Banana Fiber Textile Products -----Fruit Clothing,Love Life,Love Earth | | | Banana fibers such as flax, jute, hemp, and pineapple etc plant fibers. are all made up of thick walled cell tissue and they are bonded together by natural gums and support the branches, stems, leaves and fruits. Although banana plants and fibers are available in tropical regions in abundance, their application potential has not been exploited fully. At present,other companys make the limited application of banana fiber ,for example, in making ropes, mats, and some other fields such as the composite materials. In recent years, more and more plant fibers were considered to be "environmentally friendly" fiberesources , and many countries are emphasizing the utilizing of these fibers. | | | 2007, LIFEI have developed this new type of natural textile fibres, banana fiber.When ,we developed banana fiber series yarns, banana fiber series fabrics, banana fiber clothings.Technical parameters of banana fiber:Average fineness 2386 Nm; average strength 3.93 cN / dtex; average length 50 ~ 60 mm(or 38mm). Banana fibers can be used for cotton spinning,OE-spinning, compact spinning, and other short-spinning technology system, also can be used Bast fiber | spinning(ramie,flax,hemp spinning), Silk Spinning, wool spinning, semi-worsted spinning system, and other long-spinning technology system . This Technology of banana fibers, take over the lead in the world. The factory can product banana fiber industrialization, only LIFEI one. We are welcome other big textile company to make banana fiber industrial stronger and bigger together! | | | | A. Higher capacity of water absorption | Water absorbabilty and water-releas | Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the water-absorption and water-release ability of banana and some other comparing fibers. | | Fig.1. Water absorption of fibers | | | | Fig.2. Water-release of fibers | | | ※ The modified fiber used in absorbency test is 15 min modified fiber.It can be seen from the figures, the banana fiber has higher water absorbability and water-release. In Fig. 1, the banana fiber shows higher capacity of water absorption and higher speed of the absorption, only slightly lower than that of pineapple fiber. This is due to the higher content of non-cellulose materials in banana fiber, the lower crystallinity in the fiber structure. In Fig.2, it shows that the speed of water emission is also higher comparing with the other fibers because the decreasing of the moisture regain of both the modified and normal banana fiber are faster than that of other fibers. | | B. Good luster,Gauzy, Cool | Technical banana fiber has good luster and banana fiber cloths have good drape.Banana fiber cloths are very Nobleness, Fashion,Health,Environment-friendly.All ASEAN leader are all dress up Fruit clothing banana fiber cloths in 2007 ASEAN summit in Cebu philippines.Because of higher capacity of water absorption,banana fiber clothing is very cool. | | | |

What is Banana Fibre Fabric?Banana fibre is a new bio degradable natural fiber extracted from bark of banana tree. Banana fiber is made up of thick walled cell tissue and bonded by natural gums. The appearance of banana fiber is similar that of natural bamboo fiber but its fineness and spin ability is better than natural bamboo and remie fibers. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.SALIENT FEATURES:- High Strength

Low Elongation

Good Luster

Light Weight

Strong Moisture Absorption

Bio Degradable and eco friendly APPLICATIONS:-Garments

Curtain

Towel

Bed sheets | |

BANANA FIBER FABRIC
If we at THIS ever had the inclination to administer a righteous exhortation of do-gooding, our Banana Fiber Fabric certainly affords us the opportunity to no end. Because this cloth may very well define sustainability, embodying an ecologically intelligent production cycle from beginning to beginning: regeneration ad infinitum. Consumer goods as nutrient. Let us explain. more >>
Listen all my brethren, for crafting Banana Fiber Fabric involves an entire community: from cultivating thy field seedlings and preparation of raw material fibers into thread, to thy thread warping of wooden-pedal looms and weaving of the cloth. The banana tree from which this fabric is produced summons its nutrient energy by rain and sun from above, and from below, a compost of rice stalks, rice husks, and a variety of dried leaves. Nay herein a pesticide nor chemical fertilzer. And yea, though these processes take place through cooperative organizations, there'n not a communist among them- the banana trees are all tended by small farmers whom own their own land, the thread fibers and cloth crafted by spinners and weavers whom gather wages according to thy output. Call it entrepreneurial humanism. As we in the developed world move more toward an enlightened process of holistic production and consumption, some have always been there. And while many seek to continually push toward an imagined future only to forever stumble back, let this not be a proclamation to return to loin cloths, but a gaze back, moving forward.

