Jute (also known as Yute in Spanish-speaking countries or Burlap in the US) is called the “Golden Fibre” and it is the second most important fibre after cotton. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae. It is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibres and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. In addition, jute is increasingly being looked at as an alternative source for making paper, rather than cutting down trees for pulp.
Jute is used to make rope, twine, curtains, sacks, hessian cloth or carpets and also in landscaping projects, in order to prevent erosion while still permitting natural vegetation to grow. This is accomplished by spinning the fiber into a coarse thread. Despite the fact that jute tends to be rough in texture, fine threads of it are sometimes used to create imitation silk.
The thread created from jute is quite strong. It has exceptional insulating 
properties, low thermal conductivity, and antistatic characteristics. There are several applications for which jute is still used instead of synthetic fibers. These applications are mostly limited to those that require the use of a material capable of biodegrading.
Taking just four to six months to grow to maturity, jute can be harvested much more quickly than trees. Many hope to be able to use jute in order to slow down or prevent deforestation. The plant prefers climates that are both warm and humid, 
with temperature ranging from 68 to 104°F (20 to 40°C) and a relative humidity of 70-80%. It also requires about two to three inches (5 to 8 cm) of rainfall per week. India, China and certain areas of Latin America are large producer of jute.
Visit Nativa Store to choose from our many beautiful accessories and bags manufactured with these natural fibers.
See you soon!
Sources:
http://www.jute.com/HTML/Jute_Introduction.htm
And at last, we unveiled our 2011 Winter Collection. What a thrill!
