Facts About Fabric
• The average lifetime of a piece of clothing is approximately 3 years.
• Flax is the earliest known natural textile fabric seen used in about 5000 BC. Flax is the material used to make linen which is seeing a huge come back today in drapery and upholstery.
• Nike (with subsidiary Converse) is the largest fashion company in the world, with a market value of $105 billion.
• There is evidence that cotton and wool were used to create natural fabrics in about 3000 BC and evidence of silk use in 2500 BC in China.
• China is the largest maker and exporter of silk in the world and has been for 100’s of years.
• The average person buys 60 percent more items of clothing every year and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago, generating a huge amount of waste.
• The earliest evidence of fabric textiles has been found in Turkey, Egypt, and Israel.
• The creation of man-made fibres has only been within the last 100 years. Rayon was the first man-made fibre created in 1910 and it was called ‘artificial silk’. Viscose is the most common form of Rayon.
• More than 70 percent of the world's population uses second-hand clothing. About 50 percent of collected shoes and clothing is used as second-hand products. Meanwhile, 20 percent is used to produce polishing and cleaning cloths for various industrial purposes, and 26 percent is recycled for applications such as fibre for insulation products, upholstery, fibreboard, and mattresses.
• Microfibre or Ultrasuede was invented over 20 years ago in Japan. Microfibre is the thinnest of all man-made fibres, even finer than silk. it is 100 times finer than a human hair.
• Acrylic is a man-made fibre that has a soft, wool-like hand, is machine washable and has excellent colour retention. It is often an additive to textiles to take advantage of these properties.
• Nearly 100 percent of textiles and clothing are recyclable.
• Nylon is also man-made and was first produced in 1938. It has high strength, excellent resilience, and superior abrasion resistance. Nylon replaced silk stockings for women in the early part of the 20th century.
• The highest quality cotton comes from Egypt.
• Textiles and shoes make up 12% of landfill sites.
• Bamboo is a grass that has been used to create a fabric that hangs much like a heavy linen. It has natural wicking ability that pulls moisture away from the skin so it can be useful in reducing moisture related odour. It also has natural anti-bacterial qualities. Bamboo grows quickly and does not need pesticides to thrive, making it one of the more sustainable textile sources.
Poll: Does a savoury scone require cheese on top, or folded inside?
Help settle the great kiwi debate ... cheese on top, or folded inside?
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76.8% Inside!
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23.2% On top!
Got more greens than you know what to do with? 🥦🌱🥕
Whether it’s a courgette takeover or a feijoa frenzy, don’t let those garden gems go to waste!
Our suggestion to you: Did you know you can grate and freeze excess courgettes to use in chocolate cake later? It sounds a bit dodgy, but it makes the cake incredibly moist ... and hey, it counts as a serving of veg, right? 🍫
What’s your go-to move for a bumper harvest? Drop your best "glut" recipes or preservation hacks in the comments below! 👇
Mr Minit in Chartwell: Be wary
Hi all,
Just sharing my experience. I had the battery for my car key replaced in March 2025 at Mr. Minit in Chartwell. I was given a one‑year warranty, which seemed impressive at the time.
However, the battery stopped working early Mar 26. With the warranty card, I brought the key back to have it checked and replaced. What I didn’t realise was that the battery was *not* actually replaced. He only tested it with a meter. When I asked whether he had replaced the battery, he said “yes,” but that wasn’t true. He then said he had tested the battery level and there was no need to replace it. When I asked to see the meter, it showed the battery was in the green zone which means it was ok.
I was then advised that I might need to replace the entire key unit. I asked whether he had properly troubleshot the issue to confirm it was the battery and not the key itself. His reply was that he normally doesn’t do that, but I was a “special case.” That means, the warranty card was a misrepresentation and there was no real intention of replacing the battery when it was faulty.
After he finally replaced the battery with a new one, my key worked perfectly again.
**Lesson learned:**
Make sure you take a photo of your warranty card. I feel like the warranty is mostly for show — if I had lost it, I would have been charged another $20+ for a battery. Worst still, I would have to pay more to change the key unit unnecessarily.
Make sure you witness that they replace your old battery with a new one if it's still under warranty.
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