Fire-Retardant Fabrics Soon

Indian textile companies will soon start manufacturing specially-treated fire-retardant fabrics and garments.

To start with, fire-retardant curtain and upholstery fabrics will be produced, the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has said.

The Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills has commenced manufacturing yarn for producing these fire-retardant products.

These products will be marketed under the brand name Trevira CS, SRTEPC said in its journal Indian Synthetic and Rayon.

The fire-retardant fibre had been successfully tried and used in various countries and Indian companies were expected to enter the global market with these fire-resistant fabrics.

Trevira CS would come out with the international quality certification of ISO-9002. It would be characterised by high colour fastness which would not fade if exposed to sunlight.

 

It is also stain-repellant and the fabric can handle any amount of wear and tear without losing its original shade and texture, it said.

The move assumes significance in the wake of protests a couple of years ago from the United States and Canada about inflammable skirts from India, which rejected the complaints.

The journal said the fabric, which was easy to wash, would dry without shrinking and keep intact the fire-retardant properties even after countless washes.

Trevira CS would also be soft on expenses. They would require low detergent consumption, it said.

Fire-retardant properties were induced into the fibre through commoner of phosphorous, which was inserted in every molecule of the fibre, thus making it totally immune to fire.

The fabrics cannot be set on fire even with fairly large ignition sources, SRTEPC said in the journal.

Fabrics for bedspreads was being manufactured in such a way that it was compatible even with sensitive stains. Hence, it does not cause allergies or any other skin diseases, it said.

As the fibre was made from very fine yarn, it was light in weight and could also be used for upholstering aircraft seats.

It could be used in all kinds of interiors, homes, offices, shops, hotels, conference halls and cinema halls, besides hospitals.

The Rajasthan Spinning Co had entered into a collaboration with German company Hoechst. The Indian company imports the fibre from Hoechst now to weave the yarn, the journal added.