1925 days ago

Luxurious Lotus Silk

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Hamilton

Lotus fibre or lotus silk is a rather rare and exclusive fibre. The silk comes from the stem of the lotus flower which is made up of microfibres.


The stems are snapped off, the fibres are teased out before being rolled into thread. Once the threads are dry, they are weighed down and carefully wound by hand. Then theyโ€™re put onto the loom. These fibres are fragile, but once woven, can be as durable as traditional silk.


The entire process of fibre extraction, weaving the fibre, and making the fabric is completely handmade, making the process time-consuming. This also limits the quantity of the fabric produced. A large scarf requires the thread of around 9,200 stems and would take one worker around two months to complete. This is why it is considered luxurious and items made from lotus silk do not go cheap.

The resulting material resembles raw silk or an aged linen, naturally beige in colour and possesses unique qualities. It is waterproof, practically wrinkle proof, washable, lightweight, sweatproof and is soft to the touch.

Most importantly, its key quality is that it is one of the most eco-friendly materials on the planet. The lotus is a water plant. It preserves the eco-system in which it grows including the water as much as the surrounding wildlife.

Not only is it created from waste (lotus stems), but it also leaves little waste behind. In fact, lotus silk been identified as potentially the most ecological fabric in the world, and it is the first natural microfibre in the world. Being a natural fibre, it is biodegradable after its useful life.

More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“
  • 32.6% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    32.6% Complete
  • 67.4% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    67.4% Complete
233 votes
7 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, weโ€™re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature โ€” and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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S
16 hours ago

Found Black Cat

Serena from Nawton

Hi,
This cat has been hanging around our place in Nawton does anyone know who he might belong too? He is not microchipped or neutered.