Author(s): Dr. Mary Hilda, Dr. V. Subramaniam

Abstract:
Human life is surrounded by hundreds of textile fibres either in the form of clothes, interior textiles or in the form of technical textiles made of conventional or high performance fibres for various applications. Natural fibres like banana, coir, cotton, sisal and jute have attracted the attention of scientists and technologists for application in consumer goods, low cost housing and other civil structure. Eco-friendly fully bio degradable composites based on natural fibres and resins are increasingly used for various applications as replacements for non-degradable materials points out Gupta (2001).rnA study was conducted in three districts of Southern part of Tamil Nadu namely Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari to find out the preference of nonwoven and composites made up of natural fibres, such us Jute, Coir, Banana and blends, which are low cost and locally available fibres. A total number of 300 fishermen, boat company owners and company employees were selected randomly from three districts. An interview schedule was designed to elicit information from various fishermen community, boat company owners and employees of the company.rnNatural fibre apart from low cost and renewable in nature, it is more attractive as reinforcing material in composites. A random study was done to find out the preference of the material regularly used to construct country boat and it was revealed that glass fibre was at practice. The study also revealed that three types of crafts are used for fishing in three district and they are kattamaram, vallam and mechanized boats. The study revealed that the country fishermen are concerned with marine environment and they preferred to select the natural fibre at affordable cost. The natural fibre such as Jute, Coir, Banana and blends were selected.