CABI Blog

I recently went llama trekking and thoroughly enjoyed it. Up close, the llama (Lama glama) not only sports rather glamorous long eyelashes but
also has the most amazing fibrous coat. This reminded me that 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres
(IYNF) – a year of all things wild and woolly!

FAO have deemed 2009 as the International Year to highlight the importance
of natural fibres and their many uses, not only to producers and industry, but
also to consumers and the environment.

IYNF, or “Wild and Woolly 2009”, as it’s also known, has a great website
with profiles of natural fibres from abaca to alpaca to silk and sisal. Here
you can find out about events taking place throughout the year, and find out
why, in a world of synthetics, natural fibres should be the natural choice.

Further reading

FAO (2009). Discover natural
fibres 2009. Common Fund for Commodities. Proceedings of the Symposium on
Natural Fibres. Rome,
20 October 2008. Technical Paper No. 56.

Photo courtesy of Isobel Hoskins