Natural or Synthetic, a question that is not so often burning in the minds of most of the population. However, it is a well known fact that both natural and synthetic fibers are highly popular in the textile industry. The choice, natural or synthetic is of course up to the consumer as there are many advantages and disadvantages that come with the two fibers. If you think about the clothes you wear every day, and where they come from, or the sheets you sleep under at night, or even the dressing you put on your salad, you'll notice that it all comes from one popular natural fiber, cotton. Cotton is known to be to be the most important and widely used fiber ever known to man, as it is used for thousands of things. On the other hand, nylon, a synthetic fiber, is known for it's strength, flexibility, toughness, as well as many more advantages. This may even seem more beneficial than cotton to some. However, before jumping to any conclusions, one must know all the pros and cons of such important fibers that are a part of our daily lives. .
Synthetic fibers, unlike natural, do not come from agricultural sources. The history begins in 1928 when Wallace Carothers, a researcher at the Du Pont company "synthesized nylon-6,6(a high molecular weight condensate of terephthalic acid and hexamenthylendediamine that could be drawn into fine fibers)." Then, in 1938, that fiber was trademarked Nylon, and soon went into commercial production. Nylon was popular as the fiber provided for hosiery needed after World War II, and it had the advantages of having high tenacity and modulus. One business claimed that artificial products were always superior to the natural materials. Natural materials that were rapidly being replaced. However, synthetic materials are not necessarily the most superior. Synthetic fibers are said to be uncomfortable, and have a lack most of the properties of the fibers that they are intended to replace.