Banana fibber extraction Unit (with market assistance)

BANANA FIBER EXTRACTING PROJECT
(A WEALTH FROM WASTE CONCEPT)
Banana aptly called as kalpatharu, A gigantic herb, a food fruit crop, an ancient species cultivated all over the world. Next to brazil India is the largest Banana producer.
USAGES
The fruit brunches and leaves are the main source of income, besides leaves are used as Bioplates for serving food in homes, and functions, Banana fruit contains of multi vitamin and proteins, other portions of Banana plant are dumped as waste, farmers often face the problem of disposal of Pseudo stems and these huge stocks are getting accumulated in banana growing areas.
The fruitful utilization of these stems is therefore an important issue related to Banana Cultivation.

India has about 5 lakh hactares of Banana cultivation only 10% of the Banana waste (Pseudo stems) is extracted as fiber, mostly the fiber is extracted by manual process, and the yield of fiber is very low and this kind of manual process needs skilled labours.

MACHINERY PROCESS:- which can be easily operated, by an unskilled labour and gives a maximum production output.
ADVANTAGES OF THE MACHINE OVER MANUAL PROCESS
Reduces drudgery.
Fifty times increase in fiber production compared to manual process.
User friendly & economic.
Less maintenance cost and safe to operate.
Clean work atmosphere.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Banana fiber extracting machine will be promoted among self help groups, rural & small Entrepreneurs, Banana cultivating farmers

Banana Fiber

Banana plant not only gives the delicious fruit but it also provides textile fiber, the banana fiber. It grows easily as it sets out young shoots and is most commonly found in hot tropical climates. All varieties of banana plants have fibers in abundance. These fibers are obtained after the fruit is harvested and fall in the group of bast fibers. This plant has long been a good source for high quality textiles in many parts of the world, especially in Japan and Nepal.

Extraction of Banana Fiber
The processes for making yarn from banana fibers vary from region to region. Most popular methods among these are those followed in INDIA

Characteristics of Banana Fiber
Banana fiber is a natural bast fiber. It has its own physical and chemical characteristics and many other properties that make it a fine quality fiber.
• Appearance of banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but its fineness and spinnability is better than the two.
• The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
• It is highly strong fiber.
• It has smaller elongation.
• It has somewhat shiny appearance depending upon the extraction & spinning process.
• It is light weight.
• It has strong moisture absorption quality. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast.
• It is bio- degradable and has no negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly fiber.
• Its average fineness is 2400Nm.
• It can be spun through almost all the methods of spinning including ring spinning, open-end spinning, bast fiber spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others.

Applications of Banana Fiber
In the recent past, banana fiber had a very limited application and was primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some other composite materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing importance of eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as apparel garments and home furnishings. However, in Japan, it is being used for making traditional dresses like kimono, and kamishimo since the Edo period (1600-1868). Due to its being lightweight and comfortable to wear, it is still preferred by people there as summer wear. Banana fiber is also used to make fine cushion covers, Necties, bags, table cloths, curtains etc. Rugs made from banana silk yarn fibers are also very
Banana fiber is a new textile fiber. It is more green, more detailed, more shiny, more thinner.

* Banana fiber yarn can be spun to 100 Nm. Banana fiber fabric is very thin, glossy, but still has some flexibility. Banana fibre is a new fiber 21 new world textile materials
Though the process is tedious and time consuming, these fabrics are in much demand. Lustrous, and light weight, these fibres are used in spinning highly textural yarn, used for knitting, weaving, embellishment and other decorative purposes. Apparels made from banana fibre denote aristocratic status in some countries. These fibres are used in Europe for making socks. In Philippines, these fibres are used for making garments. In Japan, cultivating banana for cloth making has been a traditional process and has been followed since 13th century. Polypropylene reinforced with banana fibres is used by automobile companies for making under-floor protection panels in luxurious cars like Mercedes.
Potential Applications:Performance wise, banana fibres are better than bamboo fibre and ramie fibre. They posses many virtues like high tensile strength, luster, light weight, and good moisture absorption. Banana fibres are mostly used in making handicrafts and home decorative. They have a wide variety of applications in making various products like paper bags, filter paper, greeting cards, decorative papers, pen stands, lamp shades and many more. These products have a potential market. Papers made from banana fibres have good market in 25 international countries including Europe. These papers are chemical free, and posses' eco friendly qualities, with longevity of 700 years. Currently companies make limited application of banana fibres in making mats, ropes, and composite materials.

