Outstanding traits and thermal behaviour for the identification of speciality animal fibres

The extra-fine, soft and warm fibres used by the textile industry for manufacturing high-quality, luxury textiles are obtained from the undercoat hair of several domestic mammals of the genera Capra, Bos, Camelus, and Lama. The demand for ‘speciality fibres’ by the fashion world represents an important opportunity for livelihoods, on condition that conservation of the wild species is preserved. Large scale trade of hair from wild goats hunted for meat or trophy and hybridisation of wild (Capra ibex) and domestic (Capra hircus) goats or wild Vicuna (Lama vicugna) and domestic Alpaca (Lama pacos), with the aim of improving fibre fineness and yield, would involve a risk of genetic pollution and would severely threaten conservation and biodiversity. This work describes fibre morphology and cell structure of fine fibres from the most important wild and domestic fibre producing species with the aim of enhancing traits for identification purposes. Microscopy investigation shows that exposure to thermal and nutritional stresses in the wild, lead to finer hair associated with lower rate of growth, yielding orientation and elongation of the cuticle cells. Differential scanning calorimetry reveals specie-specific differences in the internal structure of the fibre cortex, probably related to the process of hair keratinisation.

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