When used here a name to distinguish different classes of textile fibre. For natural fibres, distinguishing attribute is the fibre source; for man-made fibres (see fibre, man-made) chemical difference, which often results in distinctive property differences, is the main basis for classification: other attributes are included where necessary. Generic names are normally used as adjectives; are descriptive of the nature of the fibre or filament components of the associated object (yarn, top, sliver, fabric, garment, etc). The attributes used for specification of the generic names of man-made fibres are however not necessarily identical with the attributes used for naming chemical molecules.
The International Organization for Standardization has published, in ISO 2076, a list of the generic names and definitions of the different categories of man-made fibres at present manufactured on industrial scale for textile and other purposes. These definitions and categories are used throughout this publication where possible.. Other lists of fibre names have been produced in connection with textile labelling legislation (e.g., in the EC Textile Labelling Directive and the U. S. Federal Trade Commission’s Textile Fiber Products Identification Act)
Textile Resource (http://www.textile.org.uk)
