1579 days ago

Jumping for Jute!

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Hamilton

Jute is a natural fibre with golden & silky shine, and hence nicknamed as The Golden Fibre.

Jute is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, and agricultural sectors.

Jute is a vegetable plant whose fibres are dried in long strips, and it’s one of the cheapest natural materials available; together with cotton, it is one of the most frequently used.

The plants from which jute is obtained grow mainly in warm and humid regions, such as Bangladesh, China, and India.

Jute can be grown year-round and is harvested every six months. It can take decades to produce the same volume of wood fibre and it requires much larger tracts of land to cultivate.

The woody core of the jute plant, called hurd, has thousands of potential industrial and commercial uses. As an alternative to wood, hurd is capable of meeting most of the world’s demand for wood and wood products. Using hurd and jute fibres means that the level of deforestation to meet the current demand for paper and wood could be significantly decreased if they were used as an alternative.

Jute is 100% biodegradable (it degrades biologically in 1 to 2 years), low-energy recyclable, and can even be used as compost for the garden. It is clear in terms of reusability and recyclability that jute bags are one of the best options available nowadays.

Jute fibres are tougher and more resilient than paper made from wood pulp and can withstand prolonged exposure to water and weather. They can be reused many times and are thus very environmentally friendly.

The application of jute is a significant step in combating the use of different materials containing toxic wastes. Jute bags cut down the employment of plastic bags, which have now been effectively banned in many countries due to their harmful components. Jute seems to be one of the best alternatives to it.

We hope you enjoyed learning about Jute as much as we did, we would love to hear your comments! We have more interesting reads on our blog: www.curtainclean.co.nz...

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More messages from your neighbours
5 days ago

Poll: Does a savoury scone require cheese on top, or folded inside?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Help settle the great kiwi debate ... cheese on top, or folded inside?

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Does a savoury scone require cheese on top, or folded inside?
  • 76.8% Inside!
    76.8% Complete
  • 23.2% On top!
    23.2% Complete
987 votes
8 days ago

Got more greens than you know what to do with? 🥦🌱🥕

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

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! 👇

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J
6 hours ago

Mr Minit in Chartwell: Be wary

Jenny from Hillcrest

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.