The essentially hand driven process of extracting banana fiber is now set to change with the invention of the Banana Fiber Separator Machine. The machine has been developed in India by CHAMPS AGRO UNIT FROM MAHARSHTRA. One more interesting fact associated with the development of this machine is that it uses the agriculture waste of banana harvests to produce silk grade fiber. These silk grade fibers are of immense help to the handicrafts and textile industry. What was previously considered an agricultural waste is now converted to a raw material for good quality silk grade fiber yarn.

BANANA FIBRE FABRIC

Great Revolution in the field of Textile Industry

While we consume the Banana fruit, CLOTH will be woven from Banana tree fibre. You can’t Imagine how the local textile industry is set for a major boom, after the next new sensation in textile industry with the invention of Banana Fibre Fabric.

Innovation sees no limit and Indian consumers can expect something big coming up in the textile industry like fabrics and textiles woven from fine quality Banana Fibre.

Banana Fibre is a new bio degradable natural fiber extracted from bark of Banana tree. Banana Fiber is made up of thick walled cell tissue and bonded by natural gums. The appearance of Banana Fiber is similar that of natural bamboo fiber but its fineness and spin ability is better than natural bamboo and remie fibers. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.

A research study is already being carried out by the National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) and if the proposition turns out to be viable, the country can very soon expect the domestic market to be flooded with an array of textile and garment products made fromBanana Fibre.

The banana grows almost everywhere in the country throughout the year. The principal banana growing areas however, are Rangamati, Barisal, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Noakhali, Faridpur, and Khulna. The common species that grow in Bangladesh areMusa cavendishi, M. oranta (Sagar kala), M. paradisiaca sub-speciesparadisiaca (Kancha kala), M. paradisiaca sub-species sapientum (Kala), and M. sapientum sub-species sylvestris (Aita kala). The other popular varieties are locally familiar as Chanpa, Sabri, Singapuri, and Mahersagar. Besides these, some other wild varieties of bananas are also grown in Bangladesh; among those, Musa textilis(Pahadi kala) is important for good quality fibre.

Banana (kala) a familiar tropical fruit. From its native southwestern Pacific home, the banana plant spread to India by about 600 BC and later on it spread all over the tropical world. It is possibly the world's oldest cultivated crop. It even spread into the Islands of the Pacific and to the West Coast of Africa as early as 200-300 BC. Banana (Musa paradisiaca, family Musaceae) is one of the tallest of the herbaceous plants with a pseudo-stem. Its robust treelike soft stem is composed of the sheathing spiral leaf bases, which contains fibres of sufficient strength to keep the tree erect. At the top of the stem there is produced a crown of large elongated oval deep-green leaves. The leaves are up to 365 cm in length and 61 cm in width, with a prominent midrib. Each plant produces a single inflorescence, which develops from the rootstock and pushes its way through the pseudo-stem emerging in the centre of the crown. | | | Banana |
The inflorescence is a drooping spike, the lower flowers are female and the upper flowers are male, and the bracts are large. Ultimately, the drooping inflorescence develop into the bunches of bananas. Bunches consist of five to fifteen clusters or hands, and each hand contains from six to twenty individual banana (sometimes one or two are fused together). The fruits of the cultivated banana are modified berry and lack seeds but some of the wild species produce normal seeds. As soon as the tree bears, it dies or is cut down, and suckers develop from the rhizomes, which give rise to new plants.
The commercial production of bananas for export is an important business in several countries. Jamaica, Mexico and Central America supply about 85% of the total output. In different countries about 300 varieties of bananas are grown, of which a vast majority have been growing in tropical Asia. The total cultivation area and annual production in Bangladesh have been shown in the following table:

Banana Fiber

Banana plant not only gives the delicious fruit but it also provides textile fiber, the banana fiber. It grows easily as it sets out young shoots and is most commonly found in hot tropical climates. All varieties of banana plants have fibers in abundance. These fibers are obtained after the fruit is harvested and fall in the group of bast fibers. This plant has long been a good source for high quality textiles in many parts of the world, especially in Japan and Nepal.

