Cotton Attracts the Attention of Young African Leaders

By Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar|July 16, 2024

Sustainability is the way forward in the textiles and manufacturing sectors.

Outreach and educating consumers and brands are strategies that will help with enhancing the consumption of natural fibers. Also, as natural fibers have not penetrated technical textiles as much as synthetics and given the need for sustainable products, efforts must be made towards research, dissemination of results, and outreach. It may not be possible to find use in all sectors of advanced textiles, but areas such as environmental protection, insulation, and health offer immediate possibilities.

Opportunities for cotton use in advanced textiles must be disseminated to young leaders and consumers to boost its consumption.

Two young leaders from Africa recently visited the Cotton and Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech University (TTU). In their first visit to the United States as Mandela Washington fellows funded by the United States government, they are spending six weeks at TTU.

Dr. Idda Mihindi is a medical doctor from Tanzania who has founded Fursa Foundation, which manufactures and distributes washable cotton-based sanitary pads for rural women and secondary school girls who cannot afford hygiene products.

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Greogory Rakobe is from Botswana and has interest in using native plants to develop skin and health care products.

Greogory Rakobe, Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Dr. Idda Mihindi (Photo: S. Ramkumar)

As these two young leaders work in the sustainability area, they expressed interest in visiting the Advanced Materials Laboratory to learn about industrial applications of cotton.

Mihindi and Rakobe conducted experiments using waste cotton-based nonwoven pads and understood the oil sorption capabilities of cotton.

“The sustainable role of cotton used is eye-opening to me,” stated Mihindi.

The visitors interacted with graduate students in the laboratory who work in cotton and sustainability projects enabling advanced applications for cotton.

Timely dissemination of information about new applications of cotton and natural materials will advance the sustainability goals of textiles and manufacturing sectors. As the African continent has a large population and is advancing in its economy, engaging with its next generation leaders will boost the consumption of natural fibers.

The industry should look for opportunities for natural fibers and recycled natural products in the advanced textiles industry.

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