile and customizable. You can dye it
or simply leave it with its golden hue, turn it into shopping bags, home decor or cool
jackets – the choice is yours to make!