Extraction of Banana Fiber
The processes for making yarn from banana fibers vary from region to region. Most popular methods among these are those followed in Japan and Nepal.

Japanese Method
The cultivation of banana for clothing and other household use in Japan dates back to the 13th century. In the Japanese method of making banana fiber, the care is taken right from the stage of plant cultivation. The leaves and shoots of the banana plant are pruned periodically to ensure their softness. The harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare the fibers for making the yarn. These banana shoots give away fibers having varying degrees of softness. This further results in yarns and textiles with differing qualities that can be used for specific purposes. The outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest ones. They are therefore, more suitable for making such home furnishings as tablecloths. The softest part is the innermost part that gives soft fibers which are widely used for making kimono and kamishimo, the traditional Japanese apparels. The banana cloth making process is a lengthy one and all the steps are performed by hand.

Nepalese Method
In Nepal, the trunk of the banana plant is harvested instead of the shoots. Small pieces of these trunks are put through a softening process for mechanical extraction of the fibers, and then bleaching, and drying. The fiber obtained thus has appearance similar to silk which has become popular as banana silk fiber yarn. This fiber is refined, processed and skeined mostly by the Nepalese women. Only the aged bark or the decaying outer layers of the banana plant are harvested and soaked in water to quicken the natural process. When all the chlorophyll is dissolved, only the cellulose fibers remain. They are extruded into pulp so that they may become suitable for spinning into yarn. The yarn is then hand- dyed. They have high textural quality similar to silk and as such employed in making high end rugs. These traditional rugs are woven by hand-knotted methods again by the women of Nepal.

Characteristics of Banana Fiber
Banana fiber is a natural bast fiber. It has its own physical and chemical characteristics and many other properties that make it a fine quality fiber. * Appearance of banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but its fineness and spinnability is better than the two. * The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. * It is highly strong fiber. * It has smaller elongation. * It has somewhat shiny appearance depending upon the extraction & spinning process. * It is light weight. * It has strong moisture absorption quality. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast. * It is bio- degradable and has no negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly fiber. * Its average fineness is 2400Nm. * It can be spun through almost all the methods of spinning including ring spinning, open-end spinning, bast fiber spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others.

Applications of Banana Fiber
In the recent past, banana fiber had a very limited application and was primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some other composite materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing importance of eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as apparel garments and home furnishings. However, in Japan, it is being used for making traditional dresses like kimono, and kamishimo since the Edo period (1600-1868). Due to its being lightweight and comfortable to wear, it is still preferred by people there as summer wear. Banana fiber is also used to make finecushion covers, Necties, bags, table cloths, curtains etc. Rugs made from banana silk yarn fibers are also very popular world over.

Innovation in Extraction Process of Banana Fiber
The essentially hand driven process of extracting banana fiber is now set to change with the invention of the Banana Fiber Separator Machine. The machine has been developed in India by Tiruchirappalli Regional Engineering College - Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (TREC-STEP). One more interesting fact associated with the development of this machine is that it uses the agriculture waste of banana harvests to produce silk grade fiber. These silk grade fibers are of immense help to the handicrafts and textile industry. What was previously considered an agricultural waste is now converted to a raw material for good quality silk grade fiber yarn.

Utilization of banana agricultural waste: production of cellulases by soil fungi.
Baig MM, Mane VP, More DR, Shinde LP, Baig MI.
Source
Botany Research Laboratory & Plant Disease Clinic, Science College, Nanded-431605, Maharashtra, India. mmvb@indiatimes.com
Abstract
Banana a major cash crop of Maharashtra is cultivated over 46900 hectares generating large amount of agro waste after the harvest. Attempts were made to utilize these agro wastes for production of cellulases. Of the 127 fungi isolated from the soil of banana field, 12 fungi were found to utilize cellulose as source of carbon. Trichoderma lignorum showed appreciable cellulolytic activity. It produced Cl, Cx and beta glucosidase in Carboxymethyl Cellulose Peptone medium as well as on agro waste based medium containing leaves, stem and rhizome powders. T. lignorum (0. 45 U/ml) produced maximum enzymes on leaf based medium.

Banana Fabric | |

Banana trees were widely used for making fabrics before cotton was affordable and readily available. Now “jusi” banana fabric is made in only a handful of places in Southeast Asia. The raw materials come from the stem that farmers leave in the garden after a banana harvest. The tree stalks and leaves are removed and processed into a pliable fibre. Different layers of the stem yield fibers for specific uses: the outer layer's fibers are generally used for tablecloths while the third layer makes the finest, silkiest fabric, suitable for kimonos and saris. Many Nepalese rugs are made from bleached and dried fibers of the banana plant that are hand-knotted into silk-like rugs. |

Banana Fabric |

| Banana fiber can be made 100% weaving fabric, but composition of banana fiber should be less than 50%, 30% is the best choice if it is used for knitting fabric. Because banana fiber belongs to bast fiber, the feeling is similar to hemp/linen/ramie/original bamboo etc. |

Banana Fibre can be used as fibre to manufacture fabrics. It is being used for making bags, table mats, ropes and twines. It can be blended with cotton or viscose fibre to produce blended fabric. Since Banana fibre is fully plant origin natural product, it has very good compatibility with other natural fibres like cotton, Coir, Pineapple fibres and Jute in blending. Banana fibre can also be dyed easily like other natural fibres and cloth made from it can also be dyed and printed like cotton cloth. It has good strength and has silk like luster. It can partly replace cotton fibre and hence we can estimate potential for it on the line of estimating demand for cotton fibre. It may be noted that good quality Banana fibre is having strength and luster like silk and in the Philippines various garments are already manufactured from Banana fibres. Apart from it, Philippines is exporting huge quantity of ready-made garments like shirts, kimonos, gowns, nightwears etc.
The banana fibres were reported to be elegant and highly versatile. As they do not crumple easily, these fibres have been used in the manufacture of dress materials. The fineness of texture depends on the quality of the fibre used. The material has a beautiful sheen and is used for making wedding gowns and barongs.
Hand-extracted fibres have been used to produce handbags, wall hangings, table mats and other fancy articles. The fibre can be powdered and different colours of fibre obtained using natural dyes, which can be made into beautiful pictures. Portraits drawn and filled with colourful banana fibre chips have become popular in the handicraft industry in Mizoram, India, and have good potential in the export market.Thus, this fibre is having very good potential. It can be blended with other natural fibres or synthetic fibres without any problem to produce large varieties of garments from this fibre.

However, the inherent drawback of banana fibre is its poor quality and higher irregularity, owing to the multi-cellular nature of the fibres. The individual cells are cemented with lignin and hemi-cellulose and thus form a composite fibre. Banana fibre is classified as medium quality fibre and performs very well in combination with other fibres for making fine articles like handicrafts, currency, etc.

Summary:

The fibre has not been exploited much commercially hitherto, as it was considered inferior to abaca and other available hard fibres. Banana fibre is classified as medium quality fibre and performs very well in combination with other fibres for making fine articles like handicrafts, currency, etc.

Over the years, there has been considerable interest in exploiting it for a variety of household and industrial uses on a larger scale.

While the entire world is going ecological, its time fruits find creative applications, apart from eating! Banana plant is endowed with virtuous fibres which has versatileapplications. Though, the plant is more popular for its fruit, it hasbeen a source of high quality fibre which is used to manufacture textiles. Banana shoots produce fibres with varying softness used formaking different products. This plant is a good source of quality textiles.
Making of the Fibre:
The stem of the banana plant is cut and processed. The skin is thenpeeled off, and fibres are extracted. The extracted fibre is cooked ina big pot of boiling lye, an alkali solution. After cooking for severalhours, it is then washed to remove the alkali. Using a tool, the fibre isremoved from the skin. Soft fibres are used for weft, while the hardfibres are used for the warp. The fibres are immersed in water andsqueezed lightly. They are then separated by running nails along thefibres from the root moving upwards. Individual fibres are joinedtogether to make one continuous thread. This is a tedious and timeconsuming job requiring much patience.The extracted fibres are made wet to avoid breaking, and are spun ina spinning wheel. The thread is now dyed steamed and dyed. After dyeing, the thread is laid out accordingto the design and passed through a temporary reed. The ward is wounded onto the beam and passedthrough the reed and heddle. The thread is moistened frequently to avoid breaking while weaving. Once thecloth is woven, it is washed, and boiled in an alkali solution. Later it is washed, dried, and neutralized in ricevinegar solution. Finally, the cloth is washed again, dried and ironed.
Applications of the Fibre:
Papers made from banana fibres have good market in 25 international countries includingEurope. These papers are chemical free, and posses' eco friendly qualities, with longevity of700 years. Apart from this table mats, bags, runners, coasters, and floor mats are alsomade from banana fibres. In Japan, these fibres are used for making traditional dresseslike kimono. Its light weight and skin friendly virtues have made it a preferential choicefor summer wear. In home textile segment, this fibre finds its way in cushion covers,curtains, and table cloths.Fibre2Fashionhad an opportunity to interact with Dr. C K Narayana,Principal Scientist at NRCB. He elaborated about the virtues of banana fibre, and their potential applications.He says, "The fibre is essentially made from banana plant stem which is considered as awaste material after harvesting. Although, there are a few available machines to extractbanana fibre, there is a lack of adequate methodology to make yarn from the fibre."

Banana
Banana fabric and banana silk yarn are two products derived from the banana tree. Banana silk yarn is much easier to find than the fabric. The yarn is soft, cozy and versatile enough to create a variety of knit wearables. Try a banana yarn scarf, knit hat or a big, bulky sweater. Banana yarn comes from banana tree bark, which is soaked until it dissolves into fibers. The process includes pulverizing the fibers into pulp, then spinning the pulp into yarn. Banana fabric, or jusi, was popular prior to the widespread use of cotton, and is limited to areas of Asia, according to the Eco Fashion World website. The fabric comes from banana tree stalks, with the stalk's inner layer producing the finest fibers used for saris and kimonos.

Read more at Trails.com: Food-Based Fabrics: Eco-Conscious Clothing Made with Food Products | Trails.com http://www.trails.com/list_32900_ecoconscious-clothing-made-food-products.html#ixzz1U648lk9K

The use of “Banana” fiber for textile and other purpose as natural material is a new concept for Bangladesh.It has been found that banana fiber can be a very promising source of natural fiber in the coming period. It may be noted that this fiber is already used successfully in Philippines since decades and hence it is also known popularly as “Manila Hemp”. The other name of this fiber is “Abaca”, it belongs to musa sapientum species.

The proposed project envisages setting up of a facility for Banana fiber extraction from waste banana stem, cleaning, grading and converting it up to finished ready made garment. Presently, waste banana stems pose problem of disposal and are available almost free of cost.

Textiles
The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.[61]
In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.
In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

Made from the inner layer of the decaying bark of a banana tree, banana fiber yarn feels soft, silky and light. It makes an excellent substitution for sari silk and comes in a variety of bright, beautiful hand-dyed colors. Until cotton became more easily available, banana fiber yarns were a popular choice among knitters. Recently gaining new popularity, banana fiber yarn is a renewable, natural resource making it an earth-friendly yarn choice as well as being easy on the eyes and hands.

Read more: How to Knit With Banana Fiber Yarn | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8459331_knit-banana-fiber-yarn.html#ixzz1U9UEbqGS

The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses.

Banana Fiber Cloth Bashofu is cloth made from fibers taken from the leafstalks of the banana fiber tree, a plant that is a relative of plants that produce edible bananas. It quality depends on the thinness of the fibers and how tightly they are woven. The best quality is fibers are lustrous and easy to mistake for silk. Banana fiber trees grow wild and can be cultivated. Most likely introduced from Southeast Asia, they are treelike plant that are used to provide windbreaks and shade as well as fiber. The fiber is harvested from mature trees. It is stripped from the sheath-like leafstalks, and sorted into piles used to make fine, medium and coarse cloth. The strips of fiber are boiled with ash to soften them up. The pulpy part is scraped off and the remaining ribbons of fiber are arduously split into fine strands and then tied from end to end to form one continuous yarn. This task has traditionally been done by old women whose poor eyesight prevented them from doing actual weaving.